Nintendo Switch Size Comparison: See It Next To Consoles And Portable Devices

The Nintendo Switch will be the smallest major game console on the market when it hits store shelves March 3rd. It doesn't come to anyone's surprise given that it is built as a home and portable console hybrid, but just how small is it? Let's take a look through this simple size comparison!

Nintendo Switch is priced at US $300/£280/AU $470. The console comes with nine launch games: 1-2-Switch, Just Dance 2017, Skylanders: Imaginators, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I Am Setsuna, Human Resource Machine, Little Inferno, World of Goo, and Super Bomberman R. A tenth title, The Binding of Isaac Afterbirth+, was meant to launch on March 3 for the system, but that was recently delayed.

For all the games confirmed to be coming to Switch--but not necessarily at launch--take a look at our roundup. You can also check out everything that comes in the box, as well as our feature taking a close look at the console's peripherals. And if you're curious about Switch's menus and UI (user interface), look at our in-depth analysis.

With the Joy-Con controllers attached, the Switch is approximately 9.4 inches wide, 4.02 inches long, and 1.12 inches tall. The viewable screen space is 6.2 inches diagonally, and the console weighs about 10.5 pounds. Though it may not be as powerful as the other consoles, it achieves portability with its custom Nvidia Tegra chip and its move from disk-based media and traditional hard disks to SD cards for media and storage.

Compared to the Wii U gamepad, the Switch console is a lot less bulky. The Wii U gamepad measures at 10.2 inches wide, 5.3 inches long, and 0.9 inches tall, but it is slightly lighter at 1.08 pounds. Both share the same screen size at 6.2 inches, though the Switch's screen sports 720p as opposed to 480p on the Wii U gamepad.

The Switch not only packs more punch with better processing power than its predecessor and built-in display, it's also significantly smaller. The Wii U console is 10.5 inches long, 6.8 inches wide, 1.8 inches tall, and weight 3.3 pounds.

The PlayStation 4 Slim is a nice, compact iteration on Sony's current console, but you could theoretically fit about four Switches in one PS4 Slim, which measures at 11.3 inches long, 10.4 inches wide, 1.5 inches tall, and weighs 4.6 pounds.

Microsoft's Xbox One was in a serious need of a slimmer design, and the Xbox One S delivered by being 40 percent smaller than the original. It measures at 11.6 inches long, 9.0 inches wide, 2.5 inches tall, and weighs 6.4 pounds.

The PlayStation 4 Pro is a three-layered beast compared to the Nintendo Switch, though it is capable of 4K resolution and HDR. As of now, it's the most powerful console. It's 12.9 inches long, 11.6 inches wide, and 2.2 inches tall, and weighs 7.3 pounds--the heaviest of this bunch.

The Joy-Con buttons, sticks, and triggers may not be as robust as traditional controllers, but they work well to serve a full console gaming experience on-the-go.

The most relevant comparison is between the Switch and 3DS, since the Switch's portability is a significant factor. The 3DS measures at 5.3 inches wide, 2.9 inches long, and 0.8 inches tall when enclosed. It remains lighter than the Switch at just 8.3 ounces (0.52 pounds).

With the leap in processing power, functionality, and visual fidelity for the Switch, size is where the comparisons end.

The Nvidia Shield is an Android-based gaming and video streaming device. It sports the Nvidia Tegra X1 chip, which the Switch's Tegra chip is based on. Without the Joy-Con attached, both the Switch and Shield are nearly identical in size.

The iPhone 6s Plus is 6.2 inches long, 3.1 inches wide, and 0.3 inches tall with a 5.5 inch display.

The Switch seems dwarfed alongside laptop computers with screens larger than 13 inches, even the MacBook Air which measures 12.8 inches wide, 8.9 inches long, and 0.7 inches tall. This model of the Air weighs about 2.9 pounds and sports a 1440x900 screen resolution.

Here the Switch lays alongside the Logitech G610 Orion, which is standard sized 104-key mechanical keyboard, and the Logitech G403 wireless mouse. It seems Nintendo's new console would rest discreetly atop your desk or workstation.

The Wii U game case for Mario Kart 8, the Switch, and the game case for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild all alongside each other.

The Nvidia GTX 1080 is currently the fastest single graphics processor for PC gaming available to consumers, but it's also a beast of a card. It's 10.5 inches long and 4.4 inches tall, and it's just one component of an entire system, albeit an important one.

We decided to get silly and take the Switch on a tour around our office kitchen. Here's the Switch alongside a very old organic banana. You could still make banana bread with it, though.

This carnitas and rice burrito tasted much better than the Switch.

This is proof we taste-tested it.

Our bagel cutter gets a lot use around the GameSpot office, but we find the Switch to sport a much more elegant design.

Seeing is believing, so we hope our size comparisons provided a clear vision of Nintendo's new console. Cheers!