Nintendo Releases New Switch Online App Update

Nintendo has released a new update for its Nintendo Switch Online app. The app is Nintendo’s replacement for a chat function on the Switch family of consoles. Instead of having a headset attachment or integrating Discord like the PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles, Nintendo decided to create an app for smartphones that allows Nintendo Switch Online users to communicate.

Fans that have used the Nintendo Switch Online app may remember that many features, such as adding friends, were not added until later in its lifespan. Nintendo has a history of being behind the curve regarding its online play and console horsepower when compared to PlayStation and Xbox. The app is currently the only way to use voice chat within Nintendo’s service, forgoing the chat features similar to what the PS5 and Xbox Series X have.

On May 7, Nintendo released an update for the Nintendo Switch Online app, giving it a landscape mode for Android and iPhones. This allows users to rotate their phone and use the service in a lengthwise format. Along with this feature, Nintendo mentioned “various other small changes” that have been made. What these changes are is currently unknown. Only Android users who have Android OS 8.0 or later, and iPhone users with iOS 15.0 or later will be able to use the app since Nintendo ended support for older smartphones earlier this year.

The Nintendo Switch Online app, which was released in 2017, was originally met with a lukewarm response from users. Some Nintendo fans did not like the idea of having to connect their smartphone in order to engage in voice chat, rather than a traditional headset. Nintendo may have gone with this decision because it markets its consoles as family friendly, as many of its games are targeted at children.

Nintendo has some other family restrictions that are different from those overseas. In Japan, Nintendo Switch Online released an 18+ app, which restricted certain games from use. In the app, games that have a rating of Z by CERO are only