Homebrew Android apps ported to 3DS? (HB/CFW)

[WiisleyU]

Is there a way to Android developers port their apps for the 3DS?
Is there a way to "convert" or port existing apps from Android to 3DS?

With the 3DS hack scene going so far, the console expanded its capacities and functions and Android apps could expand it even more. I am not a developer, only a geek and love game consoles with many functions that they could have but never had natively. Thanks!

 

[fikatr]

D.İ.Y You can if it's open source

 

[TechyTurtle]

Android games and apps would be cool but probably only the games that have have low specs would be easier to port to the 3ds

 

[Magical Sheep]

I think it would depend on the app that's being ported, since Android is more GPU based, and the 3DS has a not so good GPU, some apps wouldn't play nicely on the 3DS. I could be wrong about this, so someone who is more knowledgeable about Android could correct me if I'm wrong. I would like to see some modern Android apps make their way to the 3DS, though I imagine it being a long process.
Apologies if this seems off topic, I'm half asleep, and I should probably not be using a computer right now.

 

[The Catboy]

If you have the source, maybe, but I wouldn't suggest it even then.

 

[Pleng]

The Android development ecosystem is very different to the 3DS. It would, in almost all cases, require a ground-up rewrite rather than a port

 

[chaoskagami]

tl;dr - No.

You might be able to get away with compiling android drivers into the Linux port (binder, ashmem, ion, etc) and running the userland on that, but that is NOT simple to do so, and you'd need to finish the block driver arm9 code in order to be able to use it sanely.

Aside from that, any android apps that run inside windows/linux/whatever are all running in qemu (an emulator/virtualization program) There's a reason nobody has made any kind of chrootable/hybrid userland yet. It's incredibly difficult. What you're suggesting is even HARDER than that.

 

[cracker]

To add: Most Android apps are written in Java. It is C++-esque but it would still require much editing to port (every single line). That is why you are getting the answers you are.

 

[chaoskagami]

To add: Most Android apps are written in Java. It is C++-esque but it would still require much editing to port (every single line). That is why you are getting the answers you are.

And that's ONLY if the app we're talking is opensource. If it isn't, you literally would need to run android itself. Porting dalvik/art wouldn't help since you have all the system frameworks to care about.

 

[gamesquest1]

A nice example
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-whack-mania-whack-a-mole-around-planets.394879/

 

[roei]

You will have to rewrite most of the code to make an android app work on the 3ds.

 

[WiisleyU]

Thanks people, I wasn't here because I was watching E3, but the comments were good! I now know about the limitations and the tries about it!

 

[Link_of_Hyrule]

The hardware and software are completely different. Android apps run on a java virtual machine that the 3DS can't emulate. You'd be better off just making it from scratch in most cases.

 

[Pikm]

Is there a way to Android developers port their apps for the 3DS?
Is there a way to "convert" or port existing apps from Android to 3DS?

With the 3DS hack scene going so far, the console expanded its capacities and functions and Android apps could expand it even more. I am not a developer, only a geek and love game consoles with many functions that they could have but never had natively. Thanks!

Possible, but not likely, no devs are going to work on it, it wouldn't have android features, and it wouldn't be in a usable state without severe changes and cleanups to the code. For an actual indie dev to port their title to the 3DS it would take a serious rewrite, and if the dev doesn't really put their heart into the port, it would then be easily hacked due to lazy code and taken off the eshop, like Ironfall, Citizens of Earth, VVVVVV, and Freakyforms.