The Nintendo Switch OLED is an excellent handheld gaming device that combines Nintendo's powerful game library with a larger, more vibrant screen. Of course, OLED screens have a few drawbacks compared to standard LCD models. For one, they are more expensive. They are difficult to manufacture. And, of course, the screens are prone to burn-in. But owners of Switch OLEDs can rest assured about the last point, as long as they don't plan on looking at one screen for more than 11 weeks.
The findings come courtesy of YouTuber Bob Wulff, who has a technology channel called "Wulff Den." One of his latest videos, "I left on my OLED Nintendo Switch for 1,800 hours straight," is an encouraging story. Wanting to test whether Nintendo's new handhelds were susceptible to burn-in, he organized an experiment to test the devices directly. To make a long story short, burn-in is not a concern.
To test the Switch's OLED, Wulff took a colorful screenshot of "The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild" and crafted the Switch to stay lit indefinitely at full screen brightness. He accomplished this using a third-party Hori controller that provides the ability to automatically press buttons, as the Switch automatically turns off the screen if the user does not press a button from time to time. He also kept the device plugged in because the Switch's OLED battery lasts from five to nine hours on a single charge.
In the end, Wulff left the device plugged in for 1,800 hours, or more than 10 weeks. After he picked up the Switch again, he checked the screen for signs of burn-in and compared its color accuracy to other Switch consoles. As far as he could tell, the Switch's OLED was not adversely affected by the prolonged Zelda display. This should help reassure OLED skeptics, he argued.
It is important to remember that if you are not building a system that will keep the Switch running indefinitely, you have even less to worry about burn-in. The screen will turn off after a few minutes of inactivity, and the battery itself will drain after a few hours of full operation. (We thoroughly tested the Switch's OLED battery's duration.) Furthermore, all of the Switch's OLED displays are made by Samsung, so there is no need to worry about potential differences between screen manufacturers.
The Switch's OLEDs are not perfect game consoles, but at least they don't seem to fall prey to the common OLED shortcomings. However, Wulff plans to run the screen for an even longer period of time in his next test to see how far he can take the system. Until then, feel free to check out some of the best Nintendo Switch games you can play on the Switch OLED and regular Switch.
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