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Firmware 23.0.0 released for Switch and Switch 2, brings docked VRR to Switch 2

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It's that time again folks, an update for the Switch and Switch 2, and a surprisingly big one at that! At lease for folks on the Switch 2. The most notable feature this time around is the addition of Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) when docked on the Switch 2. This was available from launch, but only when playing in handheld mode. For those who aren't familiar with the technology, VRR essentially makes a compatible display refresh at the same rate the system is pushing out frames. That means if the framerate drops to 50fps, your display will update 50 times in a second. I'm oversimplifying a touch here, but the gist is that games that hover around 60 with some drops will likely feel a lot better.

There's also a surprisingly long list of smaller tweaks, including some GameChat changes, a few audio options, and even a quick toggle for Handheld Boost Mode to save you having to search through your settings each time. You can find the full list of changes for each system included below.

Nintendo Switch Ver. 23.0.0
  • Added a settings option to Virtual Game Cards on the HOME Menu.
    • Here you can review and edit which of your consoles can use virtual game cards, among other options.
  • When starting software, if a virtual game card cannot be ejected from another console because it is powered off or otherwise not connected to the internet, there will be a prompt to start the software using an online license.
    • Only the user who purchased the software can play it using the online license.
  • General system stability improvements have been made to enhance the user's experience.
Nintendo Switch 2 Ver. 23.0.0
  • The following updates have been made to GameChat:
    • The list of chats you can join now shows chats you have previously joined.
    • When starting a new chat, you can now enter without inviting any friends.
    • Added an option to the menu that appears when you press the C Button during a chat that lets you change the screen size.
  • Added a settings option to Virtual Game Cards on the HOME Menu.
    • Here you can review and edit which of your consoles can use virtual game cards, among other options.
  • Added support for VRR (variable refresh rate) in TV mode.
    • If supported by both the software and your TV, the refresh rate output will be adjusted based on the software's performance.
    • A Nintendo Switch 2 dock update is required to enable this feature.
  • Added the ability to perform a system transfer from a Nintendo Switch 2 console to another Nintendo Switch 2 console.
  • The following updates have been made under Accessibility in System Settings:
    • Added Portuguese (Brazil) to the available text to speech languages.
    • Added Portuguese (Brazil) to the GameChat "Display Speech as Text" languages.
  • The following updates have been made under Audio in System Settings:
    • Added the option to save settings separately for each connected TV.
  • The following updates have been made under Display in System Settings:
    • Renamed “Dock Output Information” to “Video Output Information”, which now includes details about connected TV outputs.
    • Added settings for VRR.
  • The following updates have been made under Mii in System Settings:
    • Added a feature that lets you create a QR Code for a Mii and share it with other users.
  • The following updates have been made under Sleep Mode in System Settings:
    • Choosing the volume for Play Console Wake-Up Sound in TV Mode now causes the sound to play immediately so that you can check the volume level.
  • Added the ability to enable or disable “Handheld Mode Boost” under Quick Settings.
  • System Transfer to Nintendo Switch 2 has been added under System Settings > System.
  • When starting software, if a virtual game card cannot be ejected from another console because it is powered off or otherwise not connected to the internet, there will be a prompt to start the software using an online license.
    • Only the user who purchased the software can play it using the online license.
  • Music can now be played while creating or editing a Mii.
    • You can change or stop the music using the Music Settings in the top corner of the screen.
  • You can now use other controllers during Handheld Mode Boost while Joy-Con 2 controllers are attached to the console.
  • Play activity, found under Profile on your user page, now combines play time for the same software across multiple consoles.
    • The combined times will be displayed in order, starting with software played after the update.
  • General system stability improvements have been made to enhance the user's experience.
At the time of writing, Atmosphere is yet to be updated, so owners of the original system with CFW installed should lock away their systems to prevent any accidents happening with distant step nephews and other malicious family members.

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subcon959 said:
Nice update but do any games actually support VRR right now?
Click to expand...
On PC and PS5 you can enable VRR globally without individual game support, haven't ever seen it cause any issues so I imagine Switch 2 will have similar functionality.
 
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Scarlet said:

It's that time again folks, an update for the Switch and Switch 2, and a surprisingly big one at that! At lease for folks on the Switch 2. The most notable feature this time around is the addition of Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) when docked on the Switch 2. This was available from launch, but only when playing in handheld mode. For those who aren't familiar with the technology, VRR essentially makes a compatible display refresh at the same rate the system is pushing out frames. That means if the framerate drops to 50fps, your display will update 50 times in a second. I'm oversimplifying a touch here, but the gist is that games that hover around 60 with some drops will likely feel a lot better.

