The new Nintendo Switch 2 boasts several notable enhancements compared to the original model, particularly when put side by side with the version launched in 2017. A significant part of these improvements is due to the more potent APU it houses; however, the standout change you’ll likely notice first is the larger, sharper screen. In contrast, this could also be an area where the Switch 2 might not quite meet up with its earlier version in terms of performance.
Following its launch, some users began noticing a certain blurriness in the handheld display, which led several tech publications to investigate more thoroughly. Among them, Hardware Unboxed – renowned for their detailed reviews of PC hardware and monitors – performed tests on the Nintendo Switch 2’s screen. In particular, they focused on the screen’s response time by running it through 20 gray-to-gray transitions to measure response times. Their findings indicated that the Switch 2’s LCD was one of the slowest they had ever tested, with a response time of 33.3 milliseconds.
To provide some perspective, Hardware Unboxed found this performance similar to a typical LCD screen you might find in budget displays currently available. Their tests resulted in an average response time of 6.3 milliseconds. However, it’s worth mentioning that when compared to the original Switch’s LCD, which is over eight years old, the new display had a response time nearly twice as slow at 21.3 milliseconds. Digital Foundry, in their detailed review of Nintendo Switch 2 this week, pointed out similar issues with the display, stating that “The display on the Switch 2 has blurring characteristics that are significantly worse than the display on the 2017 Switch.
Fast response times are crucial because they allow for smoother transitions between on-screen images, especially when dealing with objects in motion. In contrast, slower response times can cause a noticeable blur effect due to the delay in switching from one frame to another. This issue is exacerbated when devices like the Switch 2 are running games at a preferred frame rate of 60fps, which is commonly used in most first-party titles. To elaborate, a new frame takes approximately 16.67ms to render when operating at 60Hz. However, it takes twice as long for the display to transition from one frame to the next, creating a substantial bottleneck that diminishes the benefits of enhanced motion clarity provided by higher refresh rates. This same issue would be even more pronounced in games utilizing the full 120Hz capacity of the new display.
It seems there may be a reason for the issue at hand, and Hardware Unboxed proposes that Nintendo opted to limit overdrive support for the display, which consumes more power to facilitate faster transitions, in order to improve battery life. Since the screen on the Nintendo Switch 2 is brighter and larger than its predecessor, this trade-off could lead to slower transition speeds. Given that the Nintendo Switch 2 comes with a smaller 19Wh battery compared to Valve’s Steam Deck, these energy savings might be necessary. However, if the reduced transition speed is apparent and negatively impacts portable gaming, it may deter users until improvements are made, assuming they are addressed at all.
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2025-06-24 22:40