Preview: Nintendo Switch User Interface, Abdallah Sets One Up!

The Wii U user interface was very blocky, bland, and somewhat aimed at kids. Sure, it was easy to use, but it wasn’t as visually appealing as what we got out of the Xbox One and PS4 interfaces. The Nintendo 3DS, while like the Wii U in its blocky look, eventually gave gamers the option to customize their home screens, keeping the child like presence and appeal, but giving older gamers a chance to make it different. With the Nintendo Switch, it appears as if Nintendo is attempting to streamline their UI and make it more user friendly, and overall, more appealing.

With my few hours with the system, I can say that setting it up and using the interface is pretty seamless, and reminds me a lot of the PS4 setup. The menu – whether on your television or on the handheld – doesn’t feel overly cluttered, but everything you could possibly want is right at your fingertips.

Want to know how much battery your Switch has left when playing in handheld or table top mode? It’s fairly simple and intuitive: just simply tap on the battery icon to see your percentage left, or click the R and L buttons on your Joy Cons twice (when on the menu). It is little features like this that are not blowing anyone away, but if they were not available everyone would definitely be talking about it.

The big question with the Nintendo Switch was, when powered down and off the dock, how quickly the battery would drain. Thankfully, recent reports from other news outlets are pegging the battery drain at 2-3 percent every 8 hours, or roughly 6-9% if in sleep mode for an entire day. For someone who travels often, this is incredibly satisfying. We haven’t spent enough time with the Switch off the dock to verify these reports, but will have more to say on this when we publish our final review.

There is a lot of the interface that we cannot currently see right now because of updates that will be coming around the launch of the system, so again, read more on March 1st. In the meantime…

Our good friend, and partnering with our site once again, Abdallah, has a full slate of Nintendo Switch videos up already, and more to come when embargoes lift. If you want the absolute best in Nintendo Switch streams, head to his YouTube channel here! For now, enjoy his setup and walkthrough of the Nintendo Switch user interface!