Craziest & Most Awesome Nintendo Switch Accessory? Up-Switch Orion

In this episode, we look at what could be the Craziest & Most Awesome Nintendo Switch Accessory the Up Switch Orion 11.6 inch IPS display for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch OLED.

There are so many different grips and grip cases out there for both the Switch and the Switch OLED differentiating them can be a bit of a challenge. Challenge accepted, said the team at Up Switch, who have come out with perhaps the most unique, most odd, most incredible Switch grip ever. See, anyone can make a grip, anyone can make a case, but it takes someone with a little bit of crazy to make one with a built-in 11.6 inch display.

From the box, the Orion comes in a few separate pieces. The left and right joy-con holders must be screwed into the back of the unit before you can play. They include a pair of screws and an extra pair for you to be able to perform this. While the left side screwed on without any issue, I did have some issues with the right side. Upon further inspection, the hole which was injected molded into the grip was not quite centered with the hole for the threads in the back of the device. This caused a bit of an alignment issue for me. I used a tapered reamer to open up this hole a little bit to get more of a straight-on shot. I feel like the joy-con grip holders could have been made a little bit larger, they're a bit small for my taste and I generally prefer smaller controllers.

The Orion features a standard size HDMI input jack, USB-C for power, and a 3.5 mm headphone jack. I love the fact that the HDMI input is a standard and not mini or micro HDMI, it makes it much easier for you to be able to grab and go and connect any device without an adapter. To power the Orion, you must use your own external battery pack or the Switch AC power supply. There is no cable provided for connecting a battery pack, kind of a miss in my opinion.

The 11.6 inch IPS display does not feature touch capabilities, so if you were looking to play touch games on it from the Switch you will not be able to do so. This is a very similar panel to those that I've tested from WiMAXit and LePow in the past, usable but it is not going to win any awards. The colors are muted and soft, but man, it's huge! Scrolling through the menu is very similar to those other monitors as well, and that can be somewhat frustrating as the push buttons don't always do what you think they should. Also, the volume rocker must be pressed once for every adjustment up or down of your volume. That's a pain.

Once I slid my Switch OLED into the system I went in to start playing games. I did notice that the left joy-con took a little bit longer to connect to my system than the right. This has nothing to do with the Orion as the joycons are utilizing wireless connectivity and there's no physical connection well in the Orion. This was odd.

I will say that I felt more comfortable playing the Orion while resting it on a tabletop. This thing is heavy, and part of that is the display, part of it is the battery pack, and part is the Switch. Imagine holding your computer monitor to play your Switch, that's going to be pretty similar to The experience here from a weight standpoint. Thankfully, the built-in kickstand is extremely well designed and tabletop mode is wonderful. One thing that's less wonderful coming from the Switch OLED is the quality of the 2.5 mm speakers. Where the Switch OLED has amazing audio, these definitely hurt the overall experience.

One thing that can be a concern with displays like this is any lag, delay, or latency. Playing games such as Street Fighter, Punch-Out, those sorts of games that require rapid responsiveness, I will say it actually felt pretty decent. Action platformers such as Super Mario Odyssey, beat'em ups such as the vastly superior Turtles in Time all felt decent as well. Viewing angles were pretty good, again comparable to other screens of the style and design.

Why it RoX:
- Turns your Switch or Switch OLED into a Super Switch
- Standard HDMI input
- Usable as a secondary monitor with your computer
- Responsive
- Excellent beefy kickstand
- Protective carry case included
- Extra set of screws included

What could be improved:
- Not 1080P
- No power supply or USB cable provided
- No touch screen function
- Heavy
- Joy-con holders a bit small
- Speaker quality is rather low
- Volume rocker must be pressed each time to adjust

Should you buy one?
This is a really interesting concept, and as such, it's an interesting first effort but there are definitely areas that can be improved. The audio quality is really not good, I'd like a way to bypass the built-in speakers and just have the Switch OLED s work. The rocker adjustment for the volume is also tedious. I do love the built-in HDMI, and for what it is the display is decent. I look at this as more of a novelty and I don't know that this will have widespread appeal. It's a clever concept I just don't know that I am the right customer for it.

#SwitchOLED #Orion #SwitchGrip