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Nintendo Switch update adds features we’ve wanted since launch

Published Apr 14th, 2020 8:58AM EDT
Nintendo Switch update
Image: Wachiwit/Shutterstock

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  • Nintendo released the 10.0.0 system update for the Switch on Monday, April 13th.
  • Nintendo Switch system update 10.0.0 adds several new features, including the ability to transfer games and data from the system memory to an SD card and the option to remap controller buttons.
  • You can manually update your Switch by going to System Settings > System > System Update.
  • Visit BGR’s homepage for more stories.

The bar could not have been lower for the Nintendo Switch when it launched in March 2017.

The disappointment of the Wii U was still fresh in the minds of fans, and the hope was that the company had learned from the mistakes of the previous generation. When we got our hands on the Switch for the first time, it was clear that Nintendo had righted the ship, but that’s not to say it was a perfect product. Despite launching more than three years after the PS4 and Xbox One, it lacked some of the most basic features of those consoles.

Over the years, Nintendo has slowly but surely brought its console up to speed, and on Monday, some of the features that Switch owners have been requesting since the console debuted were finally added.

According to Nintendo’s customer support website, system update 10.0.0 began rolling out on April 13th, bringing four major features to the console. The most substantial has to be the ability to transfer software data between an SD card and the system memory. Previously, users were forced to redownload software altogether if the internal memory filled up and they wanted to move it over to external storage. Now, users can transfer games, update data, and DLC back and forth freely, but “save data and some update data cannot be transferred to an SD card.”

Nintendo also added the option to remap controller buttons. Analog stick and button configurations can be customized on both the left and right Joy-Con controllers, the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, and the Nintendo Switch Lite. Up to five favorite custom configurations can be saved for each individual controller (including Joy-Con (L) and (R)). Head to System Settings > Controllers and Sensors to find your custom configurations.

Those are the two major additions, but Nintendo also added the following features in 10.0.0:

  • You can now bookmark up to 300 items in the News section.
  • “Display play activity to:” and “Delete Play Activity” have moved to Play Activity Settings.
  • 6 new user profile icons from Animal Crossing: New Horizons are now available to choose from.

You will probably be notified about the update the next time you power on your Switch, but if not, you can update the console manually by going to System Settings > System > System Update. Once the update is downloaded and installed, you can start transferring data and remapping controllers to your heart’s content.

Jacob Siegal
Jacob Siegal Associate Editor

Jacob Siegal is Associate Editor at BGR, having joined the news team in 2013. He has over a decade of professional writing and editing experience, and helps to lead our technology and entertainment product launch and movie release coverage.