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Nintendo Switch Lite review

The Nintendo Switch Lite is the company’s latest addition to the hugely popular Switch line-up, providing a more compact Nintendo Switch experience with a smaller display and lightweight design. But the company’s focus on portability on the Switch Lite means it misses out on some of the key features of the Nintendo Switch, which begs the question; is the Switch Lite worth it?

We’ve spent a lot of time with the Nintendo Switch Lite asking ourselves this very question, and here’s what we think.

Nintendo Switch Lite pricing and availability

The Nintendo Switch Lite is the cheapest way to get into the Nintendo Switch ecosystem at £199/$199, and if that wasn’t enough, there are already a variety of deals that give you more bang for your buck. Our favourite at the time of writing bundles the Switch Lite and Zelda: Link’s Awakening for only £219 at Currys PC World.

For those that already have a plethora of Switch titles and just want the console, you can pick up the Switch Lite right now from , , Amazon and other third-party retailers in the UK, along with Amazon and Best Buy in the US.

It’s the Switch, but Lite

The Nintendo Switch Lite shares the same broad design aesthetic as the standard Nintendo Switch, but in a smaller, lighter, more colourful form factor. While the standard Switch can be a little too big to transport depending on whether you’ve got a rucksack to hand, the Lite’s 208 x 91.1 x 13.9mm body is compact enough to fit into some jacket pockets.

That’s perfect for the on-the-go nature of the handheld console, but to make it fit, Nintendo had to shrink the already small display.

The Switch Lite sports a smaller 5.5in LCD display compared to the 6.2in display of the standard Nintendo Switch, and while we were initially dubious about a downgrade of size from an already relatively small 720p display, it does still provide an immersive portable gaming experience – although we could imagine struggling to see smaller elements in large-scale games like The Witcher 3: Complete Edition when it comes out later this year.

It’s not all doom and gloom though; the smaller form factor of the Lite means it’s noticeably lighter than the standard Switch at only 275g. While that may still sound relatively weighty, it’s actually slightly lighter than the Xbox One controller that shipped with the console at launch in 2013 (280g).

When you consider the fact that Switch Lite has the grunt to power a mid-range portable gaming experience, that’s an impressive feat, and it’s one of the most noticeable design changes when you first pick up the console.

Along with the more noticeable changes of the Lite console, there are a range of smaller changes including the removal of the kickstand (and replacement standard microSD card slot) and a redesigned directional pad, featuring joined buttons instead of separate buttons. That brings the directional pad of the Switch Lite in-line with older Nintendo devices while also making it easier to use without looking at the controller itself.

With smaller form comes reduced functionality

The compact form factor of the Switch Lite is great, but to achieve it, Nintendo had to remove much of what makes the Switch special as a console.

The most obvious omission is the hybrid functionality that lets Switch owners go from a portable console to a home console via the use of a dock and easily removable Joy-Cons. That simply isn’t possible with the handheld-only Nintendo Switch Lite, meaning you’re locked to the 5.5in 720p output of the display. Don’t even bother trying to attempt your own workaround either, as a teardown of the console has revealed that it doesn’t feature the hardware to offer TV output.

The Joy-Cons are also non-removable, as mentioned above, which is probably the biggest disappointment of the Switch Lite. The controllers are built-in on the Switch and thus can’t provide a local two-player experience without splashing out on additional Joy-Cons or a Pro controller.

That also means that you can no longer use the Joy-Cons to simulate movement in games, whether it be the action of throwing a Pokeball in Pokémon! Let’s go Pikachu or throwing punches in ARMS. That’ll apply to upcoming games that utilise the feature too, including Nintendo’s own spiritual successor to the Wii Fit, the . Oh, and you can forget about using the suite of Cardboard accessories too.

You can, admittedly, buy a separate set of Joy-Cons to connect and use with the Switch Lite, but at around £70/$60 a pop, you’d just be better off buying the standard Nintendo Switch.

It can limit the number of games that you’re able to play, and at the time of writing, there’s no easy way to tell whether any game on Nintendo’s eShop are compatible with the Switch Lite.

