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Nintendo Switch Hardware Review


It has been a long time coming but the successor to the flop that was the Wii U is finally here! I've got my hands on one with the neon red and blue Joycons and this an overview of the system hardware.

TABLET
The Switch itself, the tablet, is small in size but has a nice solid feel to it. On the top you have sleep and volume buttons, headphone jack and the cartridge slot. Personally I would rather the headphone jack was on the bottom for handheld mode but in terms of tabletop mode it makes a lot of sense to be on the top edge of the device. The kickstand on the rear is extremely flimsy and doesn't feel the sturdy when holding the table but it does its job just fine on flat and stable surfaces. The screen itself is one of the best 720p screens I have seen in terms of colour range and brightness.

JOYCONS
The Joycons that slide on and off the side of the Switch are made out of a grippy plastic and the red and blue colours are bright and vibrant and give the device quite a bit more character than the grey option. The buttons themselves are nice and clicky and not as crowded as I'd thought they'd be due to the small size. The triggers however are digital rather than the analogue triggers you'd find on the Xbox One. This means there can only be one input from them - on/off. This may lead to strange controls in game such as EA Sport's Fifa which make use of multiple inputs from analogue triggers. When the Joycons are in the grip it creates a very comfortable option for people who prefer a traditional controller choice compared to having a Joycon in each hand separately. So far I have seen very little reason to spend £60 on the Pro Controller.

Neon Joycons

DOCK
The Dock is a plastic shell that does it's job for housing the console when in TV mode or charging the tablet. The cable management solution is a neat addition to the dock for people who like to keep their cables hidden from view. It could easily be a lot less bulky though as there is an awful lot of empty space in this.

SWITCHING
The combination of all this hardware gives the user 3 different ways to play. TV mode, tabletop mode and handheld mode. Switching between these three modes is a breeze and I have yet to have any problems with controller disconnection which is one of the things I could see happening when switching between modes. My personal favourite mode is TV mode as I really like the Joycons in the grip.

Switch in handheld mode

OVERALL
My experience with the Switch so far has been great and the hardware has serious potential for future releases. Hopefully third party developers get on board and deliver some top games.
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