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[FirmBizBws]

Has anyone ever wanted an android tablet? I had a nexus 7 back in the day and it was horrible and buggy and wouldn't even display the battery information correctly, it would automatically shut off at 46%.

Please no android.

 

[Interfectum]

I don't understand this logic. If Switch doesn't support Android apps then it will do worse than Wii U? This almost sounds like a Polygon pie chart.

 

[Fbh]

Android? Would be cool but not necessary.

What it does need though is good tablet like features: a good browser, good media playback features, hopefully good apps for YouTube, Netflix, Spotify, etc.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

I have to imagine the OP:

1. Never considered some people don't even care about it being a 'tablet'

2. Isn't aware of how little the Wii U actually sold.

 

[DarkConfidant]

Yes, very crazy.
We should be thankfult hat you don't work for Nintendo (I hope).

If it did, Android App availability might cannibalize dedicated Switch software sales. If it ran Android, then you could either use an app store or sideload apks to install apps.
Controlling your own platform is important. Most people already don't pay for their software (let alone games) on Android. Consoles like Switch are the few safe havens from this race to the bottom in prices.

The benefits of saying it runs Android (which isn't as important of a message as saying it runs great Switch games) isn't worth the loosening of control over software availability, and the laggy OS.

I really doubt Nintendo wants the thing rooted and hacked day 1 also.

When running a software platform, its stupid to advertise another software platform instead.
They'd be incentivizing what crucial potential Switch devs they have to maybe just make Android apps instead, and later put them on Switch, for a wider audience. The whole point of dedicated Nintendo hardware is that the games are made for that specific hardware.

Has anyone ever wanted an android tablet? I had a nexus 7 back in the day and it was horrible and buggy and wouldn't even display the battery information correctly, it would automatically shut off at 46%.

Same here. Thing was fast but would get so many random OS errors.
Also tablet support was terrible with Android apps, which mostly just stretched the phone apps. It's why nobody really promotes Android tablets as heavily as they did in 2012. They were pretty bad.

 

[Widge]

Android on it would make the machine a fantastic emulation machine, which is precisely why it won't happen and it would actually kill the platform if it did. Nintendo want you buying the machine and buying their games, not buying their machines and slapping SNES, PSone, Dreamcast titles through it which they won't see £ for. Which is fair enough.

 

[Cindres]

Yeah I think it's crazy to think Nintendo (or any major console manufacturer) would put an open, very much hackable, platform on their new console.

 

[LordRaptor]

If you really want a 7" Android tablet with a couple of game controllers that can be attached on the sides, I'd give it 6 months before you can get exactly that from multiple Chinese suppliers for under $100.

 

[EVH]

Kinda positive that this will have lots of android game ports.

 

[Muchi Muchi Pink]

Android is trash.

Yeah I think it's crazy to think Nintendo (or any major console manufacturer) would put an open, very much hackable, platform on their new console.

All these manufactures are running a customized version of an open source OS (*BSD).
Should Nintendo decide to use Android, it won't be your stock rom provided by google.

 

[Sapiens]

Trust me. You don't want a gaming machine running android.

 

[Darkangel]

I wonder if they could do a Blackberry-style thing where the Nintendo OS runs on the Linux Kernel, which would allow them to run Android Apps through specialized software.

 

[Complicated]

I have a phone with me at all times, and phones have gotten large enough that tablets have all but lost their use case. Why would I want to pull my Switch out of my bag just to do something I could do with my phone?

Nintendo is focused on exactly the right things with Switch if you ask me.

 

[Linkstrikesback]

I've never really checked, but wouldn't being an Android OS mean it's very easy to hack (and pirate) apps on?

That sounds like it'd be what Nintendo would want to avoid at all costs beyond almost anything else.

 

[yllekz]

I wouldn't want it running Android due to the OS rot.

Android always gets slow, shitty, and unreliable after about a year of use, regardless of hardware.

Seeing a Nintendo system rot away like that would be unforgivable.

 

[spookyfish]

You're crazy

/thread

.

 

[Baron Doggystyle von Woof]

Who cares about Android? I got my Galaxy s7.

Even then it's a gaming machine and will buy it primarily for that.

Also, I'm not going to play Android games on it.

 

[HeartlessNobody213]

I wouldn't call you crazy but it doesn't have anything to do with Android. I see it doing better than the Wii U but I don't think it will do that much better sales wise anyway.

 

[xk0sm0sx]

Sure, games on N-Gage did not leak out and become playable on other Symbian phones

 

[345triangle]

Did some research and it is still true:

interesting, my turn to thank you for the info!

though yeah, it doesn't sound like something that's really enforced. and with the pixel, google is itself now making hostile moves against the open handset alliance, so...

