Review Switch OLED Review - 1 year in

The Nintendo Switch is an interesting console for me. It was the first system I’ve ever bought on launch day and it came back to bite in many ways. There wasn’t much to play on it for months, the battery life on my launch day model was the worst I’ve ever had in a portable device, my system was scratched up quickly from using the dock, and I had stick drift on my joycons in the first three weeks of owning a system. All of these issues have made me decide to never buy a console on launch day again. It’s just risking myself to hardware issues and a lack of games to choose from. Despite that I kept my launch day 2017 Switch for several years and mostly used it docked since using it on handheld was so rough.

When the Switch OLED was released in 2021 I skipped out on it for a long time since it didn’t seem like a big enough difference to warrant getting a second Switch. By 2022 however, the fans and battery in my launch day Switch were in such terrible shape I asked for a new Switch. On my 21st birthday in 2023 I received an imported white Switch OLED, what would turn out to be the best birthday gift I’ve ever had. I transferred my saves to the new system, redownloaded all my games, wiped my old Switch and sold it for a reasonable price to a family who just really wanted a Switch in any condition as long as it worked. The only loss was my five star Animal Crossing island I had spent 245 hours on.

Right away I noticed the difference in build quality. The power and volume buttons felt much more reliable than the launch model and the back of the system had a much nicer feel. It was a noticeable improvement. Then I turned it on.

The biggest difference in the system is obviously the screen. It’s almost a full inch bigger than the original and uses an OLED screen rather than the dimmer than preferred LCD screen of the original. The colors by default are tuned to be oversaturated. It looks fantastic with first party Nintendo games and games going for a more cartoony look. For games with darker lighting your mileage may vary. I prefer the oversaturated colors, but if that sounds too intense for you there’s an option in the system settings to make the colors more natural while preserving the enhanced contrast.

Every Switch OLED screen has a varying degree of graininess if you look up close. On mine it’s only noticeable on the menu when it’s all black. During actual gameplay it isn’t noticeable at all. The larger screen also has a drawback, that being lower pixel density. Games look more pixelated on the OLED than they do on other models since the 720p resolution of the original is still the same. It’s not too bad most of the time and I wouldn’t say it affects the look of the games nearly as much as say the 3DS XL.

Going back to old games on the OLED is a treat and makes them look so much more alive. I rarely play docked anymore since the handheld screen is so nice. The games I’ve noticed the most improvements on are Hades, Animal Crossing New Horizons, and Mario Kart 8. I feel more immersed in those games since they already looked good to begin with and the OLED’s brighter colors just enhance that. It makes me wish the launch model had an OLED screen too.

If you went from a launch model Switch like me the difference in battery life is very noticeable. Unlike the original I can play long sessions and still have plenty of battery left. I never feel like it never burns too quickly, even on graphically intense games that on the launch model Switch would barely last two hours. My number one complaint of the original Switch was addressed and I couldn’t be happier.

Unlike the New 3DS XL, Nintendo made no effort to improve the comfort of handheld mode with the joycons. It’s just as, if not more, uncomfortable since the system is overall heavier than the original. Once I got a third party grip for handheld mode I never wanted to go back. The default Switch OLED is just not ideal for long gaming sessions even with the better battery life purely because of physical discomfort.

Overall I’m very happy with my Switch OLED. It gave me new reasons to try a system I had otherwise been moving away from. It feels like the Switch Nintendo wanted to release in 2017, but couldn’t for cost reasons. If you already have a Switch in good condition with a good battery life I’d say it’s not worth the upgrade, especially now that the Switch is in its final year or so of being Nintendo’s primary system. If you’re like me and your old Switch has seen better days, then I say it’s well worth the money. I think it’s much better than my old 2017 Switch and I don’t think I’ll ever get another one.