The Nintendo Switch Online app for iOS and Android devices is now available to download, a few days earlier than the launch of what would be the only Nintendo Switch game that it will be compatible with, Splatoon 2.

The mobile app comes with a variety of uses, but its main feature, which enables voice chat among players, is already drawing heavy criticism.

Nintendo Switch Online App: The Details

The Nintendo Switch Online app is now available for the iOS and Android and can be downloaded for free. The features that it provides can be accessed for free, but only until Nintendo's bigger Nintendo Switch Online service launches sometime next year. By then, gamers will be charged $20 per year.

Nintendo Switch owners will need to have a Nintendo Account that will be linked to the hybrid console and the app. Once they are connected, players will be able to access features such as voice chat, invitations for users to join online matches, and SplatNet2, which will provide players with Splatoon 2 online play statistics, event schedules, an in-game store, and more.

Lastly, while the app is already available for download, it will not be useful until Splatoon 2. However, for those who already have access to the ink shooter, the voice chat feature has already been a disappointment.

Nintendo Switch Online Voice Chat Feature Under Fire

The Nintendo Switch Online voice chat feature has already drawn criticism for several limitations that undermine its usefulness.

To activate the voice chat, a player will need to go into the Splatoon 2 multiplayer section and create a private room in the Online Lounge. The player will then have to send invitations to friends who want to be part of the voice chat.

Players, however, will need to plug in a communication headset into their iOS or Android device. If they would also want to hear the sounds of the game while engaged in voice chat, they will need to use either a one-sided headset or a splitter.

The voice chat feature will work with private games between friends in the Online Lounge, League Battles, Salmon Run co-op, and Splatfest battles, but it is not available for ranked games and basic multiplayer battles. Also, once teams are selected, the voice channels become only open to team communications, which shuts off the feature when engaging in one-on-one matches.

Perhaps the most severe limitation of the voice chat feature, however, is that the Nintendo Switch Online app will need to be open at all times. This will require players to deactivate the auto-sleep features of their iOS and Android devices and to not do anything else on their phone while the app is running.

The Nintendo Switch Online app and its voice chat feature are currently free, but players will hope to see significant improvements once Nintendo starts charging for the service next year.