YouTuber leaves Switch OLED turned on for 75 days for a burn test

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A YouTuber deliberately left his Switch OLED running for more than 1,800 hours in an experiment to determine how far the console’s screen could be pushed before suffering from burnout.

The stress test, conducted by YouTuber Wulff Den, involved leaving a static in-game screenshot of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild on screen, at full brightness, at all hours of the day. While Wolf Dean had originally planned to leave the image on for seven days, he continued the experiment and released a video cataloging the results 11 weeks after the test began.

These results are remarkably positive. “OLED burn-in shouldn’t be a concern for you, ever”, sums up the YouTuber, finding no “noticeable signs of burnout” after about 2,000 hours of leaving the console on, and no difference in color tests they performed comparing initial monitors and final.

“If you’re concerned about the OLED burnout on your Switch because you have about 2,000 game hours, I think you can relax a bit,” he says. “I don’t think it’s a practical concern for anyone.”

However, he noted that the whites of the image became slightly faded after testing, while some other hues took on a greenish tint. Regardless, this doesn’t constitute the kind of image retention that some fans were worried about.

Analysis: to burn or not to burn

Switch fans have been concerned about the possibility of combustion since the console’s OLED model was announced last year. Image retention has long been a flaw in OLED screens, especially TVs, and it was reasonably expected to become a common occurrence here. Games often feature static images that appear on the screen for long periods of time – such as HUDs, logos, or main menus – causing some to worry that their beautiful mobile devices will quickly be ruined by permanent tags.

Wolf Dean’s video shows that this is unlikely to happen. Even if you rarely let your key leave your hands, 1800 hours will take you a long way in the life of your console. The fact that no shadows or marks of any kind appeared during the acidic Wulff Den test indicates that Nintendo’s bouffins have made great strides in reducing the chance of the console burning up.

We think you can feel somewhat comfortable and secure in the knowledge that image retention wouldn’t be a big concern. You might be better off making sure you don’t drop the thing.

If you’re still on the fence about whether the console is right for you, read our Nintendo Switch OLED review for your opinion.

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