 In what might be my least controversial opinion, I really like the Nintendo Switch. In my mind, it's basically a perfect device. Not because it's actually perfect, but because I've had so much fun with it, puréeing goombas and exploring ruins and hearing that sound. That it just doesn't matter. Now though, I actually don't know about the Switch. It feels large, unwieldy, chunky, and a bunch of other synonyms for heavy, because I, Lion of Sebastian, have seen the light. ["The Light of the Galaxy"] That may be the cheesiest thing we've ever done. This is the Nintendo Switch Lite, the gaming console I didn't know I needed until I held it in my hands. So let's take a look at why I like it so much, and also who might be better off with the original version. This video is brought to you by Vertigear. Vertigear's PL4500 RGB LED upgrade kit wirelessly connects to your PC and features tons of color customization options, including audio and visual sync and more. Check it out now at the link below. ["The Light of the Galaxy"] ["The Light of the Galaxy"] Compared to the original Nintendo Switch, the Switch Lite is only about an inch smaller horizontally, but it's amazing the difference an inch makes. Its smaller form factor and, maybe more importantly, its lighter weight takes a console that many people use dedicated carry cases for and makes it almost pocketable. I mean, even if it is in a, is that a Nintendo Switch Lite, are you just happy to see me kind of way? The ABS plastic is a little toy-like in the hands, but at least it feels like a durable toy, and the matte finish provides a suitable grip, but we basically expected that. What surprised us was how the smaller size can change the way that you use the Switch. On the original Switch, neither I nor Alex, our writer for this video, used the touchscreen very much, but on the Lite, it's so easy to reach nearly the entire screen thanks to its small size that I'd be surprised if you don't end up using it all the time like we did. The reduction in weight, as I mentioned before, is another big factor here, because holding the Lite in one hand while using the other to touchscreen away makes a big enough difference to actually change the gaming experience. Especially in a game like Mario Maker 2, where Alex has always found the editor extremely slow and frustrating to use, but has been having a blast in on the Lite. With the original Switch, I found that I was only ever truly comfortable in a chair, by a desk, or otherwise in a position normally reserved for using a laptop. So yeah, it's portable, but maybe not comfortable, at least not as much as our merch, lttstore.com. The Lite, by contrast, is great whether you're in bed, laid back on a couch, or really just anywhere that your butt can plop down for a little while. It's so much better feeling in handheld mode than the original that, while we were working on this review, actually, multiple people in the office, and I'm talking people that already own Nintendo Switches, said that they would be getting one for use on the go. But just because I like it doesn't mean the Switch Lite is perfect for everyone, or perfect at all. First of all, the button layout. Nintendo gets heaps of points for including a proper D-pad on the left side this time around, although on the right, they maintained the analog stick directly below the buttons, which can be a bit uncomfortable. Now, it doesn't bother me very much because I've already gotten used to it from the original Switch, using the middle of my thumb to operate the stick while reaching the buttons with the tip of it, but I feel like even a little bit of offset could have made this way more ergonomic. Also, as much as I appreciate the smaller size of the device as a whole, the downsized screen feels more like a downgrade. 2019 has proven to be the year of high-resolution, bezel-less mobile devices with vibrant, color-accurate displays, and Nintendo seems to have missed every mark here. Comparing this to this OnePlus 3T replacement panel for $25 on eBay, the poor black levels and the noticeable air gap on Nintendo's 5 1⁄2-inch 720p screen feel kind of like going back in time. And it's really noticeable at times. Like in Super Mario Odyssey, there are these beautiful sweeping shots that introduce you to the level. And if I wanted to see any of the details in them, I'd probably need to invest in some bifocals. To be clear, I haven't run into anything that's unplayable. It's just that most Switch games were clearly designed for a larger screen or a much larger screen. And while I'm griping, how exactly is it that a device in the year 2019 does not have Bluetooth support? Okay, sure. When the original Switch came out, wild herds of headphone jacks could still be seen galloping across the prairies. But now there's a good chance that your best pair of earbuds happens to be a wireless one. So when you go