Nintendo Switch vs Switch OLED: which should you buy?

Product shots of the Nintendo Switch and Switch OLED
(Image credit: Future/Nintendo)

The Nintendo Switch is one of the most popular consoles to own, ranking in the top five best-selling consoles of all time. Nintendo continue to release plenty of excellent titles and whether you're looking for a fun family game, an epic adventure or a challenging racer, you will be sure to find a game that takes your fancy. 

There are currently three main consoles: the original Nintendo Switch, the Nintendo Switch Lite and the Nintendo Switch OLED. The Switch Lite is the most unique of the bunch. It's a smaller, hand-held only version of the console as you can't detach the Joy-Cons or play in TV. The Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch OLED are pretty similar, but there's enough differences that knowing the details is helpful in choosing which console to buy. Released in 2021, the OLED takes the original console and improves it with a larger display, better battery life, improved speakers and a few other sought-after features that the original console was lacking according to fans.

Our below guide will detail the main differences between the Nintendo Switch vs Nintendo Switch OLED if you're looking to purchase one. We will break down each console to help you decide what to buy, and we have also detail the best Nintendo Switch deals in their own handy guide too!

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Richard Priday

Richard is a tech journalist and writer. He is Staff Writer at Tom's Guide and has a passion for smartphones, gaming and audio. 

With contributions from
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