Hacking Question Will Switch Hacking will allow us to install Android ?

Shadd

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Well I guess Android for Switch can still be a possibility; I mean it can be used for emulators for Android nonetheless that the only difference would be that you get Joycons (even though you can just get a $10 rip off controller and a $5 adapter for you phone). Well I guess we could put that $80 Joycon rumble to use...
 

Tsubakiandou

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Well I guess Android for Switch can still be a possibility; I mean it can be used for emulators for Android nonetheless that the only difference would be that you get Joycons (even though you can just get a $10 rip off controller and a $5 adapter for you phone). Well I guess we could put that $80 Joycon rumble to use...

its already a thing now
 

RSRazer

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The amount of ignorance and toxicity in this thread absolutely amazes me.

I am a Unity game dev. By my limited knowledge in the beginning, I ended up trapped into the dependency of the engine, and honestly have little time or desire to leave it at the present time. This isn't a case of "too lazy for "real" homebrew, but rather a limitation due to what software I use to dev. You can try to argue my unwillingness to natively target the switch because I am unwilling to invest time into an entirely new language, framework, etc., but I will counter argue that the time invested could be better spent targeting a solution like android for switch development for my specific use case. In the time it would take me to have a primitive game using the native toolchain, I could have released 2 AA quality titles, further my knowledge on the switch's capabilities (at least in Android form, which would still be a great baseline for native deployment, saving time and effort later), and end up with proper dev access to where android then becomes a nice feature for the games that aren't native nor will ever be.

I also got a switch because linux existed on the device first and foremost. It isn't so much because I wanted linux, but rather linux is a build target you can legally deploy to for the switch without having to track down a copy of the SDK or Unity for Switch, not like what is available would benefit you anyhow (missing tools for building the NSPs, no documentation after installing the add-on, legality of deploying homebrew, and ultimately difficult to obtain in general). The additional benefit is the device is both portable and easily converts to a TV based console, it has decent controllers included with it, and it will play Nintendo released titles like Pokemon, Mario, Zelda, etc. with more to come.

I have a couple of games far enough along in development that I would love to deploy to the switch for the community, but my current options are to deploy to linux, which is a half working mess (the user experience would ultimately suck), or spend another 4 years learning a new language, learning the discrepancies of the switch homebrew toolchain, and hopefully have gotten enough experience to build a level design tool, port a framework to make a lightweight engine, and MAYBE have a primitive form of the game by its EOL, rather than simply finishing this and making more fun experiences because someone actually took the time to port over android which is another easily available and legal to port to platform (with the bonus that I can share the game for mobile users too!).

So the biggest snarky comment I have heard why Android on Switch is an "abomination" is the argument of "just buy a tablet, a controller, and a dongle".
First off, no consumer product shy of the shield/shield TV, which typically MSRP around the same as the switch anyhow, has the computation equivalency, especially on the GPU side of things (prove me wrong for UNDER $200, as anything higher wouldn't be a justification considering following points). You also have the additional cost of purchasing a dongle and a controller.

The next "concern" seems to be fear that native development would halt in favor of Android. Hardly. Native development will always pull the most potential from the device compared to a solution that wasn't specifically designed for that hardware (horizon). All you are doing by stifling Android as an option is alienating potential devs like myself unable to target native development, so you wouldn't get the homebrew from such devs to begin with. it opens up for MORE options, not less. This mentality is half the reason indie programs get shut down fast from the big 3, because they fear opening it up to people will decrease the good content their devices could offer for garbage (meme run anyone?), where simply having a good and strict QA vetting would be sufficient, but I digress. Point is, people who chose to target an Android solution are either limited in their development knowledge and choices, or probably would have finished a quality release for native hardware anyhow, even without an Android option. Any coder who knows anything about hardware will know low level development is worth the time involved, IF they are already experienced, or the scope of their project is achievable. 3D development from scratch is no exactly an easy feat, especially in an unofficial environment that is constantly changing, compared to an official toolchain that would likely abstract a lot of low level functions into a convenient API call.

And ultimately, what I do with my device is none of your friggen business. If I were to make an OS for my switch to do nothing but watch porn, you have no right to tell me I can't. You have every right to not use it, and you do have a right to say so, but who do you think you are to think you have this very right, but the person next to you doesn't? I actually hope android gets ported, just to make a point to these idiots that they can complain till they are blue in the face, but at the end of the day, they have no right to say what I can/can't do, just because they don't like it.

I love how this post went from a yes/no (maybe even a breakdown discussion of what would need to be done) to a complete off topic bashing of anyone who supports the idea that the switch would be cool with Android.

For the OP: YES. Android could be ported to the switch. From MY limited knowledge and discussing it with Shinyquagsire, it seems there would be some involved work, but we ultimately figured that thanks to the linux kernel being ported, and the fact that the tegra is well supported on android, porting it wouldn't be a matter of possibility but willingness, and aside from having to figure out how to get gyro features read from the controller (the tablet part lacks gyro), it basically would be a Shield portable on a light dose of steroids (though still no better than bare metal code). for rotating the device between portrait and landscape for say reading a web page, it could be done through software button, or by reading gyro data from the controller.
 
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