Nintendo Switch update 5.0 has hit consoles, but unfortunately, according to the patch notes it doesn’t bring a ton of new features for players. It was hoped by many that the Switch 5.0 update would add some much-wanted features, like save cloud storage, but this new firmware only brings some subtle changes to the OS. Below we’ll fill you in on what’s new with Switch system update 5.0.
Nintendo Switch 5.0 Update: More Friend Options
The most significant feature that the new system update introduces is the ability to add friends via social media account suggestions. If you’ve linked your Facebook or Twitter account to your Nintendo account, you can access a menu to get friend suggestions from players you follow on those accounts.
To get to the new Twitter and Facebook friend suggestions from the HOME menu, just head to your User Page, then select Friend Suggestions. This new feature will make it a lot easier to discover who has a Switch on your social media accounts and make it quicker to find a wider selection of people to game with.
Nintendo Switch 5.0 Update: Expanded Parental Control Options
There are expanded parental controls for the Switch with the introduction of update 5.0. Inputting a parental control PIN is now more private as you can now input the PIN using the Control Stick and buttons instead of the on-screen number pad. If you still want to use the number PIN system, though, you can switch back to it with the + button.
Captured videos in your Album can now be restricted by parental controls as well. If the recording is from a game rated higher than the restriction set in parental controls, then it will be unviewable without entering the parental control PIN.
Using the Nintendo Switch Parental Controls app, parents can now add specific game titles to a whitelist to exclude them from parental control restrictions. However, any play-time limits that have been set will still apply even if a game title is whitelisted.
Nintendo Switch 5.0 Update: Minor Additions and Fixes
There are a host of minor additions with the new system firmware:
- Nintendo has added 24 new player icons from ARMS and Kirby to choose from. (I’m not sure why these aren’t just downloadable from the eShop, but whatever works.)
- Pre-purchased software now gives an alert when it’s downloaded and ready to play.
- Digital purchases made on PC or a smart device will start downloading sooner than before, even in Sleep Mode.
- The Nintendo Switch Pro Controller grip colors now display in the Controllers menu.
- A bug with Play Activity displaying incorrectly in Profiles has been resolved.
Unfortunately, there’s still a lot of features fans are clamoring for that haven’t been added to the Switch. It seems likely we won’t see a significant revision of the Switch OS and functionality until the online services launch this Fall, though.
