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Ahead of the Nintendo Switch being officially announced, there are some comparisons made to the console against the NVIDIA SHIELD gaming tablet. This is because they are both powered by NVIDIA’s Tegra chipset, and given the touchscreen capabilities, some likened it to a more powerful version of the SHIELD tablet, except that it runs on Nintendo’s own operating system.
Now it looks like things are coming full circle because developers Billy Laws and Max Keller have managed to get an early build of Android Q (due to release this year) up and running on the Switch console. Based on what we know, it seems that Bluetooth, WiFi, and even the console’s Joy-Cons are working.
( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) #NintendoSwitch #Android pic.twitter.com/RfbN7VKStw
— Max K (@langer_hans) February 23, 2019
There is a catch though, and that is GPU support is still in the works, meaning that certain games or apps might not be able to run on it. There is also no mention if the SD card slot is working, and if USB-C docking via the Switch’s charging dock will work and if it will connect to a TV, but at the very least it is an interesting concept and project.
We’re not sure how many gamers would willingly transform their Switch into an Android tablet, especially since it’s not exactly the best form factor and there are better tablets out there anyway. It does, however, hold the potential to be a decent Android gaming tablet, assuming there are no compatibility issues.
It’s probably too early in development to be released right now, although we should warn you that modding your Switch will most definitely void its warranty. There have also been reports of Nintendo banning players from accessing its CDN when they were found running a hacked/modified console, so that’s definitely worth taking into consideration before you do anything.
Source: Max Keller (via Engadget)
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