We’ve been talking about a potential mid-cycle upgrade of the Switch for some time now, with all of the previous rumors dwindling into dust. However, it seems that is about to change.
Initially reported by Bloomberg, Nintendo is planning to launch a revised Switch later this year with an initial allocation of about one million units. Here are the features that have been discussed so far:
- Samsung OLED screen.
- The screen will be 7″ (slightly bigger than the 6.2″ Switch and 5.5″ Switch Lite screens today).
- The screen itself will still be 720p.
- Due to the OLED screen and some other optimizations, extended battery life is expected.
- The model was discussed as having “4K support for games” when docked. What this means exactly is to be determined.
- No specifics were provided on the core CPU/GPU components.
Our Take
It’s nice to finally see this come to fruition, though we’re still waiting on the details of the upgraded processing hardware. While we’re excited by the prospect of an OLED screen, we are curious as to why they’ve remained at 720p instead of 1080p (beyond the obvious cost cutting). While some will debate 720p is “fine” for what it is, given the timeframe in production (which will likely last through 2024ish) and comparable products on the market, it still feels like a poor decision.
We’ll be paying close attention to this story as more details emerge!