In case you missed it, in our hands-on preview from August we already shared our first impressions of the Switch oled. In this review, we’ll go into more detail about the improvements.
Now that we have been able to test the Switch Oled ourselves for a lot longer, the new screen continues to impress. With every game you start it is a pleasure to discover how the graphics come out better thanks to the OLED screen. From the first start up, there is an Auto Brightness that must be turned off to experience the benefits of OLED. Especially games with a dark art style such as Hollow Knight or Metroid Dread show what contrast and deep blacks the Switch Oled can offer.
Er there are two settings for the color intensity of the screen: High and Standard. Initially, the Switch Oled is set to High, which is especially true with the colorful Nintendo games such as Super Mario Odyssey or Mario Kart 8 : Deluxe ensures a spectacular result. The default setting gives a slightly more neutral color profile, but we preferred to leave the setting at High. The viewing angle of the screen is also much better with the Switch Oled, which is very useful in multiplayer games in table top mode.
In sunlight this screen doesn’t perform much better than its predecessors. Even with the highest brightness, it is difficult to see everything in bright sunlight, which is also a permanent problem with smartphones and OLED TVs. Unfortunately, the Switch Oled will not offer any improvement for holidaymakers who want to play games on the beach.
The size of the screen does make a real difference. It’s nice to be able to use the larger 7-inch screen instead of the 6.2-inch on the original Switch. It may sound like a small difference, but especially in games where there is a lot going on on the screen or with a lot of small UI elements, it is useful to have more screen space at your disposal. It’s still a shame that the games don’t run at a higher resolution, because the serrations of the maximum 720p resolution with the new screen stand out a little more.
OLED screens are prone to burn-in; remnants of elements on the screen that remain visible even when something else is displayed. In our roughly one-week test, we didn’t have nearly enough time to be even slightly bothered by this, but the same applies to all current OLED screens: don’t leave the same screen on for hours and make sure the sleep mode and option ‘Screen saver ‘ is on. We will probably only be able to say in a few months, or even years, whether the Switch Oled suffers from burn-in, but the built-in safety nets undoubtedly ensure that few gamers are affected by this.
The Switch Oled is equipped with speakers with ‘enhanced audio’, but what has actually been improved remains unclear. The position of the speakers has been adjusted somewhat and the speaker slots are also slightly wider. Only if we pick up an original Switch and play identical sounds on both devices, it becomes clear that there is a minimal improvement in the quality of the sound.
Another low-impact upgrade is the increased internal storage space. 64GB is now available instead of 32GB. Switch games are often a lot smaller than Xbox or PlayStation chunks (Metroid Dread turns out to be only 4.1 GB, for example), but most Switch users still need an extra SD card. The battery in the Switch Oled offers almost as much fun on a full battery as the updated Switch from 2019, but the exact playing time depends on the game and brightness.
Furthermore, the material of the housing has been changed from plastic to something that feels more like metal. Together with the glossy finish on the front and of course the larger screen, this gives the Switch a slightly more premium feel. It is remarkable that the Switch Oled is slightly wider than the original Switch. We have hoisted the console in several cases and found that this will not cause any problems. Maybe specific grips are no longer compatible with the Switch Oled, but otherwise it doesn’t matter.
The dock also has the slightly more premium feel in comparison thanks to the glossy finish on the inside and a refined design. In addition to the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, the console also looks slightly sleeker compared to the original angular dock. The new network connection continues to work as expected and does nothing but the dongle that you may already have lying around. A small adjustment that we liked is the possibility to remove the rear cover completely. This means less fiddling with cables, especially if you move the Switch often.
In the end, the Switch Oled is the best version of the Switch up to now. The OLED screen gives every game a visual boost and the refinements in the housing and dock provide a system that feels more luxurious. The fact remains that the improvements almost only affect players who use the console in handheld mode. For gamers who are going to buy their first Switch, it is without a doubt recommended to go for the Switch Oled, despite the higher price tag. For current Switch owners it is a slightly more difficult issue and it depends on whether you can still get a nice amount for your current console. It’s a shame there’s no Switch Pro (for now), but luckily there’s plenty to love about the Switch Oled.
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