There's also a surprisingly long list of smaller tweaks, including some GameChat changes, a few audio options, and even a quick toggle for Handheld Boost Mode to save you having to search through your settings each time. You can find the full list of changes for each system included below.

Nintendo Switch Ver. 23.0.0
  • Added a settings option to Virtual Game Cards on the HOME Menu.
    • Here you can review and edit which of your consoles can use virtual game cards, among other options.
  • When starting software, if a virtual game card cannot be ejected from another console because it is powered off or otherwise not connected to the internet, there will be a prompt to start the software using an online license.
    • Only the user who purchased the software can play it using the online license.
  • General system stability improvements have been made to enhance the user's experience.
Nintendo Switch 2 Ver. 23.0.0
  • The following updates have been made to GameChat:
    • The list of chats you can join now shows chats you have previously joined.
    • When starting a new chat, you can now enter without inviting any friends.
    • Added an option to the menu that appears when you press the C Button during a chat that lets you change the screen size.
  • Added a settings option to Virtual Game Cardson the HOME Menu.
    • Here you can review and edit which of your consoles can use virtual game cards, among other options.
  • Added support for VRR (variable refresh rate) in TV mode.
    • If supported by both the software and your TV, the refresh rate output will be adjusted based on the software's performance.
    • A Nintendo Switch 2 dock update is required to enable this feature.
  • Added the ability to perform a system transfer from a Nintendo Switch 2 console to another Nintendo Switch 2 console.
  • The following updates have been made under Accessibility in System Settings:
    • Added Portuguese (Brazil) to the available text to speech languages.
    • Added Portuguese (Brazil) to the GameChat "Display Speech as Text" languages.
  • The following updates have been made under Audio in System Settings:
    • Added the option to save settings separately for each connected TV.
  • The following updates have been made under Display in System Settings:
    • Renamed “Dock Output Information” to “Video Output Information”, which now includes details about connected TV outputs.
    • Added settings for VRR.
  • The following updates have been made under Mii in System Settings:
    • Added a feature that lets you create a QR Code for a Mii and share it with other users.
  • The following updates have been made under Sleep Mode in System Settings:
    • Choosing the volume for Play Console Wake-Up Sound in TV Mode now causes the sound to play immediately so that you can check the volume level.
  • Added the ability to enable or disable “Handheld Mode Boost” under Quick Settings.
  • System Transfer to Nintendo Switch 2 has been added under System Settings > System.
  • When starting software, if a virtual game card cannot be ejected from another console because it is powered off or otherwise not connected to the internet, there will be a prompt to start the software using an online license.
    • Only the user who purchased the software can play it using the online license.
  • Music can now be played while creating or editing a Mii.
    • You can change or stop the music using the Music Settings in the top corner of the screen.
  • You can now use other controllers during Handheld Mode Boost while Joy-Con 2 controllers are attached to the console.
  • Play activity, found under Profileon your user page, now combines play time for the same software across multiple consoles.
    • The combined times will be displayed in order, starting with software played after the update.
  • General system stability improvements have been made to enhance the user's experience.
At the time of writing, Atmosphere is yet to be updated, so owners of the original system with CFW installed should lock away their systems to prevent any accidents happening with distant step nephews and other malicious family members.

:arrow: Source
Click to expand...
Ths only problem now is... no game has VRR enablednon their docked performance profile. So nothing actually uses it until it gets patched for it.
 
Xzi said:
On PC and PS5 you can enable VRR globally without individual game support, haven't ever seen it cause any issues so I imagine Switch 2 will have similar functionality.
Click to expand...
That would be the obvious option for Nintendo to include so you can guarantee it won't be there in this update!
 
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subcon959 said:
Nice update but do any games actually support VRR right now?
Click to expand...
Hopefully it's integrated globally, as in the Switch measures the game's framerate automatically by tracking its framebuffer flips. Maybe it is, or isn't, a hacker will have to figure that out. Hmm
 
"Online license" is an underrated feature. You can play your games on multiple consoles simultaneously as long as they're online, without affecting the existing ability to play offline using virtual game cards.

I'm not sure if the online license will still work if you used the lending feature to lend your game away to somebody. Will need to test if that works but it sounds like it would, since the lending feature uses virtual game cards.
 
