After months of speculation and rumors, Nintendo has officially confirmed the Switch OLED model. In a reveal trailer published July 6, it confirmed the new console for an October 8, 2021 release date.
The main selling point of the Nintendo Switch OLED is its new screen. Though it isn’t the 4K upgrade many fans were hoping for, it still improves the Switch’s graphical capabilities. The console has a 7-inch OLED display, an improvement on the 6.2 inches of the original Switch. With that comes a boost to graphics, with an improved color range and more impressive lighting.
Of course, it isn’t a vast change in hardware, hence why Nintendo chose to announce this new version quietly. The OLED display differs from the original Switch’s LCD display. Instead of a backlight, each individual pixel has its own lighting settings, allowing for more dynamic display options.
It’ll certainly make Switch exclusives like Breath of the Wild even more gorgeous to look at. However, it seems that the Switch OLED will have the same processing power as the original model. None of the info released so far points to new internal parts, meaning it’ll run pretty much the same as the current Switch.
It does have some interesting tweaks and upgrades, however. There’s an adjustable stand attached to the console, meaning you can change its standing angle as you please. This will be particularly useful if you use your Switch to watch videos – or if you want to relax while watching cutscenes. Internal storage is also boosted, doubling the original Switch’s 32GB capacity for a 64GB limit.
Other than that, though, it’s more of the same for the Nintendo Switch OLED. Battery life is roughly the same, charging time remains at three hours, and all your current Switch games will work like a dream. If you’ve yet to dive into Nintendo’s current console, this newly-announced OLED model could be the perfect opportunity.
