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If you’re playing Tears of the Kingdom, is handheld vs docked mode better for your Zelda experience? We’ll be comparing load times, FPS and more.
It looks like there are a lot of variables that might affect the performance of your Switch in Tears of the Kingdom, including whether you’re playing on your handheld console, TV or monitor.
It’s no secret that Breath of Wild performs remarkably better if your Switch is in handheld mode, but the tides seem to have turned for Tears of the Kingdom. This comes as unfortunate news for budget conscious gamers playing on Switch Lite who don’t have the option of docked mode.
We’ll help put the rumours to rest and address whether Tears of the Kingdom plays better on handheld or docked mode.
If you’ve already been experiencing performance issues for Tears of the Kingdom, we’ve already covered some of the fixes right here.
Tears of the Kingdom handheld vs docked mode – load times comparison
Tears of the Kingdom is Nintendo’s biggest ever game for the Switch at 16.2GB which is a factor that impacts the game’s load time. Since the first 1.10 patch, we’ve seen slight improvements to the load times for both handheld and docked modes.
However, if you want to prioritise load speeds, you’ll find docked mode is advantageous. This is likely because the Switch’s GPU can operate at a higher capacity because it’s not drawing power from the battery.
Tears of the Kingdom handheld vs docked mode – FPS comparison
According to reports, Tears of the Kingdom holds pretty true to its target of 30 FPS, regardless of whether you’re using your Switch in handheld or docked mode.
After playing the game, we found that docked mode is slightly better at holding a consistent FPS however. If you really want to improve FPS, then consider the fastest and best SD cards for Nintendo Switch. It might also help lowering the resolution on your Switch.
Tears of the Kingdom handheld vs docked mode – resolution comparison
The resolution for Tears of the Kingdom seems to be slightly better when in docked mode.
In docked mode, the resolution sits at 900p, though it’s subject to change, according to Digital Foundry’s analysis. We found that the resolution can drop to around 720p if the Switch camera is in motion. This tends to fix itself when the camera stops though, so isn’t a major performance issue. To achieve this, you’ll want to make sure your TV resolution is set to 1080p.
Meanwhile, handheld mode has a max resolution of 720p, though if you’re playing on a Switch OLED, the game still looks great, and even better if you’re on a Tears of the Kindom OLED model.
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Frequently asked questions
Does docked mode increase performance?
It depends on the game you’re playing, but with Tears of the Kingdom, you’ll find the overall performance is better with a more stable FPS, faster load times and up to 900p resolution.
Is the Switch 1080p when docked?
Yes, the Switch is at 1080p resolution when docked.
