In summary, you probably don't have to stress about the 32-bit OS on the Shield TV dongle.
However, Google has shown no interest in doing the same with Android - developers aren't even required to create 64-bit binaries yet.
Apple recently dropped support for all 32-bit software across both Mac and iPhone, and many Linux-based operating systems are moving away from 32-bit. Some of the panic around this issue has come from the 32-bit exodus that has been going on for the past few years. Amazon has done the same with some of its Fire tablets. Several Motorola phones in the past have used 32-bit Android to reduce memory usage, like the Moto G6. It's worth noting that Nvidia is not the only manufacturer that has done this. By going with 32-bit Android TV, Nvidia could stretch 2GB of RAM even further than it could with 64-bit Android TV, improving the overall experience. It's important to keep in mind that 64-bit operating systems generally perform worse on systems with under 3-4GB of RAM than the 32-bit equivalents, even with identical CPUs. Both models support all Android TV apps, Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos and our new AI Upscaling feature.
SHIELD TV Pro continues to support 64-bit for enthusiast users who want to sideload the rare instances when an app is 64-bit-only. By moving SHIELD TV to 32-bit we were able to bring it to a lower price point without impacting the user experience for the vast majority of our users.
As a result, SHIELD TV supports all Android TV apps. So, the question remains: why did Nvidia go with 32-bit Android TV on the Shield dongle? We reached out to the company with that very question, and the answer is perhaps unsurprising - Nvidia wanted a more economical price:įor an app to be Android TV-compliant, it must support 32-bit. It just couldn't be improved any further. Just like why we removed our 32-bit x86 JIT, ARMv7's 32-bit nature required all manner of crazy workarounds and prevented countless optimizations. Update: Nvidia told us the games simply require 3GB of RAM to run.Īs for the Dolphin emulator, a post on the project's blog from 2018 explains that a 64-bit CPU is required because it was too difficult to maintain compatibility with all 32-bit architectures (including 32-bit x86 PCs):ĪRMv7, as a 32-bit only architecture, was simply too limited for Dolphin to ever obtain fullspeed in 99% of Dolphin's catalog. While Nvidia never clarified why most of the Shield-exclusive catalog is missing, my guess is that the company either can't release 32-bit versions (perhaps due to expired agreements/lack of developer interest), or doesn't believe the games would work well enough with only 2GB of RAM. Nvidia's website lists the applications that won't work on the dongle, which include most of the older Shield-exclusive titles and the Wii/GameCube emulator Dolphin: Many buyers have pointed this out since release, and some have even returned their Shields, believing the 32-bit limitation to be a deal-breaker. Even though the processor is capable of running 64-bit Android TV, Nvidia decided to go with 32-bit Android TV on the dongle. While the Pro has 3GB of RAM, the dongle only has 2GB. It was later discovered that the dongle ran a 32-bit version of Android TV, which caused some to worry about incompatible apps, but you (probably) have nothing to worry about.īoth of 2019's Shield TV devices use the same Tegra X1+ processor, but they differ in RAM amounts. Late last year, Nvidia released a pair of new Shield TV devices: the tube-shaped Shield TV dongle, and the more traditional Shield TV Pro.