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v1.1: Android Arrives

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@hashtagbasit hashtagbasit released this 25 Sep 21:18
· 115 commits to main since this release
v1.1
a991581

Android apps on your Pocket FIT, right inside SteamOS! Plus a big pile of fixes. Android support is still in beta: most apps and games I tried run great, a few still don't. Grab it, have fun, and let me know what breaks.

What's new

Android, built in (beta)

  • Google Play Store comes preinstalled. It's sitting in your Steam library after you sign in, just hit Play.
  • Every app or game you install gets its own tile in your library with its real name and icon. Install from the Play Store and it just appears, like any other game.
  • Got an .apk, .apkm, .xapk or .apks? Double click it in Desktop Mode, or drop it in ~/Android/Inbox, and it installs and gets a tile too.
  • Controller, touchscreen, swipes, pinch zoom and a touch keyboard all work. Back, Home and Recents work from Android's nav bar.
  • Steam → Exit Game closes the app properly.

Install to internal storage

  • It can now boot from the Pocket FIT's internal storage instead of the microSD card, and it's way snappier that way. See the note below.

Everything else

  • Decky Loader and the KONKR Control plugin are preinstalled and actually there this time (a lot of you didn't have them on v1.0, so no keys fix either. Sorry about that!)
  • Press the KONKR button and you get a Silent / Balanced / Turbo popup on screen, like on Android. No more digging through the QAM to see which mode you're in.
  • Louder speakers, and the crackling in games is gone.
  • QAM button works again.
  • Desktop Mode has its app menu back and the on-screen keyboard pops up when you tap a text box.
  • Discover installs are a bit quicker.

Install (microSD)

  1. Download the three .7z files into the same folder.
  2. Open the .7z.001 one with 7-Zip or WinRAR (Windows) or Keka (Mac) and extract it. You get one .img file.
  3. Flash the .img to a microSD card (32GB or bigger) with balenaEtcher.
  4. If you've never done this before, flash ROCKNIX ABL 1.1.8 or newer first (once is enough).
  5. Put the card in, hold Volume Down while powering on, set device model to KONKR Pocket FIT, boot mode Linux, then START.

First boot takes a couple of minutes, then it's the normal Steam setup. Done!

Internal storage

The system can boot from internal storage now (in the ABL menu, set Boot source to Internal). Installing to internal means repartitioning it, which wipes Android's data, so I don't want anyone doing that by hand. A simple installer and a proper guide are coming in the next update.

Android beta, good to know

  • The first time you open the Play Store it downloads Lepton (Valve's Android layer) through Steam. Be online and give it a few minutes.
  • The Play Store tile can take a minute to appear after your first Steam sign in.
  • Games with anti-cheat that blocks emulators won't run, and a few other apps still crash. Working on it.
  • It's Android 11 without Google certification, so the odd app may complain.

Known issues

  • Real sleep doesn't wake up reliably yet, so standby is the default. It still sips about 1W.
  • It gets warm in heavy games. Silent mode or a frame limit helps.
  • The first app you install from Discover also downloads about 1GB of shared stuff, so that one takes a while.

Supporting the project

If you're enjoying this and want to help me keep going:

Ko-fi PayPal

Can't donate? No worries at all, a ⭐ on the repo helps a ton too. Thanks!

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