I want a toggle that allows you to have Docked Mode power / features in Handheld Mode. Thoughts?

[Deleted member 8001]

Reworked OP to explain things better.

Phones have an option called a "Performance Mode" which allows you to use the device to it's full capabilities, just it burns the battery faster. Most of the time you will not have this mode enabled, but in specific instances, say at home when you're wanting a more quality experience with a game or app, you turn it on and performance is better.

The Switch dock has no additional hardware inside it and it's only clocking the GPU at a high rate while docked, so the Switch is absolutely capable of this feature. There are certain games that would benefit from having this toggle such as these two games.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse 2
You'd be able to actually play in 720p in Handheld Mode instead of 540p upscaled because Docked Mode can run 720p natively.
Fire Emblem Warriors
You'd be able to play in 720p 60FPS in Handheld Mode instead of 720p 30FPS because Docked Mode can run this game at 60 FPS.

But what about battery life? Well, that is why it's a toggle. For instance, if I want to rest in bed and play a handheld game at a better performance or visual quality, the option is there now. As for heat issues, there is nothing to worry about because the Switch would get hotter being in the dock wrapped in plastic than it would be out in the open with air circulating and it does fine in the dock.

 

[Deleted member 1378]

My thoughts are that you're going to need heat resistant gloves and a portable generator

 

[Deleted member 8001]

My thoughts are that you're going to need heat resistant gloves and a portable generator

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I've played the Switch with it being in the dock previously, and due to it's design, your hands kind of avoid the heat since the Joy Cons themselves aren't heating up. And yeah, this would be namely for at home usage.

 

[DireRaven]

your battery life won't be worth it, it's going to drop from 3 hrs to what, 60 mins? The switch works as well as it does because it's able to you know 'switch'

 

[Redhead On Moped]

Handheld mode? Heck no. Tabletop mode? Pointless: Due to being farther away from the screen, the returns would be diminished. And if it is for mainly home, why not just use your tv?

It existing would be like an octoparrot existing.

SQUAK! POLLY SHOULDN'T BE!

 

[carlosrox]

Is such a thing even possible?

 

[contologics]

Your battery life on that thing would probably die as soon as you put it on and that's if the Switch doesn't melt before

 

[Jackano]

You won't get 720+ to 1080 res on the 720p screen tho, which means a 3rd setting to implements for devs. That's a problem.

Ninjedit: Stealth 1st post

 

[Apath]

How does docked mode work? If I am playing in handheld mode while the device is plugged in and charging, do I get the 'docked' features? If not, then I would be in favor of this being an option.

 

[Deleted member 442]

I expect this will be a thing in a future hardware revision, but what games would get any benefit on the current hardware? More consistent dynamic resolution? I'm not aware of any games that this would make a big difference on.

 

[Cocolina]

Benefits like better resolution won't be felt on the small screen. It will just make UI items harder to read.

 

[Lukasper]

What do you mean by "docked mode features". There is no extra power in the dock, right?. Higher resolution? I'm no scientist but wouldn't that be hardware dependant. Moreover, the screen is small enough that I don't think you will get much benefit for anything more than 720p.

 

[Roytheone]

I don't see this happening until the switch is hacked and homebrew can unlock it. Doubt Nintendo themselves will add it.

 

[Deleted member 442]

So following on from my reply earlier, there's a potential that you'd see a benefit in botw as it currently scales down to 90% resolution when there is a high load on the hardware in both docked and portable mode.

Since docked target res is 900p whereas portable target is native 720p you would be able to assume that a "docked-handheld mode" would be able to push native 720p without scaling during high load, but honestly this seems like such a niche thing that the cost of running at full clock, pulling more battery power and pushing more heat out would drastically out weigh the benefit in resolution for a device that is targeted as a low complexity games console.

As an aside: the switch hardware supports 4k res at 30fps, but likewise Nintendo rightfully has no interest in opening this up to devs or users since it would probably melt the current hardware. Don't let jef_rigby see this thread or he'll be all over it.

This is probably something to consider for a potential switch+ etc, but not the current hardware.

 

[Presskohle]

You won't get 720+ to 1080 res on the 720p screen tho, which means a 3rd setting to implements for devs. That's a problem.

Ninjedit: Stealth 1st post

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I would like to see as an option 'no downclocking while plugged in'.
No 3rd mode needed, better overall performance would be a given.

 

[Deleted member 8001]

From my reading of responses, it seems people are unaware of the actual benefits being able to use the higher clock. It also appears people are forgetting this is a toggle that can be turned off when you are out and about.

I'll list some benefits of a few games that immediately come to mind.

Dragon Ball Xenoverse = You'd get actual 720p on the handheld instead of 540p thus increasing screen quality dramatically because there will be no upscaling.
Fire Emblem Warriors = You'd be able to run the game at 720p 60FPS in handheld mode for a smoother experience than 30FPS.
All games in general with frame rate issues = They'd run better.

Phones have Performance Mode options, so it wouldn't be that crazy of an idea for a tablet like the Switch.

Handheld mode? Heck no. Tabletop mode? Pointless: Due to being farther away from the screen, the returns would be diminished. And if it is for mainly home, why not just use your tv?

It existing would be like an octoparrot existing.

SQUAK! POLLY SHOULDN'T BE!

Click to shrink...

You are misinformed on the benefits of this. 1080p is not something I'd care to use on a 720p handheld screen.What the actual benefit for games would be is having additional features and performance as stated above.

your battery life won't be worth it, it's going to drop from 3 hrs to what, 60 mins? The switch works as well as it does because it's able to you know 'switch'

Click to shrink...

That is why it's a toggle so you can utilize it when you need to. For example. Let's say you are home in bed and watch to play Fire Emblem Warriors at 60 FPS in bed, well, now you can. If you are out and about, you can turn off the feature.

Is such a thing even possible?

Click to shrink...

That it is due to the way the Switch is designed. There is no additional hardware in the dock.

You won't get 720+ to 1080 res on the 720p screen tho, which means a 3rd setting to implements for devs. That's a problem.

Ninjedit: Stealth 1st post

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I do not want 1080p on a 720p screen, what I actually desire are the performance benefits and being able to play some sub HD games in 720p like Xenoverse 2.

Your battery life on that thing would probably die as soon as you put it on and that's if the Switch doesn't melt before

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If the Switch doesn't melt in the dock when it's covered with additional plastic, why would it melt in handheld mode? And the battery life thing, well, that's why it's an option. You do realize phones have Performance Modes?

How does docked mode work? If I am playing in handheld mode while the device is plugged in and charging, do I get the 'docked' features? If not, then I would be in favor of this being an option.

Click to shrink...

If I recall, docked essentially uses the GPU at a higher clock rate. The docked has no additional hardware.

 

[jts]

Agreed. A toggle in the quick settings that always turns itself off when you stop playing, with the warning "this will drastically reduce your battery life".

 

[Nights]

I'd really wanna know the battery life of it like that. I'd assume about an hour to an hour and a half, but I doubt it. For it to be plugged in, sure, I guess, but it still seems a bit perplexing.

Another fun fact is that your battery would also charge a lot slower aswell depending on how tough the game is to run on the Switch. Playing Mario Odyssey docked makes my Switch charge extremely slowly.

The only real question would be if the Switch is already apparently bending from getting too hot in the dock, the extra weight your hands may have on it may make it bend even easier. (Not that I think this is actually an issue, I think they're accidentally bent during production)

Overall, I wouldn't mind it, but I'd understand why Nintendo may not do it.

 

[SirBaron]

I agree, if im sitting on the couch playing switch while wife is watching TV my switch is still plugged in. So I'd rather have a performance mode in handheld.

 

[Deleted member 8001]

I'd really wanna know the battery life of it like that. I'd assume about an hour to an hour and a half, but I doubt it. For it to be plugged in, sure, I guess, but it still seems a bit perplexing.

Another fun fact is that your battery would also charge a lot slower aswell depending on how tough the game is to run on the Switch. Playing Mario Odyssey docked makes my Switch charge extremely slowly.

The only real question would be if the Switch is already apparently bending from getting too hot in the dock, the extra weight your hands may have on it may make it bend even easier. (Not that I think this is actually an issue, I think they're accidentally bent during production)

Overall, I wouldn't mind it, but I'd understand why Nintendo may not do it.

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It should be fine being the system itself is designed for you to take out and play on the fly. Like if you play an hour or two in docked but then take out and are using it in your hands, the same principal applies, just this time the device has no plastic surrounding the device.

 

[Deleted member 8112]

.

 

[Apath]

If I recall, docked essentially uses the GPU at a higher clock rate. The docked has no additional hardware.

