Nintendo Switch OLED hands-on reviewA gorgeous screen makes a big difference ~ Linchakin

To save you some suspense: If you have a regular Nintendo Switch, there’s very little reason to upgrade to the Nintendo Switch OLED. If, however, you’ve been holding off on Nintendo’s hybrid handheld, the Switch OLED is the best version of the Switch concept so far, with a better screen, better speakers and a better kickstand than the base model.

I had a chance to go hands-on with the Nintendo Switch OLED at a Nintendo press event recently. The device is initially impressive, as an OLED screen really is a cut above a traditional LCD model. That’s as true for handheld gaming consoles as it is for phones and TVs.

In addition, the sound quality from the Switch OLED was better than I expected, and I had an easy time balancing the new console on a tabletop. After an hour and a half with the device, though, I realized that in spite of the Switch OLED’s modest upgrades, it’s still almost identical to the launch model I had at home.

Nintendo Switch OLED: What we like

My time with the Nintendo Switch OLED had two purposes. The first was to play through a preview of Metroid Dread; the second was to evaluate the console itself. I set aside a few minutes to see how the new console differed from existing models – and, as it turned out, a few minutes was all I needed.

Even though Nintendo has been very up-front about the Switch OLED’s specs, I was still surprised to see the Switch OLED’s few differences firsthand. There’s the OLED screen, of course, which is easily the biggest upgrade over the base Switch or Switch Lite. This seven-inch OLED screen is bigger, brighter and more colorful than the base model’s LCD screen, and has a much smaller bezel.

The OLED screen does make a huge difference. In Metroid Dread, the vibrant reds and blues of Samus’s armor popped. At a steady 60 fps, the bounty hunter’s every dash, jump and slide felt impactful.

The OLED screen does, indeed, make a huge difference. In Metroid Dread, the vibrant reds and blues of Samus’s armor popped against the deep blacks of Planet ZDR. At a steady 60 fps, the bounty hunter’s every dash, jump and slide felt immediate and impactful.

On the other hand, after a few minutes, I didn’t pay much attention to the colors or brightness, focusing instead entirely on Metroid Dread’s engrossing gameplay. I’ve written before about how we tend to tune out impressive graphics after a few minutes, and that’s still true here. Metroid Dread is a great-looking game with superb gameplay, and I think that would still be true on a Switch Lite or base Switch. Furthermore, the Switch OLED’s screen still maxes out at 720p resolution. There’s just not a world of difference between a 6-inch LCD screen at 720p and a 7-inch OLED screen at 720p.

The Switch OLED’s speakers worked surprisingly well. A Nintendo rep advised that I could probably just use the console’s built-in speakers for my demo, even though I was in a large conference room with other players nearby, and Metroid sound effects playing in the background. I was skeptical, but after a few minutes with the Switch OLED’s speakers, I conceded that he was right. The Switch OLED’s speakers provide sharper, clearer sound than the base model, and could obviate the need for headphones in handheld mode, depending on where you play.

However, the Switch OLED’s most pleasant surprise, from my perspective, is the console’s kickstand. The base model Nintendo Switch has a tiny, flimsy kickstand which can keep the console upright on only the most stable, level surfaces. The Switch OLED’s kickstand, on the other hand, extends across the whole length of the console, and can lock at a variety of different angles. It’s sturdy and reliable, and it means you won’t have to invest in third-party tech to keep your Switch upright.

One other Switch OLED upgrade is a built-in Ethernet port in the console’s dock. I wasn’t able to evaluate this part of the system, however, as my demo covered the device’s handheld mode only.

The $350 question

Aside from a handsome black-and-white colorway, these four upgrades are about all the Switch OLED can boast over its LCD counterpart. (The Switch OLED also boasts 64 GB internal storage rather than the base model's 32 GB, but this is easy to address with microSD cards.) The screen works as promised, and the speakers are surprisingly good. Still, these upgrades may not mean much, depending on your setup.

If you already own a Switch and tend to play in docked mode, there’s no real point to upgrading. Your TV will act as the console’s screen, speakers and kickstand, so the Switch OLED’s upgrades won’t add much. Having an Ethernet port on the dock might be useful, but not to the tune of $350. You can get an adapter for $30.

The Switch OLED’s components are also identical to what you get in the base model. That means you’ll get the same processing power, the same graphical fidelity (1080p output) and the same performance. The Switch OLED even has the same battery as the base Switch – although how this will affect battery life, we don’t quite know yet. (A bigger screen draws more power, but an OLED screen draws less power; it may be a wash.)

After spending a few hours with the Switch OLED, I think it’s a solid upgrade, and that Nintendo accomplished what it set out to do with this system. I also think that it’s a relatively superfluous purchase for anyone who owns a base model Switch. While the OLED model looks and sounds a little better, it doesn’t improve moment-to-moment gameplay – and it really doesn’t improve anything in a docked setting.

On the other hand, if you don’t already own a Switch and are looking to buy one, the OLED is an easy recommendation. At $350, it costs $50 more than the base Switch. And yet that $50 gets you a lot, particularly a beautiful screen and a more durable kickstand. If you anticipate playing in handheld mode for any significant chunk of time, the $350 Switch OLED seems like a better investment than the $300 base Switch. Granted, if the base model Switch gets a price cut soon, as it did in Europe, this calculus could change.

The Switch OLED will be out on October 8, and Tom’s Guide will have a full review closer to launch.