And while it’s not as big a deal as other missing features, the Switch Lite also misses out on the Rumble HD motors of the standard console. The haptic feedback isn’t crucial to the gameplay experience for the majority of Switch titles, but it was a nice immersive feature to have.

Our biggest concern is that developers may decide against implementing movement-based features in future Switch titles, especially if the Switch Lite matches the standard console in terms of popularity. We’ll just have to wait and see…

The Lite keeps on going

One of the benefits of the Switch Lite is extended battery life compared to the original Nintendo Switch, which we imagine is due to the removal of features like Rumble HD and motion input along with the smaller display.

In terms of specifics, the Switch Lite sports a 3,570mAh battery that Nintendo claims can last around seven hours per charge. That number depends on the game you’re playing, as a game like Zelda: Breath of the Wild will drain the battery quicker than something more simplistic, which makes it a hard metric to test.

We didn’t hit the coveted seven-hour mark during our time with the console, but it did manage around five-and-a-half hours of Pokémon Let’s Go! Pikachu before requiring a top-up.

Despite not living up to the seven-hour claim, the Switch Lite generally seems to last a little longer than the original Nintendo Switch, although some Switch Lite reviewers have noted that the updated 2019 variant of the standard Switch does last longer.

Without the hybrid functionality, there’s no need for the dock, making the charging process a little more basic than what Switch fans may be used to. It’s admittedly a small issue, but one that buyers should be aware of before making the purchase.

Verdict

The Nintendo Switch Lite is a great handheld device that provides the core Nintendo Switch experience in a compact, travel-friendly form factor. The 5.5in display is smaller than that of the standard console, but it’s not small enough to ruin the immersive experience on offer by the console – although you may struggle to notice smaller items in some games.

Crucially, the redesigned form factor means the Switch Lite fits into the majority of pockets, enhancing the pick-up-and-go appeal of the handheld-only console.

But while we appreciate the lightweight and portable design, Nintendo has sacrificed what many fans consider to be the defining features of the Switch, including the hybrid nature of the console, the removable Joy-Cons, advanced motion support and Rumble HD motors.

This also means that the Lite has compatibility issues with games that require one of the aforementioned features, locking players out of unique Switch experiences like Cardboard and the upcoming Ring Fit Adventure.

So yes, it’s the cheapest way to get into the Nintendo Switch ecosystem and yes, it does provide a better portable experience than the standard console, but there are some sacrifices you’ll have to get over if you pick one up.

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Danielle Cohn: Are teen influencers being exploited?

US social media star Danielle Cohn has nearly four million followers on Instagram and 1.4 million on YouTube. She’s also one of TikTok’s biggest stars, with more than 13 million fans.

The teenager’s photographs and their captions are often provocative.

She wears bikinis, lingerie and figure-hugging dresses, and her photo locations include bedrooms, pool-sides, and in one case lying beside a waxwork figure of the late Playboy founder Hugh Hefner, while wearing bunny ears.

Her recent brand collaborations include a women’s fashion label and an energy drink.

“What would u ask me if u knew my answer would be yes?” she wrote recently beside a picture of herself wearing a tight white dress, her hands above her head, in which she promoted a fashion brand.

She is managed by her mother.

But this a good line of work for a teenager?

“Once on the internet, always on the internet,” says Rohan Midha, co-founder of the influencer agency PMYB.

“When she does hit 18 she may not be able to be doing these brand deals any more. It may not be a sustainable career.

“She may need to get a normal job, like everyone else… all of this stuff will come up when an employer searches her name.”

Mr Midha said he didn’t think young teenagers were capable of making such a huge decision about creating a specific identity that would follow them into adult life.

“I believe that often it’s an older relative or family member who has realised there is the opportunity to make some money in the short term and puts together a social strategy to grab the attention of the media,” he said.

Under UK law the employment of children below the age of 18 is heavily regulated but social media companies have no such obligations because they are not employing the children who use their platform, explains Keely Rushmore, partner at British law firm SA Law.

How about the brands they collaborate with?

“In the UK children can potentially enter into contracts for services personally, but this can be problematic,” she said.

“A way around this is to contract with the parents of the child instead, and I would expect that many brands choose this option in order to protect themselves.”