Click to shrink...

My question was more along the lines of how the Switch determines when it is "docked". Is it when it's charging or is there something in the dock that is required for the Switch to detect that it is docked?

 

[Deleted member 8001]

Way too many issues that could crop up, mainly mechanical failure and extreme throttle. I'm not sure of the exact power situation (I'll have to look it up) but more than likely you'll need an AC adapter or you'd be looking at 30-60 minutes of battery life, and at that point why not just play tethered to a TV?

Click to shrink...

Well being as phones have this function already and it being an option, I see no issue on that front. As far as mechanical failure, I'm not seeing how in particular being that the Switch already does docked mode inside the dock with all the heating and such with plastic enclosed around it. I've taken my Switch off several hours of playing in dock onto handheld mode whilst in bed and have had no issues there at least.

My question was more along the lines of how the Switch determines when it is "docked". Is it when it's charging or is there something in the dock that is required for the Switch to detect that it is docked?

Click to shrink...

It's when it's detected by the dock whilst also having the power cable in (I imagine the dock requires power to operate it's additional interfaces). Having a mode would be able to unlock the GPU clock in the same way.

 

[gcwy]

This wouldn't work in practice at all.

 

[maxmars]

I'm all for it. If Nintendo is worried about battery drainage, such an option could be available only when the Switch is powered externally (e.g. battery bank or with the charger).

 

[Lord Azrael]

If the Switch doesn't melt in the dock when it's covered with additional plastic, why would it melt in handheld mode?

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The dock has a fan no? Overclocking the Switch without properly regulating its temperature could possibly damage it.

 

[Brau]

Way too many issues that could crop up, mainly mechanical failure and extreme throttle. I'm not sure of the exact power situation (I'll have to look it up) but more than likely you'll need an AC adapter or you'd be looking at 30-60 minutes of battery life, and at that point why not just play tethered to a TV?

Click to shrink...

This.

It will be hard to gauge how this would work unless the hardware is set up specifically to use the hardware right off the bat. Pretty sure phones setup their hardware to be able to do this and it takes into consideration the battery they use. I don't think its as easy as adding a toggle and not expect weird behavior on the device. Which generally leads to Nintendo to say they will not compromise the balance of their games and that they are tailored to take advantage of the device hardware to the max.

 

[Deleted member 8001]

The dock has a fan no? Overclocking the Switch without properly regulating its temperature could possibly damage it.

Click to shrink...

Nope! The dock has no fans to help cool the system.

This.

It will be hard to gauge how this would work unless the hardware is set up specifically to use the hardware right off the bat. Pretty sure phones setup their hardware to be able to do this and it takes into consideration the battery they use. I don't think its as easy as adding a toggle and not expect weird behavior on the device. Which generally leads to Nintendo to say they will not compromise the balance of their games and that they are tailored to take advantage of the device hardware to the max.

Click to shrink...

Well I've already did the guaging. Right now the argument is, if it already endures heat in the dock with plastic surrounding (aka adding additional heat), then surely it can work like this with it outside of a plastic enclosure?

 

[Lord Azrael]

Nope! The dock has no fans to help cool the system.

Click to shrink...

If that's the case then I stand corrected. I'm definitely for the idea.

 

[Nintendojitsu]

OP is the Human Torch.

 

[Deleted member 442]

Well being as phones have this function already and it being an option, I see no issue on that front. As far as mechanical failure, I'm not seeing how in particular being that the Switch already does docked mode inside the dock with all the heating and such with plastic enclosed around it. I've taken my Switch off several hours of playing in dock onto handheld mode whilst in bed and have had no issues there at least.

Click to shrink...

The problem here is that you're comparing the switch with a different class of device that has been shipped with this kind of functionality as an intended feature or as something that is clearly marked to the user as having potential unintended consequences. I can't see Nintendo adding an option to a menu that comes up with that kind of caveat for a games console that is targeted at a broad range of ages.

Following from that, for a device like the Switch there is a big difference between potential functionality that is available to the system and functionality that it has been designed and tested to provide. The closest comparisons we have to this kind of thing is boost mode on the ps4 pro or the different clock speeds / available ram on the different models of psp or xbox one, but those all came with different hardware revisions rather than being something that was unlocked at a later date in the existing hardware.

