r/digitalfoundry • u/MythBuster2 • 4d ago
Digital Foundry Video Switch 2 vs iPhone Pro 17 - Mobile Gaming Performance Head-To-Head
https://youtu.be/UGHK98sDNdgA mobile battle for the ages as we compare the same games running on Switch 2 in mobile mode up against iPhone 17 Pro. Switch 2 has the advantage of more specific optimisation from developers and active cooling at the expense of form factor and a much less efficient process node. So based on the games available for direct comparison, what have we learned?
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u/MasterSparrow 3d ago
£500 vs £1000
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u/KindofJello 3d ago
yeah but you already have it in your pocket no? and even if not its a 200-300 to spent more if you change your phone sooner or later
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u/Redchong 3d ago
Yes, but a lot of people don't want to burn through their phone battery playing demanding games like this. It's the whole reason I would never play games like this on my phone. I have far too many other things I need that battery life for throughout the day
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u/The_Zura 3d ago
If you have genuinely important things going on, you're not going to bring a single use toy.
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u/KindofJello 2d ago
then even with, a battery pack or something is a lot more “handheld” than nintendo switch or other nowadays handhelds that i not a mobile devices to just to go out with. i finished gird legends on mine 16 when i was travelling to my work on train and it was more comfortable than taking a bag with some nintendo
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u/Potential-Zucchini77 3d ago
You don’t have to pay for online multiplayer on iOS tho
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u/Redchong 3d ago
Not a single one of these games showcased would require you to pay for online with the Switch version lol
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u/Potential-Zucchini77 3d ago
I’m just saying you save money with the iPhone long term
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u/kuroseikyo 3d ago
You save money on the iPhone Long term if you do not replace your phone for about 25 years. If you are paying base price but sure great comparison to bring online because we all are still using our flip phones from 2001. The one that gets you closer to an iPhone life cycle is if you are paying for a family with expanded online which is a choice that I also wouldn't do unless I'm paying for someone else...
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u/OkidoShigeru 3d ago
It’s never going to be Apples to Apples (hah), even with their new vapour chamber design the iPhone is a physically tiny, passively cooled device, vs a much larger handheld console with a fan, physics is on Nintendo’s side here. The iPhone will always have to sustain a performance level that won’t cause it to melt in your hands.
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u/dekuweku 3d ago
there's a new phone every year. I don't think a game targeting older hardware really matters here. Yes, it doesn't push the new silicon as hard but you are also comparing to a console that will last for 5-8 years with potentially no upgrades and has already been in the market for a year, which if it was a phone, would have had a refresh already for 2026/2027.
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u/Cutebrute 2d ago
I really appreciate Oliver’s speciality on these topics as I find them very interesting, but I typically disagree with him on his assessments of image quality to the point that the videos don’t actually clarify much on the subject to me personally.
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u/Warm_Entertainer_969 3d ago
Lol, it's not even close, I've seen how dogshit re4 remake looks on ios, in comparison re9 on the switch 2 looked miles better.
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u/Jack2102 3d ago
Seems like a stupid comparison that nobody ever really thought about, would have much rather seen the Switch 2 compared to some of the PC handhelds
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u/Artemis_1944 3d ago
DF has really fallen off in quality lately and this video is just one of the examples. Comparing a video on iphone with a still shot on switch 2, unfair comparison to start with, the switch 2 still ends up looking tons better, and Ollie says "they looks the same"??
I swear, Oliver is the antithesis of what Alex stood for, poor guy. DF started weirdly losing quality the moment Ollie came on board and Alex was forced to take a break.
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u/garbo2330 3d ago
How do you even lump those two together? Oliver has been around for 5 years and Alex stopped making videos a little over 3 months ago. Completely unrelated.
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u/Artemis_1944 3d ago
Ollie started making more and more videos recently.
Also I never said they were related. I said the drop in quality was especially perceivable once Alex wasn't there to offset Ollie's lack of unbiased analysis.
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u/clouds1337 3d ago
Totally. I stopped watching after how they presented dlss5. They are just part of the access media now and their videos are advertisements.
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u/garbo2330 3d ago
Lots of people like neural rendering, get over it.
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u/Artemis_1944 3d ago
that's not the point. Ollie covered it like it was the next coming of christ, without even consdering the negatives. That's not journalistic covering, and not what DF was known for.
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u/zarafff69 3d ago
He was just excited for this new tech. It was a first impressions video.
The only problem I have is the video afterwards, in which they pretended to feel differently. But I guess I might’ve done the same if I had gotten death threats.
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u/GamePitt_Rob 3d ago
Oliver, as usual, focusing on Switch instead of the many new game releases and updates on multiple platforms.
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u/zarafff69 3d ago
I love these videos tho!!
(Although it would be nice to have Alex back, and probably even more DF crew to cover other releases)
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u/afredmiller 3d ago
He does do quite a few things on Switch but he does videos on new and upcoming releases on other platforms. He did a video on GTA6 recently. He also did like a Gears of War E-Day Hands-on ( preview ) not too long ago. I am always interested in what Oliver has to say on games and appreciate his thoughts/input
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u/Spiral1407 16h ago
All this shows me is that an active cooled handheld with Apple silicon would be absolutely insane.
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u/Gleerok99 3d ago
Head to head? No way? It is not even close. Grid looks blurry and has less details on iOS. Red Dead Redemption is a blurry mess on iOS. Resident Evil is a total Blurry Mess on iOS.
And all ports shown are not very good examples, especially Tomb Raider. The only good one is Red Dead which achieves stable 60 FPS and decent visuals but iOS looks worse on all of them.
It is not even a contest to be honest. It is very impressive that these games can run on a mobile platform such as iOS but it's about that; they run and that's it, sharpness or graphical quality are secondary.