And there’s another issue – there’s a continuing debate about how old Danielle actually is.

Last week her estranged father, Dustin Cohn, wrote a long Facebook post in which he said he was unhappy with her online activities and claimed that Danielle was just 13 years old.

He has previously released a document which he says is her birth certificate.

His intervention made headlines across the world, including in the UK’s Sun newspaper, the New Zealand Herald, and Canada’s Toronto Sun.

Danielle issued an angry response to her father’s claims, saying she was “living her best life”.

However, she did not mention her age.

According to Danielle’s bio, and previous assertions by Danielle herself, she is 15. The BBC has tried to contact her mother for comment.

Whatever her true age, some of the suggestive images date back more than two years on Danielle’s Instagram account.

She’s also no stranger to controversy after a video which appeared to show her getting married and revealing a pregnancy were released this summer – this turned out to be a promotion for a music video.

Instagram influencers: Have we stopped believing?

How much do Instagram influencers earn?

Her mother argues that what her daughter is doing is for her own benefit.

She said previously: “You might not agree with what my daughter [posts] or what she does, but at this age she [is] setting up her life… she [can] become a millionaire at her age.”

While Danielle Cohn appears to have a good relationship with her mother, who features in many of her YouTube videos, the comments left under them suggest not all viewers are entirely comfortable with Danielle’s work.

“You’re 13, stop it. Have a childhood while you can,” wrote one below a video uploaded on Sunday.

Children’s charity the NSPCC warns that even in the short term, there is no way of controlling what happens to an image once it is on the net.

“Parents should be aware there can be negative consequences of children sharing pictures of themselves on social media, as they will never be able to control where those images go,” said a spokeswoman.

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A Reddit user charted just how much AMD is beating Intel right now

It’s no secret that AMD is experiencing a surge in both popularity and sales, but we’ve just seen some analysis that really puts AMD’s recent victories into perspective.

Recently through the German retailer, both the AMD Ryzen 7 3700X and AMD Ryzen 5 3600 have outsold Intel’s entire product range – and this isn’t exactly a new occurrence. That alone would be enough to assert AMD’s dominance, but Reddit user ingebor gathered up a whole bunch of sales data from Mindfactory that illustrates just how far AMD has come in the last decade.

According to this data, AMD has been beating Intel in the amount of processors sold since the tail end of 2018, but that didn’t exactly result in AMD collecting more cash. This is probably because Intel charges much more for its processors on average. Reddit user ingebor included a graph recording the average selling price for each processor, and Intel has been much higher for years now. So, even if AMD sells more processors, that doesn’t result in more revenue.

Until recently, that is. According to the revenue graph, AMD has recently experienced a massive spike in revenue (and in the average selling price of its processors). The graph isn’t labeled by month, but it looks like this spike occurred right around when AMD launched its Ryzen 3rd Generation lineup, spearheaded by the Ryzen 9 3900X.

From the way things are looking now, it doesn’t look like Intel will be taking back its leader position in the desktop CPU market, at least until Team Blue puts out its 10th gen desktop lineup. We’ve seen some rumors that it would be putting out some 10th-gen Cascade Lake-X processors, but it’s unlikely that HEDT chips like that will regain Intel’s market dominance.

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Why is AMD doing so well?

AMD launched its first generation of Ryzen processors in early 2017, and that’s right when we see the first spike of that red line on all three graphs. Before that, AMD had relied on its struggling Bulldozer CPU architecture, which allowed Intel to dominate the desktop CPU market with little to no competition. AMD Ryzen could have easily been a fluke, but Intel kept releasing more and more optimizations of Skylake, rather than innovating, which helped AMD’s Zen architecture take over.

With each AMD Ryzen release, we see AMD gaining market share – with another spike in 2018 with Ryzen 2nd generation, and than an absolutely meteoric rise this year with AMD Ryzen 3rd generation.

Intel will be putting out a new Coffee Lake Refresh chip with the Intel Core i9-9900KS, and while it will probably sell – 5.0GHz on all cores means it will be a speedy little piece of silicon – but we really don’t think it will be enough to reverse the trend. However, if Intel is able to bring some of the efficiency and AI features in Ice Lake to the desktop audience without significantly raising the price of its silicon, we might see Team Blue start to claw its way back to dominance.

