Is the original Nintendo Switch still worth buying in 2026?

Engadget staff@engadget.com (Husain Parvez)

21 Sept 2026 00:00 AEST 1 min read Rewritten in plain language

Show what we removed Rules applied: A1×3 A2 A3×5 A6 D2×3 D3×13 E3×12 F2×2 all 30 rules

Overview

If you're buying used, Nintendo's older console still makes plenty of sense.
The standard Switch is now priced at $339.99, with the Switch OLED at $399.99, while the Switch 2 has been priced at $499.99 since September 1.
For instance, Handheld Mode Boost allows supported Switch games to run as if they were in TV mode while you're playing Switch 2 on the go.
Splatoon Raiders is exclusive to Switch 2, with Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave coming September 17 and Metroid Ravenous coming in January 2027.
The newer hardware is rated by Nintendo to last 4.5 to nine hours on a charge, while the original revision is rated for 2.5 to 6.5 hours.

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The article, shortened and in plain language

If you're buying used, Nintendo's older console still makes plenty of sense.

Nine years after launch, the original Nintendo Switch still has plenty of life left in it. Whether it's worth buying in 2026 will depend on how much you pay for it.

The standard Switch is now priced at $339.99, with the Switch OLED at $399.99, while the Switch 2 has been priced at $499.99 since September 1. Console prices aren't exactly behaving themselves elsewhere either, with Microsoft raising some Xbox models by as much as $150 in August.

Switch 2 has a list of exclusives, but newer games are only part of the argument.

For instance, Handheld Mode Boost allows supported Switch games to run as if they were in TV mode while you're playing Switch 2 on the go. Some games also get free Switch 2 updates, along with paid upgrade packs that add visual or performance improvements.

Splatoon Raiders is exclusive to Switch 2, with Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave coming September 17 and Metroid Ravenous coming in January 2027.

Its 7-inch OLED panel has higher contrast than the LCD on Switch 2, and Nintendo estimates its battery life at 4.5 to nine hours, versus two to 6.5 hours for Switch 2. Our Switch 2 review also found that its LCD couldn't match the OLED model's black levels.

The newer hardware is rated by Nintendo to last 4.5 to nine hours on a charge, while the original revision is rated for 2.5 to 6.5 hours.

Shortened to 1 minute of reading, this version reads 13.2 on the Niral Score.

You are reading our version, not theirs. This is Engadget's report shortened to its most important sentences, in plainer words, with verdicts and loaded words taken out. Plain description stays, and so do adjectives that carry a fact, such as "former" or "federal". The reporting, the facts and the quotations are theirs — quotations are never edited — and the indicators beside it measure this version. Hover or tap Adjectives to see every one left in the text.

Indicators

Niral Score 15.2was 18.5 mundaneloaded

Highlighted in the text. Words that carry a fact and quoted words are not counted.

games9original9used6buying4console4get4hours4nine4standard4you're4around3battery3game3hardware3life3look3mode3models3playing3releases3add2another2charge2coming2currently2digital2dock2entire2estimates2interesting2makes2model2money2newer2older2performance2physical2play2plenty2port2pre-owned2price2priced2rated2real2roughly2same2since2things2third-party2worth2

Sentiment +0.1 hostilefavourable Sourcing 8 unattributednamed sources Mood 50 sorrowjoyful

5 read zero: political diction, generational, gender, jingoistic, religious

Political diction 0 left-codedright-coded Generational 0 harder on the oldharder on the young Gender 0 no gendered framingframing throughout Jingoistic 0 reports to a readerwrites from a camp Religious 0 not invokedovert

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Outlet	Niral Score	Adjectives	Sourcing	Sentiment	Happiness
Engadgetas they published this story	18.5	30	8	0.1	50
Mundane Readneutralized from Engadget	15.2	27	8	0.1	50

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