The Switch OLED is good — but here's why you shouldn't upgrade

The Switch OLED is good — but hither's why you shouldn't upgrade

(Image credit: Tom'due south Guide)

The Nintendo Switch OLED has excited and perplexed fans in equal mensurate, ever since Nintendo announced it dorsum in July. A new Switch model with a prettier OLED screen and a sturdier kickstand sounded useful. At the same time, a new Switch model without 4K output or improved functioning seemed like a missed opportunity.

Now that the device is finally here, I retrieve it's fair to say that both arguments have merit. Information technology's just that the "missed opportunity" argument has more merit for electric current Switch owners.

First and foremost, if you haven't read our Nintendo Switch OLED review, it'due south definitely worth a look. In it, I break downwardly the Switch OLED'south strengths and weaknesses in groovy detail, from its elevation screen to its conservative components.

Play the best Nintendo Switch games
Larn where to purchase the Nintendo Switch online
Plus: Sorry Nintendo fans, the Switch OLED hasn't killed Joy-Con drift

If you don't have fourth dimension to read the whole thing right now, though, the bottom line is this: If you're a commencement-time Switch heir-apparent, you lot should purchase the $350 Switch OLED instead of the $300 base Switch. If yous already own a base of operations Switch model, however, there'south no real reason to upgrade. I desire to reiterate that point, considering information technology could potentially save you, the reader, a good deal of money.

Nintendo Switch OLED upgrades

Nintendo Switch OLED kickstand — (Prototype credit: Nintendo)

To review briefly, there are 4 principal differences betwixt the base Switch and the Switch OLED:

The base Switch has a half dozen-inch LCD screen; the Switch OLED has a 7-inch OLED screen
The base Switch has a small, flimsy kickstand; the Switch OLED has a large, sturdy kickstand
The base Switch has small, workmanlike speakers; the Switch OLED has larger, more robust speakers
The base Switch relies exclusively on Wi-Fi; the Switch OLED's dock has an Ethernet port

I like all of these upgrades, and call up that each one adds a tangible level of utility to the Switch. The screen makes games look better; the kickstand helps the console stand freely; the speakers provide better audio; and the Ethernet port helps download games faster.

At the same time, none of these made a nighttime-and-solar day divergence between the Switch OLED and the base Switch that I've been using for four years. A 6-inch LCD screen at 720p is not that different from a 7-inch OLED screen at 720p. The kickstand is only situationally useful, and the speakers are moot with a good pair of headphones. Plus, the Switch runs perfectly well on Wi-Fi.

When Nintendo start announced the Switch OLED, I saw a contingent of early adopters falling over themselves to be commencement in line for a pre-gild. What'south unusual was that many of them already owned Switches.

If y'all've already pre-ordered the Switch OLED and it's on its way to your business firm every bit we speak, at that place's not much y'all can do. Get ahead and enjoy it, and I hope you can requite your sometime Switch to a friend or family unit member in demand.

If, on the other manus, the Switch OLED piqued your interest, but you weren't certain whether yous really needed another Switch in your life, I'm here to tell yous that you lot don't. The upgrades are marginal in handheld manner — and about totally superfluous in docked mode. One time you hook the Switch OLED up to a Television, then the panel's screen, speakers and kickstand don't factor into the equation anymore.

The perils of early adoption

Nintendo switch oled — (Paradigm credit: Tom'due south Guide)

At this point, I should take a moment and remind readers that your money is your own, and what you practice with information technology is none of my business organization. If $350 won't interruption the bank and y'all call back a Switch OLED will bring you joy, and so y'all should go alee and buy one with my blessing. You'll almost certainly enjoy the bigger, brighter, more than colorful screen and the other small improvements.

Withal, for whatsoever Switch owner who'southward mulling over an OLED upgrade, I think it's worth taking a step back and asking yourself why yous want it. Is it considering of the screen? That'due south fair, but the new screen is yet a 720p, 60 Hz display, which can't help but feel limiting in a globe of 4K consoles and QHD smartphones. That, and as I'm always cracking to point out, your eyes volition adapt to a pretty new screen faster than you might think.

Equally for the other three improvements, you can retrofit your existing Switch for relatively little money. The base Switch now supports Bluetooth speakers, so the OLED's sound quality isn't impossible to mimic. Enough of third-political party cases and kickstands help the base Switch stay upright. And you can get an Ethernet adapter for $thirty.

Psychologically speaking, getting a shiny new console is satisfying in a way that upgrading your old console but isn't. Only, psychologically speaking, the happiness yous get from buying expensive new things tends to diminish pretty rapidly. There's a term in economic science that's akin to this miracle: "marginal utility." The more you use something, the more commonplace it becomes, and the less satisfaction yous derive from it.

In other words: that Switch OLED may make yous ecstatic for a week or so. After that, it'll just be the machine yous apply to play Zelda, same as your last Switch.

Time for an upgrade?

Nintendo switch products — (Paradigm credit: Tom'due south Guide)

There is admittedly one circumstance in which I might recommend a base-Switch-to-Switch-OLED upgrade — but I emphasize "might." If you have a base Switch from 2022 or 2022, then your panel has a weaker battery than the Switch OLED. (If yous have a base of operations Switch from Nov 2022 or later, and so you have the same battery every bit the OLED.) Likewise, that three- or 4-year-quondam Switch may have a weakened battery from continuous charging and recharging.

Equally such, if you tin sell or trade in your electric current Switch at a decent margin, then the Switch OLED upgrade may be worthwhile for the battery life alone.

Just, again, this really depends on how you lot use your Switch, and whether a battery upgrade is worth $150 or more than. In our testing, a well-used launch model Switch got three hours and 29 minutes of battery life; a Switch OLED got 5 hours on the dot. An hour and a half of extra battery may not exist that much of a difference, particularly if y'all don't often venture far from power outlets. Similarly, you lot tin become a pretty good portable charger for much less than $150.

In short, there are a few marginal cases where it might make sense for current Switch owners to upgrade to a Switch OLED. However, I think the Switch OLED, in general, makes a lot more sense for newcomers to the Switch family. This mode, you tin save your money for a more robust Switch Pro upgrade, which nosotros'll hopefully become sooner rather than after.

Marshall Honorof is a senior editor for Tom'southward Guide, overseeing the site's coverage of gaming hardware and software. He comes from a science writing background, having studied paleomammalogy, biological anthropology, and the history of science and technology. Afterwards hours, you can detect him practicing taekwondo or doing deep dives on classic sci-fi.