And, honestly, we hope something actually happens. It’s nice to see AMD give Intel some long-awaited competition, but the last thing we want to see is AMD fall into complacency like Intel did. When the PC components marketplace is competitive, everyone wins, so we want nothing more than for Intel to put out some killer processors. Now all we have to do is sit and wait to see what the 10th generation has in store.

Via Tom’s Hardware

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Cyberthreats have evolved – but Norton protection has too

We all know how critical it is to have good quality protection when online these days, particularly when entering credit card details for shopping, accessing online banking, or other finance-related activities.

Cybercriminals have an increasingly diverse range of tricks and attack vectors at their disposal, and we’ve recently witnessed them going as far as cloning the website of a popular VPN provider in an attempt to fool unwitting surfers into downloading malware. Not to mention a huge increase in mobile banking malware threats and a major comeback from ransomware, one of the nastiest infections around.

In short, the threat landscape is more dangerous terrain than ever, and with cyberthreats constantly evolving and becoming more prevalent, you need a security solution which is equally evolved – and covers you from multiple angles.

Multiple layers of defence

Having a simple antivirus app might be a good start in terms of defending your devices, but really, you need multiple layers of defence to be truly safe online. However, the trouble is it’s something of a headache thinking about what security apps you might need, and which of those solutions are best.

For example, as well as antivirus, you’ll likely want a VPN to better protect your online privacy – but which one exactly? And perhaps more to the point, how much will that cost? There may be free VPNs out there, some of you might be thinking, but these can – and often do – have a hidden cost in terms of your privacy (ironically).

Wouldn’t it be much easier if there was a single all-in-one solution that had antivirus, VPN, and several other layers of security you need built-in? Fortunately, there is such a solution: Norton 360 is a new type of security solution which has been developed to cover multiple bases in one convenient package.

Naturally, top-notch antivirus (with real-time protection) is a given, but along with that, even the most affordable version of Norton 360; Norton 360 Standard provides you with an easy-to-use VPN which has no data limits or other catches.

This security suite also delivers a password manager, protection for your browser (PC-only), plus an intelligent firewall, all of which combine with the core antivirus (with ransomware protection) and VPN to make you that much safer online.

The layers of protection don’t stop there, though. Norton 360 also provides webcam protection to prevent untrusted apps from accessing your camera, a particularly intrusive attack vector which is perhaps the ultimate invasion of your privacy, meaning you’re literally being spied on.

There’s also a good quality spam filter (PC-only) to keep your email inbox free of junk.

There are other extras present in Norton 360, too, including a PC cloud backup facility to keep vital data safe in case the worst happens (such as a drive failure) and also some system maintenance tools to help clean up PC.

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Protection for the whole family

Norton 360 Standard covers all your security requirements as an individual, but if you have a family, the next step up – Norton 360 Deluxe – provides coverage for more devices for all family members, alongside more PC cloud backup space, and it adds parental control to keep your kids safe when they’re online.

Part of the strength of Norton 360 is that not only does it cover a huge array of different aspects of security but it covers them really thoroughly. Norton LifeLock actually delivers quality across all its many facets.

That VPN? It’s a fully-fledged service featuring bank-grade encryption. Those parental controls? They don’t just allow you to police the content your kids will see, and the times they can be online, but they also facilitate deeper coverage in terms of monitoring social network usage and web searches.

Every part of Norton 360 is fully fleshed out and polished to a high standard. As the name suggests, this is a protection covering your devices and information from multiple angles when it comes to maintaining your online privacy and being protected against the latest dangerous threats.

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Is Nikon about to unveil an APS-C mirrorless camera?

Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless models, the Z7 and the Z6, have proved popular since their launch last year, and now rumors suggest the company could be planning to unveil a mirrorless APS-C model.

NikonRumors claims the new model will be called the Z50, and will be supported at launch by a pair of new APS-C format (DX in Nikon terminology) lenses.

