The Nintendo Switch is one of the best gaming systems available today given its hybrid nature. You can enjoy it comfortably at home on your TV or just bring it around with you like a typical handheld gaming device. To add more versatility to it, someone has managed to installed Android 10 to the system.
Nintendo Switch Running Android 10
The folks over at XDA Developers have managed to install Android 10 on the Nintendo Switch and actually managed to run the operating system. To be precise, it’s LineageOS 17.1 but it is based on Android 10 so it counts. Previously, they did something similar as they ported over Android 8.1 Oreo to the hybrid gaming system.
For those of you who aren’t aware, the LineageOS 17.1 used here is based on the NVIDIA Shield TV’s software. It is said to work faster and is more responsive compared to Android 8.1, along with a boost in battery life as it managed to implement a deep sleep mode.
Apart from that, Wi-Fi performance has also been improved, and there is better Joy-Con support here. What makes running Android on the Nintendo Switch a very attractive idea is the ability to download more apps on the system, giving you more usability than you would get with its native OS.
For the full list of updates, check it out right below here:
It’s worth noting that this isn’t something that Nintendo officially support, and it’s not something the LineageOS team planned for either. It’s funny to think that this version of Android 10 lacks support for NVIDIA Shield games like Half Life 2 and Tomb Raider despite being the same software build.
It’s only natural to expect bugs, and some of the known ones include Bluetooth audio stutter, Joy-Cons not working properly with certain apps, and that it will not work with every Switch model. In fact, it only works with Nintendo Switch models without the updated internals, which means the Lite variant is definitely out of the question.
The great thing about doing this is that you can easily switch between Android 10 and its native OS for as long as you have an extra microSD card to spare for the Android installation. Just be careful if you plan on doing this as it might brick the system if you make a simple mistake. If anything goes wrong, it will not be covered by warranty, and no one will compensate you for it so do it at your own risk.
Pokdepinion: It would be interesting if everyone could get it to run both Android 10 and its native OS. You’d have a media powerhouse in a very convenient form.
