Switch OLED hands-on preview: Is Nintendo's new screen worth the price hike?
The Nintendo Switch OLED has a bigger, better screen... but is that enough?
Ever since Nintendo Switch OLED pre-orders began, one question has lingered: is this new model of the Switch console worthy of its increased price tag? Fans who already own older versions of the Switch have been wondering if it's worth paying that higher price to get the shiny new model.
To try and answer that question, RadioTimes.com travelled up to Nintendo's UK offices last week to put this new system to the test. We played the first couple of hours of Metroid Dread on the machine, and now we're allowed to talk about it.
The Switch OLED price point is set at £309.99 GBP on the Nintendo website, making it noticeably more expensive than the regular Switch (£259.99) and the Switch Lite (£199.99). But what do you really get for your extra £50+ investment, and is that difference worth the uptick in cost?
Now that we've tried the new Nintendo machine for ourselves, read on for our first impressions as we try to determine whether the Nintendo Switch OLED Model represents good value for money. Let's-a go!
Of course, the main appeal of the Nintendo Switch OLED Model is its new screen – it has a 7-inch screen in handheld mode, which is noticeably bigger than the displays you'd find on the regular Switch (6.2 inches) and the Switch Lite (5.5 inches). The Switch and the Switch Lite both had LCD screens, as well, whereas the Nintendo Switch OLED Model has an OLED screen – obviously!
If you're wondering whether this really makes much of a difference, we're pleased to report that it does. As soon as Metroid Dread booted up, we could tell that the colours on the screen were brighter, deeper and more vivid than we'd normally expect to see on the base Switch or the Switch Lite. Going back to an older Switch after trying the OLED definitely made those outdated displays look a bit dull and washed out in comparison.
That bigger screen makes a difference, too, with those extra inches allowing in-game text to seem a little bit larger and making it possible for wider environments to fit on the screen. The actual processing power hasn't changed, nor has the overall resolution, but this bigger display does make it easier to get immersed in handheld action without having to squint at the screen.
Playing the first few hours of Metroid Dread – a game that's stuffed with colourful enemies that are hard to take down, lengthy corridors that you need to parse at speed, and colour-coded doors that relate to various power-ups you acquire throughout the game – we felt like the Switch OLED was giving us a little bit of an edge. The game will run just the same on a regular Switch, but the OLED's enhanced colours and wider screen certainly come in handy.
While we wait for the potential arrival of the fabled Nintendo Switch Pro – the highly rumoured next-gen version of the Switch that could make 4K play and speedier loading possible – the Nintendo Switch OLED Model seems to be a strong successor to the original Switch. A bigger, better screen may not sound like much on paper, but it definitely adds some extra richness to those on-the-go gaming sessions.
The other differences with the Nintendo Switch OLED Model are a bit more subtle. The Joy-con controllers feel unchanged, but you might notice that the volume buttons on the top-side of the console have had a bit of a redesign – the up and down buttons are now a bit wider, without a gap in between them, which should make those on-the-fly audio adjustments a bit easier.
Speaking of things getting bigger, on the rear of the console, you'll see that the kickstand is now a lot wider. While the original Switch had one poultry leg on its back, the OLED Model has a wider kickstand that runs nearly the whole length of the console – more like the kickstand you'd find on the back of a Microsoft Surface. If you often find yourself propping up your Switch in what Nintendo calls 'Tabletop mode', this improvement should make the OLED Model rather appealing to you – in our hands-on session, we thought it looked like a significant upgrade.
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There are also a couple of improvements that we didn't get to see during our hands-on session with the Nintendo Switch OLED Model – we didn't get to see the console's new dock, but we understand that it now has a LAN port built-in, allowing you to connect up an ethernet cable and hardwire your console into the internet. If you're a player of competitive multiplayer titles like Fortnite, this should come in very handy. The speakers on the Switch OLED are said to be better than their predecessors, as well, but we chose to play with headphones on.
All in all, the Nintendo Switch OLED Model does feel like an upgrade on the regular Switch and the Switch Lite. During our hands-on time with the console, we really were impressed by the new screen's improved colour offering and its added width. The other changes are more subtle, but they all add up. This isn't the 4K-giving, SSD-powered Switch Pro we were hoping for, but the OLED Model is certainly an improvement on the previous versions of the Switch. If you were on the fence, you might want to start thinking about trading in your old Switch and pre-ordering the OLED. For our money, the increased cost is justified.
Read more: Our hands-on preview of Metroid Dread, a sci-fi sequel laced with horror
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Authors
Rob Leane is the Gaming Editor at Radio Times, overseeing our coverage of the biggest games on PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile and VR. Rob works across our website, social media accounts and video channels, as well as producing our weekly gaming newsletter. He has previously worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional and Dennis Publishing.
