Computer Shopper - UK (2020-01)

ISSUE383|COMPUTER SHOPPER|JANUARY2020 45

SPECIFICATIONS

PROCESSOROcta-core1.9GHzNvidia Tegra X1•RAM4GB

LPDDR4X•FRONTUSB PORTSNone•REAR USBPORTS

1x USB Type-C•STORAGE32GB•WARRANTYOneyear

RTB•DETAILSwww.nintendo.com•PART CODE

Nintendo Switch Lite

THENINTENDOSWITCH(Shopper352)was
amasterpiece of engineering, with its
detachablecontrollersand docking system
that allows it to be aliving-roomgames
console or aportable handheld device.
The downsidewas that, forthosewho’d
prefer ahandheld-only console, the3DS and
2DShavebeenleft in the cold, andbuyinga
Switch would meanpayingfor featuresyou
might notuse.The Switch Lite couldoffera
compromise: it runs thesame expansive
games library as themainSwitch, butis
smaller and cheaper,atthe costoflosing the
removable controllers andability to connect
to aTV. There’s also no kickstand on theback.

PADDED OUT
There’s been no loss in horsepower.Infact,
the corecomponents have seen aslight
upgrade,withanimproved TegraX1processor
and4GB of moreefficient LPDDR4X RAM.
The720pdisplayhas shrunk only by 0.7in, to
5.5inacross thediagonal.
The now-integrated controls have thesame
layout as aset of docked JoyCons,although a
conventional D-padreplaces the four circular
buttons that theregular Switch has on the left
–ahuge improvementthat feels more natural.
As this is an exclusively handheld console,
it’s fitting that total volume hasshrunk about
22%comparedtothe original Switch.It’s still
long enough to stick outofmost pockets, so
is bestpaired with acarrycase,but it’s stillan
improvement to overall portability;asisthe
reduced weight:275g, down from327g.
The 720pscreen maybesmaller,but it
looks just as good to oureyes,producing
bright, punchy coloursthat appear to leap

right outofthe display. One weirddifference

between the two Switch consoles,however,

is that there’snoauto-brightness setting for

theSwitch Lite’sscreen.This isn’t amajor

problem –you can stilladjust thebrightness

manually –but theambient light sensor

seems apeculiarthing to jettison.

TheSwitch Lite alsomisses an opportunity

to fix one of the originalSwitch’s big

omissions: thelack of supportfor Bluetooth

headphones. Once again,your only optionis

to connect awired pair via the3.5mmjack.

Also missingare the Switch’s HD Rumble

andIRMotion Camera, as well as theJoy Cons’

motion sensor.Again, these canbelived

without, although beware thatsome games

mayrequire these featurestobeplayed,

including big titles such as Mario Party and

1-2-Switch.Inthatcase,you’ll have to buy a

separateset of JoyCons andpair them to the

Switch Lite.The samegoes forgames that

don’t supportthe Switch’s handheld mode.

EXTENDEDPLAY

There’s alot that the Switch Litecan’t do,

then, butthere’s much more that it can. For

starters, theSwitch Lite still hasagyroscope

andaccelerometer,and you canalso expand

the system’s32GB of on-board storage up to

400GB viamicroSD.

Thenewerversion of Nvidia’s TegraX1

processor –which hasalso foundits wayinto

the recent Switch refresh –allows forgreater

power efficiency,thanks to it switchingfrom a

20nm manufacturing processtoa16nm one.

While gaming performance seems to be

identical –both consoles delivered astable

30fps in Doom 2016 andAstral Chain –the

Switch Lite’sbatterylifeismodestly better

thanthatofthe original,despitethe battery

size dropping from4,310mAhto3,570mAh.

Nintendo claimsyou cansqueeze up to

sevenhoursofuse outofthe Switch Lite,

whichlines up reasonably well withour

experience: after twohours of TheLegend of

Zelda: Link’s Awakening at maximum screen

brightness, ourtest unit hadonlydropped

from full battery to 72%.

That’s veryimpressive forsuchasmall

device, although this isn’t the longest-lasting

Switch available.The aforementioned

refreshed Switch –which youcan identify by

itsmodel numberstarting with HAD–also

uses the improvedTegra X1 chip,and can

reach up to nine hours of play on asingle

charge.Ifyou’re willing to spendanextra £80,

then thisisthe model to get.

LITEMINDED

We’d stillrecommendthe bigger Switch for

most users; besides the extra features, such

as rumbleand motion sensing, the possibility

of playing on abig screen is worththe extra

cash alone. Then again, noteveryoneisaparty

person, and theSwitch Lite’sdesignisfar

better suited foron-the-gogamingsessions.

If you’re happytosticktohandheld play, this

is agreat alternative to the standardversion.

NathanSpendelow

NINTENDO SwitchLite

★★★★★

£200•From http://www.amazon.co.uk

VERDICT

The Switch that doesn’t switch is still an excellent console –and lower-priced, too

HANDHELD GAMES CONSOLE

BEST BUY