Well, it's a tablet. Period. So, wich OS will Nintendo use? I really don't see them using Android, even if it's heavily customized to the point of being an independent fork like Amazon did with the Fire line, even though it would be nice so the machine could run apps. 

Or Nintendo are going to use a proprietary OS? As long they provide tools for both low budget projects to build high language programs and to bigger developers to use lower programming its fine to me. But interface does matter. 

They will use their own OS in Switch if i remember correctly.

No chance this going to happen but what I would love to see is dual OS.  

When you start it up you get a option to either boot to Nintendo OS which would be focus around playing Nintendo games and other social things related directly to Nintendo games.

The secound option would be to boot to Nvidia shield OS (android varient).  In tablet mode it would bascially be the os you see with the shield tablet and in console mode it would bascially be what you get with the Shield android TV.

It using a nvidia Tegra SOC so if Nintendo and Nvidia was willing to go into this kind of partnership am pretty sure it would be fairly easy for nvidia to get there OS working on the switch.

My guess is it will be an nintendo proprietary OS.

Proprietary OS as always.

fixed.

And whats your problem.. do you want it to work like a android/ios tablet to.. or whats your point..?

Wii invented their channels idea. It was simple, clean and very oriented to a touch interface.

3DS refined the channels into something good on a small portable screen.

WiiU extended channels to work really well, simple, fast, easily personalizable, etc.

I see NS expanding on that concept. It will work very well with touch and non-touch interfaces, is very simple and similar to iOS/Android type of layouts. Its familiar to the masses and easily consumes games and apps alike.

There are very few reasons for them to move away from this basic approach. There will be improvements with the tech of course, modernizations and efficiencies added, but the basic concept of square-ish boxes that can be games or apps or customizable folders is a good one.

Some of the modernizations will be to bring the advertisements for other content more up-front vs only viewable in notifications/eShop. I'd also see better leverage of social networking (Miiverse, miitomo, as well as FB/TW/Twitch/etc) and your friends/messages/etc at the front-page as well.

I loved their quick-launch feature and I'm betting that returns in some fashion.

**OR**

I still think that Nintendo could take advantage of Android's basic functionality and of course its store. But with a separate "app" to play Nintendo games so as to not allow their games to run in Android itself (piracy issue). This would allow their mobile branch to run on the NS without any additional cost and would dramatically increase the value / functionality of NS as a portable device. It would also allow their hardware OS teams to focus on Nintendo specific apps vs the underlying OS functionality they struggled with during WiiU's launch.

However, I would stress that this would be an Android OS with Google apps built-in and a separate "app" per-se that runs NS gaming. Not an Amazon approach to Android as that would be no gain to Nintendo. They could just continue to build up their Wii/WiiU channels OS and continue to support a limited number of apps if that were the case.

proprietary OS, why would you think otherwise?

Well, Nintendo being as proud as they are, I wild guess that they will use their own OS. IMO this is the best way to go, since theyd know their hardware better, in order to make a more optimized OS for it.

A console with an "other OS" option? That went so well with PS3 ;)

Um, it's not a tablet, period. The Switch is not a touch-screen only device, and tablets don't come equipped with multifunctional controllers with a ton of face buttons.

In any event, why would the Switch not utilize a proprietary OS like every other Nintendo console has before it?  iOS obviously ain't happening, and Android would cause way too many compatibility issues.

Again, it's not strictly a tablet / mobile device.  This is like asking why PS4/X1 don't use iOS or Android.