out, you're gonna need your phone, your Switch Lite, your wireless earphones, and a pair of wired earphones. Adding insult to injury, none of the USB type C headphones that we tried worked either. Now you can get a USB Bluetooth dongle. So thanks, Nintendo, for your standard, not standard USB C implementation. But given that the WiFi chipset in this thing supports Bluetooth anyway, it just feels unnecessarily obtuse. And we still haven't even gotten to the biggest downside of the Switch Lite. You cannot dock it to a TV, making it less of a Nintendo Switch and more of a Nintendo stuck. It just outright removes what made the Switch so special compared to an Xbox or a PlayStation. When we took our family to New York, I played Breath of the Wild on the flight while the kids were sleeping. Then we docked the console and played Mario Party on the TV in the hotel room. It was freaking awesome. The Switch Lite doesn't work hooked up to a TV and straight up doesn't work with Mario Party. So, derp. As for why they did it, Nintendo's official answer is something to do with being focused on portability, which obviously didn't stand up to the sniff test. So the community had all kinds of ideas like that Nintendo had used lower performance hardware or that they had run into thermal constraints or that they were concerned about basic physical incompatibility with the dock or just wanted to create artificial product segmentation so people would still spend more on a Switch that actually switches. Well, as it turns out, thanks to the very similar cooling solution and more power efficient processor, the Switch Lite performs just as well as the original and gets only a bit warm while gaming and charging at the same time. So that wasn't it. But as Jonathan Downey discovered, there is in fact hardware componentry that is missing on the Switch Lite's motherboard that would be required for it to output video to an external device. Leaving this out reduces both Nintendo's manufacturing cost and the complexity of the device, making it less likely to fail, which is pretty important in an all-in-one because I mean, even compared to the regular Switch, which you can replace a Joy-Con if you have a joystick fail, this is just one thing's dead, it needs to be repaired. So then they were actually just focused on portability. All right, Nintendo, fair enough. The 3570 milliamp hour battery, which is pretty easy to access for future replacements, BT dubs, got us near enough to Nintendo's four hours of life in heavy games and about double that in lighter 2D ones. But on the subject of reliability, how is that old joystick drift problem coming along? The joystick is a new part number, but the design looks very similar to the old one and there's already at least one video showing drift on a Switch Lite. So far nothing on either of our units, but we'd love to hear from you guys in the comments. Could this be another MacBook Pro keyboard situation? Which brings us to the conclusion. The Switch Lite is awesome. There are a few things that would make it better, better screen, better buttons, and the ability to, well, switch. And even if we couldn't pull off those first two, I would pay really good money to get a dock for the Switch Lite because as a portable system, it is so much better on the go than this one. But even without any of that stuff, the Switch Lite is still getting a strong recommendation. As I said before, the original Switch was very impressive, but its lack of focus did hurt it a little. It was super underpowered for a living room console, kind of clunky on the go, and the Joy-Con controllers sacrificed a great deal of general usability so that they could double as mini controllers. Compared to that, the Switch Lite's laser focus on being a portable device is refreshing. I never asked for 3D or multi-screen gimmicks, and quite frankly, I don't miss them at all. So the very reasonable $200 price tag, coupled with the capability to play anything from Breath of the Wild to SNES classic console games on what is basically a roided out Game Boy Advance makes this possibly the best portable console ever. Don't at me. The PC37X gaming headset is the result of a collaboration between Drop.com and Sennheiser. It features an open back design with drivers from the HD family of products over at Sennheiser for clearer audio for gaming and music, and the mic is optimized to handle unpleasant pops and hisses, and it's also noise canceling. The mic automatically mutes by simply rotating it up until you hear the click, and it includes a 10-foot braided cable. All new users who sign up to Drop.com today can get $30 off this headset at the link in the video description, so go check it out. So thanks for watching, guys. Hope you enjoyed the video, and see ya. Sorry, someone was waving at me off camera. They were miming me waving, but then totally distracted me. Way to go, Nick.