Yuzu, the Nintendo Switch emulator, is now available on Google Play

Yuzu, the most popular Nintendo Switch emulator for PC, has released an Android version that you can already play. download from google play. This version does not yet have parity with desktop builds and is missing some features such as LAN/LDN multiplayer, however its performance when it comes to running games is remarkable when you consider that several titles run at 30 and 60 frames per second. And this is only the beginning.

The team responsible for Yuzu, which is the same one that develops Citra, the Nintendo 3DS emulator, warns that the first versions of the emulator for Android should be considered as a beta. In addition, those interested have to know that compatibility and performance may vary depending on the device. With time, work, and patience—an emulator’s three best allies—the team hopes to optimize features, compatibility, and performance on Android. Because Yuzu’s code is modular and interface independent, improvements on Windows and Linux will also help improve the experience on Android.

“Android is a platform with a huge user base, but it comes with a lot of problems. Because there is a wide variety of hardware in Android devices, compatibility and performance will vary,” warns the Yuzu team. The emulator has a number of requirements and the main one is a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC with Adreno GPU. Phones with Exynos, Mediatek or other processors will not work due to GPU drivers, at least in the near future. In addition, Yuzu requires advanced hardware for a better experience. For example, a Snapdragon 865 and 8 GB of RAM.

Yuzu for Android is able to use drivers of custom GPUs, including the latest official Adreno or Mesa Turnip. If compatibility is what you are looking for, Yuzu currently prefers a device with an Adreno 600 GPU with drivers Turnip table, while the best performance is offered by the Adreno 700 series (Snapdragon 8 Gen 1 or higher). No proof yet, but Exynos 2200s with RDNA2 might also work fine.

Also keep in mind that Yuzu is processor intensive which can lead to device overheating which will cause thermal throttling and performance loss of 30-50%. Regarding RAM, the minimum is 8 GB, but in this sense, more is better. For example, The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom requires 12 GB right now. To adjust the performance of the emulator, Yuzu for Android offers several options such as turning off Docked mode or lowering the resolution.