Which Nintendo Switch to Choose?
The newest Nintendo Switch, commonly known as Switch OLED,was released in October 2021 . This is the fourth major release in a generation of Switch consoles after the original Switch in 2017, Switch V2 in August 2019 (which offered better battery life) and the simpler Switch Lite in September 2019. Four iterations of the system: There are many variations where they all play the same games. So which one should you get? Well, the original Switch isn’t actually on sale anymore, so if you buy the full system in 2021, you’ll almost certainly get the V2. Switch Lite is also fairly easy to cross off the list: if you only want to play handheld, it’s a significantly cheaper alternative at $ 199. But this is a big “if”; Lite cannot be docked and there is no way to play it on a TV, which is a huge drawback if you want to enjoy the Switch’s excellent library of games to play together on the couch .
So the real choice is between V2 and Switch OLED. Here are the main differences to consider when making your purchasing decision.
The four main differences between Switch V2 and Switch OLED
Let’s discuss some of the key differences between the original Switch and the newest Switch OLED model.
Price
The new Switch OLED costs $ 350 , while the original Switch costs $ 300. It doesn’t make much of a difference, but you could choose a game or two for that, so it’s no big deal. The real question is whether the benefits of the OLED model are worth it for you based on your gaming habits.
Design
The Switch OLED design is similar to the original Switch, with some notable differences. There’s a new and improved kickstand, which is a big advantage if you’ve ever played tabletop mode with your controllers detached.
The Switch OLED comes with white Joy-Cons (classic) or blue and red Joy-Cons (classic). The OLED also includes a sleek docking station with an Ethernet LAN port not found in the original.
Screen
OLED, as the name suggests, has a 7-inch OLED screen compared to the original’s 6-inch LCD screen. The screen is the most significant difference between the two models. The technology of organic light emitting diodes of the first gives a more vivid color and still deeper black. If you mainly play handheld this is a big improvement. If you always or mostly play the docking station, this is not a problem.
Storage space
The 64GB OLED display on the Switch has double the storage capacity of the V2. Either switch gives you the option to use a microSD card to add more storage, but buying a larger card for the V2 will eat up the price difference between the two.
So is Switch OLED worth the extra money?
Since they aren’t much different from each other, it all comes down to how you play. If you haven’t purchased any switch model yet and plan to play handhelds at least for a while, opt for an OLED screen and enjoy the extra storage.
If you already own the Switch V2 (or even the 2017 original) it probably isn’t worth updating it unless you mostly play handhelds and really don’t want to own the best version of all of your devices. And you can rest assured that any Switch you buy will provide a great gaming experience.