Nintendo Switch Lite
Variant of Nintendo Switch
- Manufacturer
- Nintendo
- Released
- 2019
- Generation
- Gen 9
- Type
- Handheld
- Launch price
- $199
- Media
- Flash
- Units sold
- 155.9M
About Nintendo Switch Lite
The Nintendo Switch is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the Wii U and competed with Sony's PlayStation 4 and Microsoft's Xbox One; it also competes with the ninth-generation consoles, the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Wikipedia (text under CC BY-SA 4.0).
Library & collector facts
What's different from Nintendo Switch
- Integrated D-pad (vs. directional buttons on Joy-Con)
- Smaller 5.5-inch 720p LCD (vs. 6.2-inch)
- Lighter weight (275g vs. 398g)
- Improved battery life (~3-7h vs. 2.5-6.5h)
- Updated Tegra X1 'Mariko' chip (more efficient)
- TV dock output — handheld only, no HDMI out
- Detachable Joy-Con (controllers are fixed)
- HD Rumble
- IR motion camera
- Kickstand
- Joy-Con strap accessories
- form factor: Hybrid console/handheld → handheld-only dedicated device
- compatibility: All Switch games → most Switch games but titles requiring detached Joy-Con (1-2-Switch, Super Mario Party docked, Ring Fit Adventure) require separately purchased Joy-Con
Lineage
Pricing
Launch price (2019)
- 🇺🇸 USD
- $199
Controller
Joy-Con / Nintendo Switch Pro Controller
Launch titles & exclusives
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild · 1-2-Switch · Super Bomberman R · Skylanders Imaginators · Just Dance 2017 · I Am Setsuna · Snipperclips · Shovel Knight · Fast RMX · World of Goo
None — 1-2-Switch (the launch tech demo) was sold separately, drawing criticism
Breath of the Wild · Tears of the Kingdom · Super Mario Odyssey · Mario Kart 8 Deluxe · Super Smash Bros. Ultimate · Animal Crossing: New Horizons · Splatoon 2 / 3 · Xenoblade Chronicles 2 / 3 · Fire Emblem: Three Houses · Metroid Dread · Pokemon Sword/Shield/Scarlet/Violet
Still in production (as of 2026)
Pokemon Let's Go Eevee/Pikachu Edition Switch (2018); Animal Crossing: New Horizons Edition (2020); Splatoon 2 PAL/JP Edition (2017)
Hardware specs
- Weight
- 277 g
- Dimensions
- 208 × 91.1 × 13.9 mm
- Cpu
- Quad-core ARM Cortex-A57
- Gpu
- 256 Maxwell (microarchitecture), Maxwell-based CUDA cores, Docked: 768 MHz, 393 GFLOPS, Undocked: 384 MHz, 197 GFLOPS
- Ram
- 4 GB LPDDR4
- Sound
- Undocked: Linear PCM 2.0 stereo speakers (with pseudo-surround), Docked: Linear PCM 5.1
- Os
- Nintendo Switch system software
Hardware revisions
- Original 'Erista' HAC-001(2017)
original launch hardware (Tegra X1)
⚠ Fusée Gelée bootrom exploit means every unit shipped before mid-2018 is permanently softmoddable
- 'Mariko' HAC-001(-01)(2019)
patched Tegra X1 (Mariko), ~2x battery life, no bootrom exploit
- Switch Lite HDH-001(2019)
handheld-only (no detachable Joy-Con, no TV out), Mariko silicon
- Switch OLED HEG-001(2021)
7" OLED screen, wider kickstand, improved dock with wired LAN, larger 64GB storage
Launch colorways & special editions
- Pokemon Sword & Shield Zacian/Zamazenta Edition (2019)
- Animal Crossing: New Horizons Edition (Aqua Blue/Coral)
- Dialga & Palkia Edition (2021)
- Hyrule Edition (Skyward Sword HD, 2021, gold/Triforce printing)
Modding scene
- Difficulty
- hard-mod
- Custom firmware
- Atmosphère (active, open-source); SX OS (defunct commercial CFW)
Reception & legacy
Cautiously optimistic at launch — many were skeptical of the hybrid concept after the Wii U flop, but Breath of the Wild's universal acclaim drove instant success
Joy-Con drift carried over despite redesigned integrated controllers (cannot be swapped — drift requires full unit teardown); no TV output disappointed buyers expecting full Switch flexibility; games requiring detached Joy-Con created confusion at retail
Saved Nintendo after the Wii U commercial failure; redefined the hybrid console category and pulled Nintendo back into the AAA conversation; lifetime sales surpassed the Wii (~140M+); the pandemic-era Animal Crossing: New Horizons boom became a cultural moment
References
More from Nintendo
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Nintendo Switch Lite in the news
Recent coverage mentioning the Nintendo Switch Lite, gathered from 80+ gaming-news sources.
Nintendo Switch Family to Be Discontinued in Europe in February 2027
Nintendo has announced that the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite, and Nintendo Switch OLED Model will be discontinued in Europe beginning in mid-February 2027. The announcement appeared in a new FAQ outlining upcoming hardware revisions to comply with the European Union’s new battery...
Original Nintendo Switch family of systems will be discontinued mid-February 2027
Nintendo of Europe has said that it will be discontinuing the sale of the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch (OLED model) from mid-February 2027. This will mean that the original Nintendo Switch family of systems will have been made available for ten years. From mid-February...