MobileNews

Nintendo Switch gets unofficial Android port w/ LineageOS and Nvidia Shield apps

Android is a very flexible platform, and that means it lands on a lot of different hardware. Recently, a build of Android was successfully ported to the popular Nintendo Switch, and you can download it if you’re feeling daring enough.



Early this year, some developers shared that they were working on bringing Android to the Nintendo Switch with some photos and videos of early progress. Now, less than six months later, a fully working build of Android Oreo has been ported to the console with some goodies in tow.

Detailed on the XDA Forums, this unofficial ROM requires your Nintendo Switch to work with the custom Hekate bootloader. It’s important to know that not every Switch will work with this modified bootloader, but if it does, this method will see Android installed and run off of an SD card, meaning your Switch can still be used for its original purpose.

When using Android on the Switch, a lot of the original functionality is retained. Joy-Cons still work and even the Nintendo dock is functional, with games and even apps like Netflix working up on your connected TV. There are plenty of bugs and known issues, but the list is surprisingly small for a first build. Some notable bugs include poor battery life, spotty Wi-Fi, no auto-rotation, and various other minor problems.

Since this Android port is based on a LineageOS build for the Nvidia Shield TV, there are some added goodies too. The similar internal hardware means that all of the exclusive apps for the Nvidia Shield work on the Switch with this port including Gamestream.

All of the needed details are over on the forum post but proceed at your own risk. The folks over at also put together a video of the port running on a Switch.

Check out the latest Samsung phones at great prices from Gizmofashion – our recommended retail partner.


Author:
Source: 9TO5Google
Tags:


Related posts
AI & RoboticsNews

Medical training’s AI leap: How agentic RAG, open-weight LLMs and real-time case insights are shaping a new generation of doctors at NYU Langone

AI & RoboticsNews

OpenAI’s ChatGPT explodes to 400M weekly users, with GPT-5 on the way

AI & RoboticsNews

Together AI’s $305M bet: Reasoning models like DeepSeek-R1 are increasing, not decreasing, GPU demand

DefenseNews

Army Stinger missile replacement competition heads into flight tests

Sign up for our Newsletter and
stay informed!