How bad is a Nintendo Switch OLED burn-in? Here’s a 3600 hour test

OLED screens are gorgeous, brilliant, and vibrant — but they don’t last forever. In the end, organically lit pixels can be damaged, and some have been worried regarding this OLED-equipped Nintendo Switch, which was released last October, may finally succumb to the burn. The good news? According to a test, it can take 3,600 hours of continuous gameplay on a steady screen to reach a point Begins To see the first signs of this terrifying disease screen.

Report from YouTuber Wolf Dunn that five months following leaving the Nintendo Switch OLED on, plugged in to the charger, and leaving a still screenshot of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the WildLink is effectively staring at the sun, it’s only now finally See some shadows. And it’s not much, as you’ll see for yourself in the video embedded above.

As my colleague Chris Welch told you At launch, burn-in wasn’t the fear it used to be with OLED screens, as the technology has come a long way, both in terms of OLED sub-pixel longevity and built-in software protection. Sometimes these protections can be a bit aggressive, as I explain In my review of the LG C1 OLED TV 48 inch. But they’re there, and even if the burning continues, everything Nintendo does seems to work.

By the way: The Nintendo Switch turned 5 last week. Here are some pieces we wrote to celebrate that: