**The Nintendo Switch: A Seamless Gaming Experience**

One of my favorite parts of the Switch is just how seamless it is. So, right now I can be playing on the normal handheld mode, but if I drop it onto a dock, you'll see that almost immediately it will come right over to the TV. You can imagine that you play on the TV for a few minutes, whatever the case is, and when you're done, you pick the Switch right up, and it's right back on the display.

**Handheld Mode: A Favorite Feature**

Out of all the modes for the Switch, my favorite might just be handheld. This is the Switch by itself with the Joy-Cons attached, and it feels good. One of the biggest differences here is when you actually compare it to the Wii U gamepad. From the front, they look about the same, but when you compare the thickness especially, it's a huge difference.

**Portability and Convenience**

Of course, keep in mind that the Wii U gamepad had to be tethered to a full Wii U console. Whereas with the Switch, sure there's a dock, but you don't need that at all. You can absolutely take this on the go no problem. You can also use the kickstand. So, if I pop off the Joy-Cons, all you need to do is kick the kickstand out, and I can set it down.

**Joy-Con Controllers**

The cool part about this is that your really not losing any controls. And honestly, I kind of like the idea of having full freedom, and I have to kind of keep my hands nice and tight. The only problem is the kickstand is not the greatest. It works fine on a table like this, but if you try to set it down on something uneven, like a couch, it's going to immediately fall over.

**Reliability and Performance**

Some reviewers have had issues with the left Joy-Con de-syncing from their Switch. However, I haven't had any issues. Not only has it been really reliable, but being able to drop them on, take them off, it's all been super seamless so far. The Joy-Cons really are one of my favorite parts of the Switch.

**Grip Controller and Performance Modes**

It's nice and comfortable, especially when you look at this as a full package, Nintendo's done a really good job. There are a lot of moving pieces here with the removable controllers and the dock and everything, but it does completely work seamlessly together. Interestingly, the Switch has two different performance modes.

**Battery Life**

When you're playing handheld on battery, it runs at a lower clock speed. But when you drop it on the dock, it over doubles the performance. The main reason for that is that while this has a 720p screen, when you connect it to a TV, you can run it up to 1080p.

**Charging Options**

Speaking of battery life, the Switch is rocking a 4,310 milliamp hour battery. That's decent but not that much bigger than most smartphones. Nintendo says that you should expect about three hours on a charge when you're playing an intense game like Zelda, and in my testing that sounds about right.

**Charging Methods**

The easiest way to charge the Switch is to just drop it on the dock. Not only will that give you the TV out, but it will also charge not only the console but also the Joy-Con controllers. However, since it's got a USB-C port, you have other options such as using something like the MacBook Pro charger.

**Conclusion**

The Nintendo Switch is hands down the most powerful portable console ever. Yes, some might call it a little bit gimmicky, but honestly, it works and it works really well. Sure, there might not be a ton of games at launch, however, when you consider just how cool and unique this thing is, it is absolutely worth it.

