{"id":36966,"date":"2026-03-17T18:45:53","date_gmt":"2026-03-17T10:45:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=36966"},"modified":"2026-03-17T18:45:53","modified_gmt":"2026-03-17T10:45:53","slug":"nintendo-switch-2-update-adds-handheld-mode-boost-for-switch-1-titles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/?p=36966","title":{"rendered":"Nintendo Switch 2 Update Adds Handheld Mode Boost For Switch 1 Titles"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<br \/><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets-prd.ignimgs.com\/2026\/01\/23\/switch2games-1769208267817.jpg\" \/><\/p>\n<div id=\"\">\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Nintendo has announced a major new Switch 2 feature that improves the performance of most Switch 1 games when played in handheld mode. <\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">A &#8220;Handheld Mode Boost&#8221; option has been added in today&#8217;s chunky Switch 2 firmware update, which brings the console up to version 22.0.0. The feature, which is buried at the bottom of Nintendo&#8217;s patch notes, allows for boosted Switch 1 games when playing in handheld, with performance akin to playing with the console docked.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">A separate support page on Handheld Mode Boost suggests Nintendo has achieved this by simply having your Switch 2 act as if you were playing while docked, even if you&#8217;re not, which does add a few technical issues \u2014 detailed in full below.<\/p>\n<p><output class=\"box-wrapper jsx-2673806401\" data-cy=\"article-video\"\/><\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">&#8220;Because this option forces TV mode operation, some instructions may be incorrect or fail to operate correctly,&#8221; Nintendo notes. The option may also disable the touchscreen, and cause the Joy-Con 2 controllers to be treated as a Switch 2 Pro Controller.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Lastly, Nintendo notes that while this option can result in improved visuals, it will also increase the system&#8217;s power consumption. Fancy giving it a try? Just head to the console&#8217;s Settings menu, select &#8220;System&#8221;, then &#8220;Nintendo Switch Software Handling&#8221; to toggle it on.<\/p>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">The rest of today&#8217;s Switch 2 system software patch notes lie below, and include a few other nice additions. These include the ability to add notes about your online friends (which, don&#8217;t worry, they won&#8217;t see), and improvements to the quality of shared game screen footage on GameChat.<\/p>\n<h2 data-cy=\"title2\" class=\"title2 jsx-1903782357 jsx-3735650234\">Switch 2 firmware version 22.0.0 (Released March 16, 2026)<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Changed the on-screen text and animations when you load a virtual game card in the HOME Menu.<\/li>\n<li>Added the ability to save notes about friends on your Friend List. The note content is not displayed to friends.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Added the ability to see and edit these notes from the Nintendo Switch App. The app must be on version 3.3.0 or higher to use this feature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The following features were added to support GameChat:\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Added the ability to invite friends to GameChat rooms you\u2019re participating in. Some friends may not be able to be invited, such as supervised accounts.<\/li>\n<li>Friends that haven&#8217;t finished GameChat initial setup can now be invited to GameChat. Some friends may not be able to be invited, such as supervised accounts or those who haven\u2019t used a Nintendo Switch 2.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>It may take a while for this change to be reflected after updating your console to system version 22.0.0.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Improvements were made to the quality of the game screen shared in a GameChat when expanded.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Added the ability to rewind 10 seconds\/advance 10 seconds with the ZL and ZR Buttons when watching a full screen video in News or Nintendo eShop.<\/li>\n<li>Added the option to add the following data to \u201cAutomatic Uploads\u201d from <strong>Album<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Clip Video, Video saved as a screenshot, and screenshot with added text.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Added Portuguese (Portugal) and Russian to \u201cGameChat Voice \u21d4 Speech to Text\u201d languages in <strong>Accessibility<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Text-to-Speech, under <strong>Accessibility<\/strong>, can now read the text in <strong>Album<\/strong> and during first-time setup.<\/li>\n<li>Added the ability to see the breakdown of storage capacity by data type for the system memory and microSD Express card.<\/li>\n<li>Added the ability to perform an audio test when \u201cLinear PCM 5.1 Surround\u201d is selected for <strong>TV Sound<\/strong> in <strong>Audio<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Changed the &#8220;Hong Kong\/Taiwan\/South Korea&#8221; region to &#8220;Hong Kong\/Taiwan\/South Korea\/South East Asia&#8221; in <strong>Device<\/strong>.<\/li>\n<li>Added \u201cHandheld Mode Boost\u201d to <strong>Nintendo Switch Software Handling<\/strong> in <strong>System<\/strong>.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Handheld Mode Boost will cause compatible Switch software to run as if in TV Mode, so certain functionality may be affected. Please see the on-device description for more details.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>The following features were added to Airplane Mode:\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>When Airplane Mode is activated, the previously set preferences for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or NFC while in Airplane Mode will be saved and applied.<\/li>\n<li>Added the ability to individually enable or disable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or NFC during Airplane Mode from the Quick Settings.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Added the ability to see a notification in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smart device application when the Parental Controls PIN is input successfully on the console. This can also be set up to be a push notification to your smart device.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>The app must be on version 2.4.0 or higher to use this functionality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>General system stability improvements to enhance the user&#8217;s experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\">Finally, the original Switch was also updated today, with a shorter list of additions:<\/p>\n<h2 data-cy=\"title2\" class=\"title2 jsx-1903782357 jsx-3735650234\">Switch 1 firmware version 22.0.0 (Released March 16, 2026)<\/h2>\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Changed the on-screen text and animations when you load a virtual game card in the HOME Menu.<\/li>\n<li>Added the ability to save notes about friends on your Friend List. The note content is not displayed to friends.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>Added the ability to see and edit these notes from the Nintendo Switch App. The app must be on version 3.3.0 or higher to use this feature.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>Added the ability to see a notification in the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls smart device application when the Parental Controls PIN is input successfully on the console. This can also be set up to be a push notification to your smart device.\n<ul class=\"list jsx-4224303756\" data-cy=\"list\">\n<li>The app must be on version 2.4.0 or higher to use this functionality.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li>General system stability improvements to enhance the user&#8217;s experience.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p data-cy=\"paragraph\" class=\"paragraph jsx-2269604527\"><em>Tom Phillips is IGN&#8217;s News Editor. You can reach Tom at tom_phillips@ign.com or find him on Bluesky <\/em>@tomphillipseg.bsky.social<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.ign.com\/articles\/huge-nintendo-switch-2-update-adds-handheld-mode-boost-for-switch-1-titles\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Read Full Article At Source <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nintendo has announced a major new Switch 2 feature that improves the performance of most Switch 1 games when played in handheld mode. A &#8220;Handheld&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36967,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[5988,1889,3575,1160,2830,255,7358,2622],"class_list":["post-36966","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-tech-gadgets-reviews","tag-adds","tag-boost","tag-handheld","tag-mode","tag-nintendo","tag-switch","tag-titles","tag-update","wpcat-32-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=36966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36966\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/36967"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=36966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=36966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sgbuzz.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=36966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}