Skip to main content

Nintendo’s latest Switch update finally makes it easier to find friends

Nintendo’s latest Switch update finally makes it easier to find friends

/

Nintendo also appears to be preparing the system for hardware updates

Share this story

Photo by James Bareham / The Verge

Nintendo’s latest 5.0 software update for the Switch console is now available, and it adds a bunch of minor new features. These include new friend suggestions based off your Facebook and Twitter accounts and new user account icon options, including the lovable pink Kirby. (To add more friends, head to your user page and select friend suggestions.)

For a 5.0 update (from the previous 4.1 in December 2017), the added functionalities are pretty incremental. Other additions to 5.0 include the option to filter news from specific channels, downloads made from a PC or smartphone will start downloading sooner (even if your console is in sleep mode), and new notifications for when prepurchased software is ready to play. You can now also add specific games to your whitelist in the Switch Parental Controls app, though any time limit restrictions you have enabled will still apply.

Nintendo also appears to be readying the Switch system for hardware updates with a revision of its SoC, as noted by self-described hacking enthusiast @SciresM:

If you own a Switch, the console usually automatically downloads updates while it's connected online, but you can also manually start the update if you wish.