I think the point I keep coming back to is this: it's clearly not impossible, like sure it is totally within Nintendo's power to enable this kind of performance in a software update, but the shortcomings that we know of and the fact that this has never really been a thing for them to do in the past make it really unlikely.

 

[Deleted member 8001]

The problem here is that you're comparing the switch with a different class of device that has been shipped with this kind of functionality as an intended feature or as something that is clearly marked to the user as having potential unintended consequences. I can't see Nintendo adding an option to a menu that comes up with that kind of caveat for a games console that is targeted at a broad range of ages.

Following from that, for a device like the Switch there is a big difference between potential functionality that is available to the system and functionality that it has been designed and tested to provide. The closest comparisons we have to this kind of thing is boost mode on the ps4 pro or the different clock speeds / available ram on the different models of psp or xbox one, but those all came with different hardware revisions rather than being something that was unlocked at a later date in the existing hardware.

I think the point I keep coming back to with this is this: it's clearly not impossible, like sure it is totally within Nintendo's power to enable this kind of performance in a software update, but the shortcomings that we know of and the fact that this has never really been a thing for them to do in the past make it really unlikely.

Click to shrink...

The thing is is that it's the software itself that handles this on phones, not the hardware. There isn't something special in particular in one phone compared to another for this to occur, it's done via the latest Android OS updates, which this would be.

And that is why they would test it to ensure it would work, but if it didn't then it wouldn't come out. I'm not saying just release something that won't work, but in the scenario that it does work, I don't see the issue as an option? I've already also explained that the system endures this kind of heat in a somewhat less favorable environment to what I'm suggesting, which is handheld.

And I don't see this as likely happening, but I really do disagree with a few others being that we already know what happens with the system in this scenario.

 

[qq more]

RE: Battery life concerns. Personally I'd always just plug in my USB-C cable to charge and play my Switch in handheld mode. Don't find it too big of a deal since something like a High Performance mode is something for a niche audience. I mean, it's a choice a user can do anyways. As long as there's no side affects that could damage the user or the switch.

That said, do we know for sure how hot the Switch would be in this mode? I always kinda assumed the Switch only gets hot in dock mode because of the plastic + charging cable, but I never thought about the GPU power...

Unlikely to happen, but I think it'd be cool if Nintendo experiments with such an option and find a solution to making it really work (if needs to be). It would definitely be nice to have lol

 

[jts]

I can't imagine the Switch gets that hot. It would also be a concern for the battery and display.

Not to mention it needs to be ready to go at any time, from docked to portable.

Now, maybe the fan spinning noise and vibration at full speed can get annoying on the hands but other than that eh.

 

[bsigg]

I have to imagine the current heating solution is designed to handle the full clock with the screen off and the clock being lowered to both ensure battery life and limit heat with the screen on.

I think a Switch Pro would be great in a year or two that is able to go back and bump resolutions up.

 

[No Depth]

Handheld mode? Heck no. Tabletop mode? Pointless: Due to being farther away from the screen, the returns would be diminished. And if it is for mainly home, why not just use your tv?

Click to shrink...

Kids, spouses, and others also use the TV. I am someone that chooses to forego playing when unable to use the TV myself(possibly, I don't own a Switch yet), but I totally get why others would ask for a parity option that are possibly forced to play portably even at home.

Besides, rooftop parties are less fun with 30fps FE Warriors too, duh!

 

[Brau]

The thing is is that it's the software itself that handles this on phones, not the hardware. There isn't something special in particular in one phone compared to another for this to occur, it's done via the latest Android OS updates, which this would be.

And that is why they would test it to ensure it would work, but if it didn't then it wouldn't come out. I'm not saying just release something that won't work, but in the scenario that it does work, I don't see the issue as an option? I've already also explained that the system endures this kind of heat in a somewhat less favorable environment to what I'm suggesting, which is handheld.

And I don't see this as likely happening, but I really do disagree with a few others being that we already know what happens with the system in this scenario.

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I mean, if this is feasible I am sure we would see this as an update in the future. Kinda like the Boost mode in PS4 Pro. But it'll need some thorough testing. I think it would be cool to see this implemented tho. But there are so many variables to this. Tho, this reminds me.

While I was working on 3DS and the N3DS came out the N3DS hardware included extra ram that was locked. With the intention of making that available later when necessary. Not sure if that was ever updated. I wonder if there is something like this on the Switch. Tho we can probably expect a New*Switch haha.