Will These 9 Popular iOS Apps Ever Come to Nintendo Switch?

Nintendo Switch or iPhone/iPad? Why can’t we have both? When the Nintendo Switch first hit the market it seemed fun, but also kind of odd. Why would anyone want to buy a portable, touchscreen game console when our mobile devices are capable of so much?

Now, almost a year later, Switch is on fire and it’s even showing some of us adults what it’s like to be a kid again. Nintendo Switch has proven to be a viable, hybrid console that has games that are great for individuals and families. But there is just one thing it’s missing: Apps. Although Nintendo included a touchscreen on their popular new console, perfect for apps, it's just not taken advantage of often enough.

Streaming service Hulu brought a non-gaming app to the Switch back in November, and now it’s rumored Netflix may becoming out with their own app. But we need more. Use the right arrow to browse 9 apps that need to come to the Nintendo Switch.

9 YouTube

This one just seems like a no-brainer. YouTube is available on almost everything and people like watching YouTube on almost everything, too. Given how popular YouTube has become with the gaming community it just makes sense.

Gamers could look up a walkthrough for the game they’re playing, upload videos to their gaming channel, and mindlessly browse YouTube’s massive content collection when they’ve become tired of stomping goombas.

8 Duolingo

Duolingo is a great app for learning new languages. Because of it’s game-like learning environment, it might make an excellent app on Nintendo Switch. Additionally, Duolingo could add a multiplayer experience with the Joy-Con controllers where players compete to answer questions first.

If they wanted, the developers could take it a step further and build an actual gaming experience around learning a language. It could feature their mascot—a green owl named Duo—going on an adventure with dialogue in the language that the user is learning. Duolingo was made popular by treating language-learning like a game, it’s time to take that to the next level.

7 Spotify

Spotify, Amazon Prime, or Apple Music (hey, people can dream) would all make excellent music service options on the Nintendo Switch. Spotify seems the most likely and could allow gamers to listen to their favorite songs while they play.

6 Night Sky

Night Sky is a stunning app that visualizes the sky around you. It’s a fun app for all ages and encourages learning and discovery. Users can look at constellations, planets, satellites, and more. The Switch’s gyroscopes would make this app possible and Nintendo could release a Labo telescope that lets users utilize the Joy-Con to point at what they want to see on their TV.

5 Cozmo

Cozmo is an awesome toy robot with an incredibly cute and mischievous personality. One of the biggest downsides to Cozmo is that it must be connected to a phone via Wi-Fi. By making the Cozmo app available on Nintendo Switch, parents could let kids use the game console instead of their phones when playing with Cozmo. Additionally, the physical controls would be perfect for driving Cozmo around.

4 Sphero

Also in the robotics realm of things, Sphero creates small ball-shaped and Star Wars themed robots that have a wide variety of uses and programming options. Opening up Sphero to Nintendo Switch could really boost the tiny robots’ potential. Developers could code mini games that work with Sphero and users could operate Sphero using the Switch as a controller. What’s more, Nintendo and Spherion could partner up for some really cool Labo ideas.

3 Speed Test

Oh come on! Don’t pretend like this won’t come to Switch eventually. Everyone likes to know what their bandwidth performance looks like like from time-to-time. Of course, I’m still waiting for an LTE-connected Switch to truly make the console mobile.

2 Movies Anywhere

While bringing iTunes to Switch will probably never happen, Movies Anywhere would be the next best thing (and possibly even better). Movies Anywhere links your iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, and VUDU accounts so that all of your movies can be accessed in one place.

Bringing Movies Anywhere to Nintendo Switch would let users stream or download a wide variety of their purchases video content, helping the Switch become a key player in the living room.

1 Pandora

Pandora seems to be the go-to streaming radio service for those who don’t use Spotify or Apple Music. Bringing Pandora to Switch could let players jam out to their favorite stations while they hunt for Korok seeds in Legend of Zelda or battle Pokémon in Pokkén Tournament.

Whatever music apps end up coming to the Switch, hopefully Nintendo will give us the option to listen to them while playing games.

Final Thoughts

Whether or not Nintendo will allow more apps onto its platform remains to be seen, but Apple was hesitant about third-party apps when it launched the iPhone, and now it’s one of the best things they ever did. Nintendo might want to take a leaf out of App Store playbook and open up their hardware to more developers.