 

[Nosgoroth]

Some sort of Android runtime inside a custom OS, with the apps being distributed through Nintendo's storefront to prevent their cut from going to Google, that I could see as possible. Battery life wouldn't be a big concern here, too, because browsing GAF and having a game put the Tegra SoC to full load are very different things.

However, I don't expect Nintendo to go to all that trouble. What I do expect is a touch-enabled web browser and little else beyond third party service apps like Netflix. I don't see the lack of Android apps running natively having a big impact in sales, in any case.

 

[Lazaro]

I wonder if they could do a Blackberry-style thing where the Nintendo OS runs on the Linux Kernel, which would allow them to run Android Apps through specialized software.

If Nintendo wants apps on their platform, I'm sure they will build conversion tools to help iOS and Android devs port their applications.

Sure, games on N-Gage did not leak out and become playable on other Symbian phones

They ran better too, lol.

 

[The_Endgamer]

Who the hell wants an Android tablet...

My PS4 + 3DS doesn't run Android apps + I'm pretty happy with them so I don't think Android apps matter one iota.

 

[Staccat0]

I see where you are coming from. I don't feel the same, but you aren't crazy. I have absolutely 0 interest in carrying a gaming device around with me when I already have a smart phone so it's only a small hop to the logic that if I was going to carry a tablet it should be a tablet.

 

[prag16]

The Switch definitely gains value for me if it runs Android (or failing that, if its at least operable in a pinch as a standalone tablet with a serviceable web browser).

But I don't see any way it lives or dies based on whether or not it runs Android, and I don't see any way it does worse than the Wii U unless they price it way above $300.

 

[Deepo]

Please keep Android far away from my game systems. My experience with gaming on Android has been less than stellar, with hitching and frame drops even on the top end models.

 

[WhiteWaterM00se]

Running the Android apps is the key.

If Nintendo doesn't want to implement a Xbox Live service with cross game voice chat. Allow access to Skype, Discord or Kik. Let people chat that way.

It would be very smart to do that.

 

[Ryukori]

Ever heard of the OUYA or the NVIDIA Shield? Those were failures. So yeah, the Nintendo Switch running Android would definitely be worse.

 

[Sir_Crocodile]

-you don't need android for android appplication compatibility
-android has a massive amount of overhead

 

[Toadthemushroom]

interesting, my turn to thank you for the info!

though yeah, it doesn't sound like something that's really enforced. and with the pixel, google is itself now making hostile moves against the open handset alliance, so...

Yeah, I think it depends on the market and what the device is.

 

[345triangle]

Some sort of Android runtime inside a custom OS, with the apps being distributed through Nintendo's storefront to prevent their cut from going to Google, that I could see as possible. Battery life wouldn't be a big concern here, too, because browsing GAF and having a game put the Tegra SoC to full load are very different things.

However, I don't expect Nintendo to go to all that trouble. What I do expect is a touch-enabled web browser and little else beyond third party service apps like Netflix. I don't see the lack of Android apps running natively having a big impact in sales, in any case.

my point is that doing what you described in the first paragraph would actually save them a ton of effort. you can't sell a tablet-style system in 2017 that isn't at least vaguely on par with what people expect from similar devices, and using AOSP as a base for a custom nintendo OS would be a way to get there more or less for free.

 

[DemoCracy]

@OP
Yes, you are.

 

[~Cross~]

Am I crazy/ Am I the only one should be word filtered in thread topic names just like PSA is

 

[KingSnake]

Am I crazy/ Am I the only one should be word filtered in thread topic names just like PSA is

Agree "Am I" should be transformed into "Yes, you are".

 

[Blackpuppy]

my point is that doing what you described in the first paragraph would actually save them a ton of effort. you can't sell a tablet-style system in 2017 that isn't at least vaguely on par with what people expect from similar devices, and using AOSP as a base for a custom nintendo OS would be a way to get there more or less for free.

No, it's not free. I really hope you've been reading what people have been posting here. You would know by now that using Android is a poisoned apple. If they use a fork, they can't use the Playstore NOR Google's APIs that the majority of apps are built upon. Nor are they allowed to use any manufacturer who makes official Android handsets.

If they use Android, they have to use an OS that they have zero control over AND they have to use the Playstore AND they open themselves to piracy AND they have an OS that is in no ways optimized for gaming. Every app is a java app that runs in a virtual machine. That is great for keeping compatibility over a large swathe of devoces but terrible for running optimized games that need as much access to the metal as possible.

 

[Blackpuppy]

Also: you can't just run an Android runtime within a custom OS without attracting the wrath of Google's attorneys. If this were possible, it definitely would have been done by now by Samsung or Amazon.

 

[Gabe3208]

Who the hell wants an Android tablet

First thought that came to my mind.

 

[Circinus]

Don't think that whether its OS is Android based or not is a important factor for its success.