The site says the camera will have a 20MP sensor, an articulating three-inch screen and an electronic viewfinder, and will offer 11fps shooting. The lenses that are rumored to be launching with it are a 16-55mm f/3.5-6.3 kit-type lens and a 50-230mm f/4.5-6.3 telephoto zoom lens.

Mount options

These aren’t the first rumors of Nikon launching a lower-cost or entry-level mirrorless camera, and it would make a lot of sense for Nikon to enter the mirrorless APS-C market, which until now it’s left to rivals Sony and Canon.

If it does launch an APS-C model, it’ll be interesting to see whether Nikon uses the same mount across all its models, as Sony does, or splits them into distinct APS-C and full-frame categories with separate lenses, as Canon does.

With relatively few specs to go on it’s not immediately obvious who a camera like the Z50 would be aimed at, but it’s likely to go head to head with the likes of the Sony A6600, or perhaps the Sony A6100 if Nikon is aiming for the entry-level market.

September and October tend to be busy months for new launches as manufacturers look to cash in on the lucrative Christmas market, so watch this space.

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Remember Yahoo Mail? It’s back to tame your messages – even if you use Gmail

Yahoo has released a new version of its mobile app, and even if you’re wedded to Gmail or Outlook, it’s well worth a look.

Unlike Google or Microsoft’s email apps, the new Yahoo Mail is effectively a mobile email client that you can use with any email provider. Just download it for iOS or Android, connect your accounts, and you’re ready to go.

There’s no need to switch to Yahoo’s email service, but there’s an impressive 1TB free storage available if you do (compared to 15GB with Gmail or Outlook).

Never lose another attachment

If you’ve ever lost a file in your inbox and had hunt down the email it was attached to, you’ll appreciate the ability to see all received files in a single place. They’re arranged by date, and you can filter them by type if you know exactly what you’re looking for.

If you subscribe to several deals newsletters, you can also choose to filter your messages so they all appear in one place. You don’t have to spend time making folders, rules or labels – it all happens automatically. If you’re using iOS, you can also choose to see deal emails from nearby retailers.

Apple users can also see time-sensitive updates at the top of their inbox, including package dispatch notifications or deals that will expire soon.

There’s a shortage of powerful free email clients for mobile devices, so the new Yahoo Mail is a welcome addition to Google Play and the App Store. It’ll be interesting to see if any other email providers follow suit with similar features.

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The Arlo Pro 3 security camera boasts 2K resolution, color night vision, and a 160-degree field of view

The Arlo Pro 3 boasts 2K HDR resolution and adds several features that were previously only available on the top-of-the-line Arlo Ultra, including a built-in alarm, spotlight, and color night vision.

Just announced by Arlo with a sticker price of $500 for a two-camera set, the Arlo Pro 3’s 2K HDR resolution boosts the pixel count of the 1080p Arlo Pro 2 by about 80 percent. The Arlo Pro 3 also boasts two-way audio and a 160-degree field of view, up from 130 degrees on its predecessor.

The weather-resistant Arlo Pro 3 also borrows some key features from the 4K Arlo Ultra, which goes for a steep $400 for a single camera.

First up is the integrated spotlight, which can be activated automatically whenever the Pro 3 detects motion in an activity zone. Thanks to the spotlight, you also get color night vision, meaning no more grainy black-and-white video clips of after-hours activity on your doorstep. Then there’s the motion-activated siren, which can help frighten off potential intruders.

The Arlo Pro 3 also works with with Arlo’s full range of Ultra accessories, including a solar panel, outdoor 25-foot charging cables, and a dual-battery charging station.

Compatible with Amazon Alexa, Apple HomeKit, and Google Assistant, the new Arlo Pro 3 comes with a revamped SmartHub that offers optimized Wi-Fi and power performance, according to Arlo. The rechargeable Arlo Pro 3 offers between three to six months of battery life, Arlo claims.

The Arlo Pro 3 comes with a three-month trial of Arlo Smart Premier, a $10-a-month service that offers “advanced” AI detection, the ability to customize activity zones (which lets you pick and choose motion-detection areas within the camera’s field of vision), mobile lock-screen notifications, e911 emergency call service, and 30 days of cloud video storage.

We’ll have a full review of the Arlo Pro 3 once we’ve given it a thorough test drive.