Nintendo Switch OLED lets you choose two color settings – Vivid or Standard – and there’s a big difference between them. By default, Nintendo Switch OLED is set to Vivid. Vivid is clearly designed to showcase the OLED display’s ability to produce vibrant colours, contrasting beautifully with the perfect blacks the new panel can provide.
However, Vivid mode can make colors look oversaturated and unnatural in even the best Nintendo Switch games, which may not be to everyone’s taste. At the same time, Standard mode delivers more accurate colors at the expense of the “wow” factor that the Nintendo Switch OLED display can offer.
You still benefit from the great contrast and perfect blacks of the OLED panel, but the colors are closer to the original Nintendo Switch LCD. It might sound a little muffled to some, especially if you’ve been playing in Vivid mode for a while. Whether you choose to set your Nintendo Switch OLED to Vivid or Standard depends on which mode looks more appealing to you, as it just comes down to personal preference.
How to change console screen animation on Nintendo Switch OLED
To change the Nintendo Switch OLED color setting, head to System Settings, which can be found by clicking the cogwheel icon from the main Nintendo Switch OLED menu. From there, scroll down to System until you see Console Screen Vibrance. Click here to change the color setting to Vivid (the default) or Standard. You should notice a difference in color screen right away.
It should be noted that changing the Nintendo Switch OLED ‘Console Screen Vividness’ will not affect the TV screen vividness when playing in TV mode. This setting is also only available on the Nintendo Switch OLED model.
If you’ve been playing your Switch OLED in Vivid mode for a few weeks, Standard mode will seem noticeably muted when it comes to color output, but again, it’s more accurate. We recommend doing a standard trial for at least 30 minutes before you decide to switch back, so you can appreciate how different the two options are.
Why did Nintendo include two color settings for the new OLED screen?
With the Nintendo Switch OLED’s biggest new feature being its glossy OLED screen, it’s not unreasonable to ask why Nintendo would give the option to both. Fortunately, we have an official answer to this. In a Q&A on Nintendo’s website, Deputy General Manager of Technology Development Toru Yamashita said:
“Although the colors are made brighter with the OLED screen, some customers may feel that the colors look too vivid. With that in mind, we made it so that the player can select the standard color mode, to make it look like a traditional LCD screen. If you prefer The vivid colors of an OLED screen, you can keep it in Vibrant Color mode which is the default out of the box.”
If you’re a stickler for color accuracy and find the default setting too unnatural, go for Standard. However, if you want things to pop, Vivid is the way to go. You can always switch depending on the game you’re playing too. If you want to know more about the differences between the Switch models, you can check out our Nintendo Switch OLED vs Nintendo Switch guide for a complete list.