I do expect the sales the be around that of Wii U/PS Vita and at best up to half of what the 3DS family did, because it seems to be aimed at a small audience:

- Nintendo enthusiasts
- People who want to play a variety of core games like Skyrim on the go, and aren't too bothered by the likely short battery life
- People who are interested in playing Nintendo games on the couch
- People who are interested in playing Nintendo games on the go

I don't see families, mainstream gamers, casual gamers, most core gamers having significant interest in the Nintendo Switch. I do see trendy milennials, Nintendo enthusiasts and a certain subset of core gamers who value portable gaming having significant interest in the Switch. That's not a large demographic.

Of course this is only based on a limited amount of information, and things like price are going to be an important factor that can alter my expectations.

 

[Peltz]

No, it's not free. I really hope you've been reading what people have been posting here. You would know by now that using Android is a poisoned apple. If they use a fork, they can't use the Playstore NOR Google's APIs that the majority of apps are built upon. Nor are they allowed to use any manufacturer who makes official Android handsets.

If they use Android, they have to use an OS that they have zero control over AND they have to use the Playstore AND they open themselves to piracy AND they have an OS that is in no ways optimized for gaming. Every app is a java app that runs in a virtual machine. That is great for keeping compatibility over a large swathe of devoces but terrible for running optimized games that need as much access to the metal as possible.

Good post. I also want to just add, Nintendo wants to differentiate themselves from every other hardware manufacturer out there. They live and die by being able to carve out their own niche market.

The last thing they want to do is go from competing with consoles the traditional way (which is a somewhat saturated market of 2-3 players) to be seen as competing with android hardware instead (which is a market of countless manufacturers).

Nintendo is doing something different from Sony and Microsoft just like how they're doing something different from Samsung, HTC, and all the other tablet manufacturers. They're trying to nail their thin, reliable slice of the market so they can sell software to 30 million or so consistent consumers.

 

[jett]

It would definitely be more appealing to me if it had proper tablet functionality, with a lot of multi-purpose apps. I don't need Android per se... I wonder if Nintendo will create yet another ecosystem in the market.

 

[LumpOfCole]

I got a SHIELD TV, love Android TV, and see the Switch as a potential follow-up to the SHIELD of sorts, and still think Android isn't a fit for a Nintendo system. We'll be lucky enough if Nintendo allows a SHIELD game streaming app on the Switch, and I have heavy doubts that will happen.

 

[DerekOfTheDykes]

Am I crazy/ Am I the only one should be word filtered in thread topic names just like PSA is

Just switch the "Am I" around into "I am". "I am crazy to think..." etc.

I hate these kinds of thread titles on GAF, Fark, or anywhere else, because every time the OP isn't actually interested in an exploration of the subject but rather wants his question answered universally in the strong negative. "No, sir, you are not crazy, and in fact the entire forum agrees with you that bla bla bla".

 

[Croatoan]

I'll only get the switch if it can run emulators. So basically, I wont be getting the switch. I'm just gonna wait for nvidia shield 2 or something like it that runs android.

 

[prag16]

First thought that came to my mind.

What's wrong with Android tablets. What do you suggest people use? Just iPads? Or no tablets at all.

My Android tablet is fine (if a little long in the tooth at this point).

 

[The Albatross]

I don't think it having Android or not having Android will make any appreciable affect on the sales of the Switch. The tablet market is really dry.

Like, we don't really know if the screen is touch screen yet, right? I thought Nintendo hadn't announced that.

 

[Derekor]

Safe to say you're crazy. Android is horrible.

 

[Astral Dog]

Very Crazy tbh

 

[BadWolf]

Has anyone ever wanted an android tablet? I had a nexus 7 back in the day and it was horrible and buggy and wouldn't even display the battery information correctly, it would automatically shut off at 46%.

Please no android.

Huh?

I've had one since release and it runs extremely well to this day, still using it daily on my commute. I have no reason to get another tablet any time soon.

 

[Rappy]

It would definitely be more appealing to me if it had proper tablet functionality, with a lot of multi-purpose apps. I don't need Android per se... I wonder if Nintendo will create yet another ecosystem in the market.

Same here. One of the arguments against the system is no one wants a dedicated handheld these days. Multifunctionality would solve this problem. I don't see it using Android, but I hope the system gets some quality ported apps.

But people asking who wants an Android tablet? Probably the ones who are all in the Android ecosystem and want a tablet? Or are you all Apple/iPad users?

 

[Hindl]

All it needs is Netflix, Youtube, a Browser, and Hulu. Dedicated Twitch and Twitter apps would be nice, but considering the vast majority of shit done on phones/tablets are those few apps, Android would be a waste. And considering the Wii U had all of those apps, I think there's a good chance it happens.