Switch 2 Update Adds Handheld Mode Boost Option - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 16 March 2026 / 2,725 Views
Nintendo has released a released system update 22.0.0 for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2.
The Switch 2 updates adds a new Handheld Mode Boost option that allows compatible Switch 1 games to run as if in TV mode that could result in improved visuals while in Handheld Mode.
The update also changes the on-screen text and animations when you load a virtual game card in the HOME Menu, the ability to save notes about friends on your Friend list, makes improvements to GameChat, and more.
Read the patch notes below:
Nintendo Switch 2
- Changed the on-screen text and animations when you load a virtual game card in the HOME Menu.
- Added the ability to save notes about friends on your Friend List. The note content is not displayed to friends.
- 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.
- The following features were added to support GameChat:
- Added the ability to invite friends to GameChat rooms you’re participating in. Some friends may not be able to be invited, such as supervised accounts.
- Friends that haven’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’t used a Nintendo Switch 2.
- It may take a while for this change to be reflected after updating your console to system version 22.0.0.
- Improvements were made to the quality of the game screen shared in a GameChat when expanded.
- 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.
- Added the option to add the following data to “Automatic Uploads” from Album.
- Clip Video, Video saved as a screenshot, and screenshot with added text.
- Added Portuguese (Portugal) and Russian to “GameChat Voice ⇔ Speech to Text” languages in Accessibility.
- Text-to-Speech, under Accessibility, can now read the text in Album and during first-time setup.
- Please see Nintendo Switch 2 First-Time Setup and Connection for instructions on how to turn text-to-speech on in the first-time setup.
- Added the ability to see the breakdown of storage capacity by data type for the system memory and microSD Express card.
- Added the ability to perform an audio test when “Linear PCM 5.1 Surround” is selected for TV Sound in Audio.
- Changed the “Hong Kong/Taiwan/South Korea” region to “Hong Kong/Taiwan/South Korea/South East Asia” in Device.
- Added “Handheld Mode Boost” to Nintendo Switch Software Handling in System.
- 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.
- The following features were added to Airplane Mode:
- When Airplane Mode is activated, the previously set preferences for Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or NFC while in Airplane Mode will be saved and applied.
- Added the ability to individually enable or disable Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, or NFC during Airplane Mode from the Quick Settings.
- 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.
- The app must be on version 2.4.0 or higher to use this functionality.
- General system stability improvements to enhance the user’s experience.
Nintendo Switch
- Changed the on-screen text and animations when you load a virtual game card in the HOME Menu.
- Added the ability to save notes about friends on your Friend List. The note content is not displayed to friends.
- 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.
- 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.
- The app must be on version 2.4.0 or higher to use this functionality.
- General system stability improvements to enhance the user’s experience.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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No thanks, prioritised battery over graphic!!
Finally Xenoblade Chronicles 2 will look decent on Handheld
Been waiting for this
There's been several games I've tried to go back to that were way too blurry in handheld on NS2
Curious how badly this will affect the battery life tho
Will this sort of thing even be noticeable on such a tiny screen?
Considering some NS1 games ran at 360p in handheld mode... absolutely
Some NS1 games that look "good enough" in docked mode look like straight petroleum jelly in handheld on NS2
Yes. For one, this will reduce instances and intensity of the hardware scaling. Games that target 1080p in dock will now run native in handheld. And games that were scaling twice - internal scaling to 720p and then being scaled again to 1080p by the system - will no longer have this issue.
On top of that, some games had serious limits to their handheld res. Xenoblade 2 runs at 540p with overly agressive TAA and sharpening. Now it runs at 720p with vastly superior image treatment, it looks much better. Doom 2016, Doom Eternal, Wolfenstein 2, and a variety of 3rd party games see similar jumps. Quite a few will see sizable leaps from around 600p give or take to 900p.
And some had reduced framerates or game graphical settings, those will now be docked equivalent. Astral Chain ran at a lower res with no anti aliasing, so you get a resolution boost and superior image treatment.
Some games won't get that much of a boost, but there's a lot that will benefit considerably.
That sounds great, sadly it's only for "compatible games" but I expect most of their own games are among those, and those are the games I have, so hopefully the majority of my games get that boost.
People are still testing it out, but by the looks of it, the majority of games are compatible by default. Incompatible games include those that have non-standard control options in TV mode (Pokémon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee for example), and games that have already received a Switch 2 patch.
Not that I regularly play in handheld mode, but great update for those who do!
