For most of us, the Nintendo Switch is just a really cool gaming platform, especially if you’re a fan of the litany of games under the Nintendo banner such as Fire Emblem, Breath of the Wild or the newly-released Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3. For those of us who were hoping to squeeze a little more utility out of Nintendo’s gaming console, there’s been a sad dearth of prospects on that front. Until now.
Developers at XDA have brought the console to new levels of awesomeness by (unofficially) integrating Android 8.1, which offers a host of features that can now be accessed right on the portable gaming platform, including Netflix, streaming, and emulators to play games that otherwise cannot be played on Switch. Examples include Minecraft, Portal 2, The Simpsons Hit and Run, Pokemon Platinum, and CSR 2.
You can download Android for the Switch right here. Check out the video below that demonstrates how it all works:
If you’re worried about Android monopolizing your device, don’t fret; you can seamlessly dual boot between the Switch’s OS and Android at any time, so there’s really no reason why you wouldn’t want to install it – except perhaps due to the bugs.
By bugs we’re referring to how you can’t take proper screenshots, the Tegra X1 not being the greatest of chip sets, and some spotty issues regarding Wi-Fi and charging detecting (the Switch is probably charging fine even if it’s reading otherwise).
Lastly, the Switch still doesn’t have any kind of mic or camera, so any Android apps that rely on them will obviously have some issues. Again, this integration is unofficial, so some drawbacks are to be expected. If Nintendo seeks to legitimize this neat feature we can expect both a ton of fixes and ton of new utility out of the console.
Stay updated with Softonic to find out if they make it official!
