MeinMMO editor Benedikt Schlotmann bought the Switch OLED 4 years ago. How has the OLED display held up after all these years? Has it survived years of gaming? Benedikt explains how his Switch is doing.
In July 2022, I bought the Nintendo Switch OLED after much back and forth. For a long time, I was skeptical about the Nintendo console, but in the end, I even called the Switch my purchase of the year.
I consciously chose the OLED model back then: I wanted to play with the Switch exclusively in handheld mode, as I have my computer for everything else. Therefore, the OLED model was simply the right choice for me.
By now, I have spent about 4 years with my Switch. There have often been reports of concerns that the OLED display might fail over time or show signs of burn-in. I cannot confirm these concerns after many years; however, my Switch has other problems.
It is important that these are truly everyday gaming times. I haven’t done any stress tests or anything similar with my Switch, and I also haven’t disabled any protection features of the OLED. I have simply used my Switch normally as a handheld console: at home on the couch, on the go in the tram, or on a plane on my way to vacation.
Many games with static menus
What have I played? I still use my Switch exclusively in handheld mode, so I can benefit from the great display. The only exception: Ringfit Adventure, which is why the Switch ends up in the docking station. Thanks to Ringfit, I have now run more than 50 kilometers with the Switch.
Over the last 4 years, I have spent hundreds of hours on countless games and am quite surprised in hindsight about what all that was. Here are a few examples of games I spent a lot of time on:
- Persona 5 and Shin Megami Tensei V.
- Countless Pokémon games, including the MOBA Pokémon Unite.
- Various games from the “Rune Factory” series, which I have played extensively. I only skipped part 5.
- Many, many hours in FIFA or now EA FC, but only in single-player mode.
- Baldur’s Gate 2 and Knights of the Old Republic.
- I also spent dozens of hours with Hollow Knight.
Most of these games rely on static menus, which always stay in the same place. This is officially considered a problem when using OLED devices. A YouTuber recently showed how much static menus from Overwatch can stress an OLED display.
The OLED works like at release, the Joy-Cons less so
Even after hundreds of hours spent in various games on the Switch, I can say: I see no visible damage on the OLED display to this day. Whether in the main menu of the Switch or in the games themselves, I have not noticed any disturbing streaks or burned-in menus. And I would notice that because I always have the Switch right in front of my nose in handheld mode.
Whether the brightness has worsened, I cannot check with my home capabilities.
In general, I believe that most players who have similar habits as I do while gaming do not need to worry about “their” OLED display. Three or four hours of daily gaming on the Switch OLED does not harm the Switch or the display, in my opinion. Other things on the Switch will break first:
It is noticeable that I have been carrying my Switch around daily: The left Joy-Con no longer holds properly on the body of the Switch after 4 years, and my device is quite scratched despite the protective case.
Aside from that, my model still works without major issues to this day. I would always prefer the Switch OLED to the regular Switch: Since I played on the Switch OLED, I would (almost) no longer recommend anyone to buy the regular Switch
