Nintendo Switch OLED Burn-In Test Is Good News For Worried Owners

OLED screens happen to be one of the best technologies for displaying games, thanks to their brightness, rich colors, and being able to show a level of black usually reserved for heavy metal concerts. That said, OLED screens are susceptible to image burn-in. If you own or plan on getting a Switch OLED, you may be wondering the likelihood of tarnishing that gorgeous display.

You'd probably have to get really unlucky or be extremely reckless, it turns out.

Eextensive testing from YouTube tech critic and Twitch host Bob "WulffDen" Wulff revealed that you'd need to leave the Switch OLED Model running for 3.600 hours non-stop before even a slight hint of OLED burn-in was visible. In practical numbers, that equals around 892 viewings of Zack Snyder's Justice League.

Wulff left the Switch OLED screen frozen on from The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, set the console to maximum brightness, and checked in every so often to see if any damage had been done. The tech YouTuber also figured out how to circumvent Nintendo's built-in protection of the system by using a third-party Joy-Con, getting around the hardware's five-minute time limit for inactivity that then switches the screen off.

Currently, Wulff is continuing the testing and won't stop until the console is in an unplayable state. That's not just good news then for the state of OLED technology in gaming, but also in general as the technology continues to improve.

Nintendo is keeping busy in 2022, as the console has a bunch of exciting exclusives on the horizon and its online offerings have been enhanced for subscribers. Pokemon Scarlet and Violet is scheduled for late 2022, as well as Nintendo Switch Sports, Fire Emblem Warriors: Three Hopes, and Chrono Cross: The Radical Dreamers and more. Or you could watch more anime, now that a Crunchyroll app is available.