If you’ve owned a Switch for a while, you’re likely wondering if you should play Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in handheld or TV mode. The experience between the two can be radically different depending on the game, with some running better in one mode than the other. However, Nintendo has pushed the Switch to its limits for this one, and we were surprised at how optimized it is.
Does Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom run better in handheld or TV mode?
Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom runs about equally well in handheld and TV modes. The game is capped at 30fps for both and actually manages to keep that up in most areas.
According to Digital Foundry, the big difference between TV and handheld mode in Tears of the Kingdom is the resolution. TV mode targets 900p and uses FSR to upscale to 1080p. Predictably, in handheld mode, the game targets 720p (the native resolution of the console’s screen).
However, the Switch is pretty long in the tooth, so you’ll experience some slowdown in some areas. As of version 1.1.0, you’ll see dips into the 20fps range when triggering the use of Ultrahand and in places where there are a lot of NPCs. Handheld mode performs just a bit better in these instances because it targets a lower resolution, but you won’t notice a huge difference.
So, you can feel free to enjoy Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom in handheld or TV mode. Neither of them has disadvantages compared to the other.