What do you guys think about the Switch? Let me know in the comments below.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin.Is the Nintendo Switch worth it?So, Nintendo hooked us up with oneof the very first Switches.So I'm curious to see whatwe actually get in the box.So, inside we immediately get theactual Switch console itself.Now, as you can see without the Joy-Cons,this looks exactly like a tiny tablet.It's actually not even muchbigger than like a phone.So, for size comparison,this is the Switch nextto an iPhone 7 Plus.You know, this actuallymight even fit into a pocket.Oh, yeah, but of course,we do need to add the controllerswhich are right here.So, these are the Joy-Con controllers.So, the way they work isthey just slide onto a railand that's it.So, once we add both of them,the Switch definitelygets a little bit biggerbut it's a lot smallerthan the Wii U gamepad.So, inside we actually getquite a few accessories,starting with a full-size HDMI cable.So, it's actually gota standard USB-C cable.So the cool thing's about the Switchis that if we just plug it in here,we should be able to charge itbut you can also use thatUSB-C to drop it on the dockor, in fact, you could probably even usesomething like a battery bank to chargethe Switch while you're on the go.We also have the Joy-Con grip.So, if you want to usethe Joy-Con by itself,you can just slide this guy onand it gives you betteraccess to the top buttons,and, of course, a very,very secure and safe strap.This is what safety looks like by the way.There also is the Joy-Con grip.So in addition to being ableto use them individuallyor with the Switch,you can also snap them in here.So, if we slide the same Joy-Con on,this is pretty similarto what you would findwith a standard console controller.But the cool part is,not only can you use it like this,but we can just pop thekickstand out on the Switch.You can imagine that you have yourselfa nice little portable gaming setup.So, we've got ourselves atiny little bit of paperwork,so good job on not includingan enormous user manual.And what I assume is theactual dock for the Switch.So, what this guy will dois not only power the Switchbut it also will giveyou HDMI out to a TV.So, if we pop open this door here,you'll see this port for the AC adapter,there's USB 3 port as well HDMI out.And on the side, there's alsoa pair of USB ports here.So, what's cool about thisis that it all runs offof the single USB-C porton the bottom of the Switch.So, when you dock the Switch,it pretty much just rests in place.So, it doesn't take a whole lot of forceto pick it upand when you're ready toactually game in portable mode,you can just slide your Joy-Cons onand pretty much like that,you have the full Switch experience.So, even with the Joy-Cons attached,the Switch is still pretty small.There's actually a lot going on here.On top, there's the powerbutton and the volume rocker.You have the exhaust aswell as a headphone jackand the slot for the game cards.Speaking of games,we have the The Legend ofZelda: Breath of the Wild.So, if you pop it open,you'll see that the Switch cardsthemselves are pretty tiny.So not only are Switch gamessmaller than the 3DS cardsbut they're even smaller than an SD card.On the bottom of theSwitch there's not much.You had that USB-C port for chargingas well as connecting to the dock.And around back you have the kickstandas well as hiding behind that,is the microSD card slot.That slot's going to be importantas the Switch itself only shipswith 32 gigabytes of storage.So, in theory you can putup to a two terabyte microSD in herebut realistically right now,you're maxing out at around 256 gigabyteswhich should still be a fairbit of storage for the Switch.Even though they look the same,the Joy-Con controllersare actually different.So, the right one hasthe XYAB buttons up topand it has the stick on the bottom,and on the very bottom of the controller,there's an IR sensor.Take a look at the second Joy-Conand you'll see that theanalog stick is on the top.So, when you're using them separatelyor together in the actual grip,you'll find that thesticks are actually offsetwhich feels much morelike an Xbox controllerthan something like the PS4.The first thing that jumps out to meis that the interface on the Switchlooks so much better than the Wii U.So, not only do we havea capacitive touchscreenwhich makes things feel a lot better,but everything just looks clean.It looks a lot less cartoon-ythan previous Nintendo consoles.So while the Switchhas 32 gigs of storage,out the box you only have25.9 gigs of free space.Now, with a console like this,I do feel like I would probably be buyingmore physical games than digital,but if you're planning on thatyou really should lookinto a microSD card.Since we got the Switch early,we're missing some majorfeatures such as the eShopbut that will be comingin a day one updatewhen the console launches on Friday.So, while we can't testeverything right now,what we can do is play some games.One of my favorite parts of the Switchis just how seamless it is.So, right now I can be playingon the normal handheld modebut if I drop it onto a dock,you'll see that almost immediatelyit will come right over to the TV.So, you can imagine thatyou play on the TV.for a few minutes, whatever the case is,and when you're done, youpick the Switch right upand it's right back on the display.Out of all the modes for the Switch,my favorite might just be handheld.So, this is the Switch by itselfwith the Joy-Cons attachedand it feels good.So, one of the biggest differences hereis when you actually compareit to the Wii U gamepad.So, from the front theylook about the samebut when you compare thethickness especially,it is a huge difference.And of course, keep in mindthat the Wii U gamepadhad to be tethered toa full Wii U console.Whereas with the Switch,sure there's a dockbut you don't need that at all.You can absolutely takethis on the go no problem.You can also use the kickstand.So, if I pop off the Joy-Cons,all you need to do iskick the kickstand outand I can set it down.So, the cool part about thisis that your really notlosing any controls.And honestly, I kind of like the ideaof having full freedomand I have to kind of keepmy hands nice and tight.The only problem is thekickstand is not the greatest.It works fine on a table like this.But if you try to set itdown on something unevenlike a couch, it's gonnaimmediately fall over.So, some reviewers have had issueswith the left Joy-Conde-syncing from their Switch.However, I haven't had any issues.Not only has it been really reliable,but being able to drop them on,take them off, it's allbeen super seamless so far.The Joy-Cons really areone of my favorite parts of the Switch.It's so nice to be able tojust drop it on the dock,slide the controllers offand then I like kind ofuse these guys separately.But if I want more ofa console experience,I can slide them onto the grip accessoryand play it like this.The grip controller's decentbut I feel like my hands areslightly too close together.Honestly, my favorite wayof playing on the TVis really just using theJoy-Cons by themselves.It's nice and comfortableand especially when you lookat this as a full package,Nintendo's done a really good job.There are a lot of moving pieces herewith the removable controllersand the dock and everything,but it does completelywork seamlessly together.Interestingly, the Switch hastwo different performance modes.So, when you're playinghandheld on battery,it runs at a lower clock speed.But when you drop it on the dock,it over doubles the performance.And the main reason for thatis that while this has a 720p screen,when you connect it to a TV.you can run it up to 1080p.Now, while some people have complainedthat 720p seems like it's kind of low,honestly this screen looks fineand I would much ratherhave better battery lifeand better performance witha slightly lower res screenthan something's that's more high endbut completely kills the battery life.Speaking of, the Switch is rockinga 4,310 milliamp hour battery.Now, that's decent butit's not that much biggerthan most smartphones.Now, Nintendo says that you should expectabout three hours on a chargewhen you're playing anintense game like Zelda,and in my testingthat sounds about right.It's decent but nothing spectacular.So, there are a couple ofways of charging the Switch.By far the easiest is tojust drop it on the dock.Not only will that give you the TV out,but it will also chargenot only the consolebut also the Joy-Con controllers.However, since it's got a USB-C port,you have other optionssuch as using somethinglike the MacBook Pro charger.And you can also use battery banksbut you do need to be carefulthat they will supply enough power.However, because of that USB-C portyou have a lot of optionsfor topping this guy off.The Nintendo Switch is hands downthe most powerful portable console ever.Now, yes, some might callit a little bit gimmickybut honestly, it worksand it works really well.Sure, there might not bea ton of games at launch,however, when you consider just how cooland unique this thing is,it is absolutely worth it.So, what do you guysthink about the Switch?Let me know in the comments belowand I will catch you in the next one.