What reviewers say
Reviewers praise the more comfortable shape, larger screens and improved battery life. Enlarging the screens without increasing resolution makes pixels more visible. TechRadar misses a second analogue control, while Nintendo Life questions whether the changes justify upgrading an existing 3DS; Ars sees it as the stronger choice for newcomers.
From arstechnica.com, nintendolife.com and techradar.com
Specifications
Report a wrong or missing specPerformance
- Type
- Handheld
- Disc drive
- No
- Storage expansion
- SD cards up to 2 GB and SDHC cards from 4 to 32 GB; SDHC card included (UK manual; capacity stated on the box)
Display and video
- Built-in screen
- 4.88″ LCD, 800 × 240
- Built-in screen
- Upper 4.88-inch 3D LCD, 800 × 240 with 400 pixels per eye in 3D; lower 4.18-inch touch LCD, 320 × 240; both display 16.7 million colours. Five brightness levels and power-saving mode (UK manual)
- Audio
- Stereo speakers with pseudo-surround and headphone output
Design and power
- Battery life (maker's claim)
- Up to 6.5 hours
- Weight
- 336 g
- Battery life detail
- SPR-003 replaceable 6.5 Wh lithium-ion pack; approximately 3.5–6.5 hours with 3DS software or 6–10 hours with DS software. Runtime depends on brightness, software, wireless use and temperature; cameras may shorten it further. Charge approximately 3.5 hours when off
- Size
- 156 × 93 × 22 mm when closed (width × height × thickness); 336 g includes battery, stylus and SD card
Connections
- Ports
- Game card and SD card slots, charging cradle contacts, AC adapter connector and stereo audio jack
- Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
- Wi-Fi IEEE 802.11b/g, 2.4 GHz; infrared. Amiibo requires the separate NFC Reader/Writer (Nintendo UK); the retained Japanese page's NFC line conflicts with this accessory requirement
- Controller
- One Circle Pad, D-pad, A/B/X/Y, L/R, Start, Select and Home; motion and gyro sensors. One inner and two outer fixed-focus 0.3-megapixel CMOS cameras (Nintendo Japan)
- Backward compatibility
- Nintendo 3DS, DS, DSi and DSi-enhanced game cards; 3DS and DSi software must match the system's region (UK manual)
Pros and cons
Pros
- Larger upper and lower screens than the original 3DS
- Plays Nintendo 3DS, DS and DSi game cards
- User-replaceable battery and SD or SDHC card storage
Cons
- Screen resolution stays at 400 × 240 per eye despite the larger upper screen
- A second analogue control requires the separate Circle Pad Pro XL
- UK AC adapter sold separately
Closest rivals
Model | Type | Output | Memory | Storage | Weight | Released |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Handheld | – | 640 MB | – | 260 g | Dec 2011 | |
| Handheld | – | 640 MB | 1 GB | 219 g | Oct 2013 | |
| Handheld | – | – | – | 260 g | Oct 2013 |
Previous model: 3DS. Newer model: New 3DS XL.
Sources
- nintendo.com/eu/media/downloads/support_1/nintendo_3ds_14/Nintendo3DSXL_Operati…
- nintendo.co.jp/hardware/3dsseries/3dsll/index.html
- nintendo.co.jp/corporate/release/en/2012/120622.html
- nintendo.com/en-gb/Hardware/Nintendo-3DS-Family/Nintendo-3DS-XL/Accessories/Acc…
- Nintendo 3DS XL (left) beside the original Nintendo 3DS (right), open front views in the official size-comparison photograph: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo 3DS XL closed rear views in Red/Black, Silver/Black and White, Japanese launch finishes: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo 3DS XL (Pink/White) closed rear view; Japanese Nintendo 3DS LL colour configuration: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo 3DS XL (Mint/White) closed rear view; Japanese Nintendo 3DS LL colour configuration: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo 3DS XL (Blue/Black) closed rear view; Japanese Nintendo 3DS LL colour configuration: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo 3DS XL (Silver/Black) closed rear view; Japanese Nintendo 3DS LL colour configuration: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo 3DS XL (Red/Black) closed rear view; Japanese Nintendo 3DS LL colour configuration: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
- Nintendo 3DS XL (Black) closed rear view; Japanese Nintendo 3DS LL colour configuration: Nintendo official Japanese product/colour or launch-release image; complete supplied canvas, background and catalogue captions retained.