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Well I'll be dipped. I didn't really expect we would ever get VRR support for TV-out on the Switch 2. I knew it was technically possible with the hardware at hand, but given all of the technical hurdles and Nintendo's preference for shipping fully-baked features, I didn't think it would actually happen. Cool! :D

Since this does require the assistance of the Dock (and a Dock firmware update) I wonder what this means for third-party docks. Are any of the current models going to be able to replicate this VRR support? Especially as seeing how none of those docks use the same DP-to-HDMI converter chip as Nintendo's official Dock.

K3Nv4 said:
Does make me wonder how many more updates switch 1 will get before it's discontinued maybe up to 30
Click to expand...
Even though Nintendo isn't producing new games for the console, and is presumably done (or nearly done) with adding features, I would expect to see the console receive firmware updates for many years to come. Third parties are still releasing new games, and they will need to keep it in sync with the Switch 2 ecosystem so that features such as Virtual Cards work. There will also be the need to issue periodic security updates, if only to keep the eShop working. (They've already taken the biggest steps towards this by replacing the eShop application with the Switch 2's on firmware 22.5)

Meanwhile, the firmware version numbers themselves are largely arbitrary for consumers. I would not be surprised if Horizon has already been forked internally to form a maintenance branch for the Switch 1. But Nintendo could very well opt to keep the public version numbers in sync to indicate that the Switch is still receiving security updates in step with the Switch 2.

Ultimately, the Switch was a ridiculously successful console; more so than any previous Nintendo console. Even with the Switch 2's virtually perfect backwards compatibility, I would be shocked if Nintendo stopped issuing maintenance updates for the console in the next decade. So long as the eShop is active, they'll need to maintain the firmware.
 
ViRGE said:
But Nintendo could very well opt to keep the public version numbers in sync to indicate that the Switch is still receiving security updates in step with the Switch 2.
Click to expand...
Right. Oh, we’re so fearful of a security breach on our Switch and losing our life savings’ worth of games. Thank you, Nintendo, for protecting our games.

Except when you suddenly decide to ban innocent users and provide no compensation for the mental anguish.
 
TomSwitch said:
Right. Oh, we’re so fearful of a security breach on our Switch and losing our life savings’ worth of games. Thank you, Nintendo, for protecting our games.
Click to expand...
The security breach would be someone devising a means to intercept any eShop transactions. Actions that would get them access to your credit cards. It is quite a serious thing, and the biggest hurdle in keeping a digital game shop running after a console generation goes into maintenance mode.
 
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ViRGE said:
The security breach would be someone devising a means to intercept any eShop transactions. Actions that would get them access to your credit cards. It is quite a serious thing, and the biggest hurdle in keeping a digital game shop running after a console generation goes into maintenance mode.
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Bingo. Keeping a legacy storefront safe for billing is the hard part. Really the only logical method around it is limiting those transactions to their website. However nobody seems to do that.
 
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RyanTheArchivist said:
More that thats just not how it works on Nintendo's end. The games themselves toggle it. So all docked profiles have it set to disabled currently.
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That's how it works for PS5 games too, but Sony has a universal toggle that forces it on (with a warning that it might cause instability in some games). I'd imagine Nintendo could implement something like that if they wished.
 
Scarlet said:
Play activity, found under Profile on your user page, now combines play time for the same software across multiple consoles.
Click to expand...
Wow, finally. Since I bought a Switch Lite, my play time has been a mess, because each console would just overwrite the other console's play time. Unfortunately, this is a bit late. My old play times already got overwritten, so my Switch/Switch 2 play times will never be correct.
 
HaloEliteLegend said:
That's how it works for PS5 games too, but Sony has a universal toggle that forces it on (with a warning that it might cause instability in some games). I'd imagine Nintendo could implement something like that if they wished.
Click to expand...
There is no way for us to tell as we have no way of dumping the firmware or game data. so we have no way of telling if it is possible with their setup. However Nintendos love of double buffer vsync would cause issues if force enabled.
 
RyanTheArchivist said:
There is no way for us to tell as we have no way of dumping the firmware or game data. so we have no way of telling if it is possible with their setup. However Nintendos love of double buffer vsync would cause issues if force enabled.
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*shudders in karariko village*
Post automatically merged:

purple_bandit said:
VRR is something your TV or monitor has to support right, to use?
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Correct! And specifically, it'll be HDMI 2.1-compliant VRR that's needed here for the Switch 2.
 
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