Nintendo Announces OLED Switch, $349 in October

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By Andrew E. Freedman
published

With a 7-inch display and new white Joy-Cons

Nintendo Switch (OLED model)
(Image credit: Nintendo)

Following months of speculation, Nintendo has announced the Nintendo Switch (OLED model), which will feature a 7-inch OLED display, better audio and a wider kickstand. It will launch on October 8, 2021 for $349.99.

Other enhancements include 64GB of internal storage (up from 32GB on the standard switch)  a dock with a built-in wired LAN port. It will come with either a white dock and matching white Joy-Con controllers, or a black dock and neon red and blue Joy-Con controllers.

The larger display is achieved with thinner bezels, and the OLED model is just 0.1 inches longer than the original, and otherwise offers the same dimensions.

The 7-inch OLED display still has the same resolution of 1280 x 720p, quashing some of the rumors of a "Switch Pro" with a higher resolution display.

Nintendo Switch (OLED model)

(Image credit: Nintendo)

In its tech specs, Nintendo only lists an "Nvidia Custom Tegra processor," so we don't yet know if it's any different than the one in the Switch and Switch Lite. Tom's Hardware has reached out to Nintendo for clarification. But in TV mode, it still only outputs up to 1080p, suggesting similar hardware.


With a 4,310 mAh battery, Nintendo quotes a wide battery life range of 4.5 to 9 hours, the same as the original Switch.

Nintendo still lists the current Switch at $249.99 and the Switch Lite at $199.99 on a page to compare the consoles, suggesting that those models will continue to be available.

Andrew E. Freedman

Andrew E. Freedman is a senior editor at Tom's Hardware focusing on laptops, desktops and gaming. He also keeps up with the latest news. A lover of all things gaming and tech, his previous work has shown up in Tom's Guide, Laptop Mag, Kotaku, PCMag and Complex, among others. Follow him on Threads @FreedmanAE and Mastodon @FreedmanAE.mastodon.social.

16 Comments Comment from the forums
  • thepersonwithaface45
    Man, too bad it's not a performance upgrade..
    Reply
  • hotaru.hino
    I don't think Nintendo's making a "Switch Pro" that's a performance bump. There's nothing Nintendo can upgrade the Switch to that makes sense since NVIDIA's SoCs since the X2 have been designed for either cars or machine learning acceleration in mind. And NVIDIA's not really interested in making something custom for the console market.

    If anything this probably points to a brand new console in a couple of years.
    Reply
  • RareAir23
    Of the performance upgrade? Yeah it doesn't seem like much (as docked it can still only do 1080p max and 720p handheld) but that doesn't mean we're not getting a newer nVIDIA SOC for this. Remember, the current Tegra X1 inside the current Switch is EOL with nVIDIA and they will not be producing anymore by year's end according to what's been reported on that front. So we're getting a new chip or refresh of some kind for this. Question is...what? Out!
    Reply
  • hotaru.hino
    RareAir23 said:
    Yeah it doesn't seem like much (as docked it can still only do 1080p max and 720p handheld) but that doesn't mean we're not getting a newer nVIDIA SOC for this.
    NVIDIA seems like they've bowed out of the mobile space entirely considering Xaiver, Orin, and the upcoming Atlan don't seem to have anything that's suitable for mobile. That isn't to say you can't throw one of those SoCs in a tablet or something, but they'd probably have to have some finagling or compromises. There's also the issue that NVIDIA's been pushing their Denver and Caramel cores on the last few generations of Tegra, and those cores don't behave in a straight forward manner.
    Reply
  • Makaveli
    They should contact AMD and Zen 3 + RDNA2 APU for a Switch Pro model

    And either keep the same res and go with a 6000 mAh battery or go 1080P and a 5,000 mAh battery
    Reply
  • Kamen Rider Blade
    Makaveli said:
    They should contact AMD and Zen 3 + RDNA2 APU for a Switch Pro model

    And either keep the same res and go with a 6000 mAh battery or go 1080P and a 5,000 mAh battery

    What you're asking for is "Too Expensive" for Nintendo's tastes.

    They don't want to charge a "Break Even" pricing for their consoles, they want to make a profit with each unit sold.

    I think they'll contact Samsung and work with AMD again on a custom ARM Mobile SoC with Radeon Graphics.

    This way they can maintain backwards compatibility through ARM Architecture with the updated ARM SoC.

    Every Console maker has dabbled with nVIDIA and gotten burned by nVIDIA at some point and refused to work with them again.

    Sony with PS3

    MS with the Original Xbox

    Nintendo now with "The Switch".

    Every company must taste that horrible working relationship before they feel the nVIDIA burn.

    Hell, even Apple doesn't want to do business with nVIDIA after Bump-Gate.

    Many of us still remember that.
    Reply
  • nah, they will milk the switch for all it's worth before churning out another useless yet expensive pos with $80 throwaway controllers
    Reply
  • Shadowclash10
    Nintendo still lists the current Switch at $249.99

    *MSRP is $299.99, not $249. It says so right in the Nintendo article you linked, Toms.
    Reply
  • Shadowclash10
    Meh, not a huge upgrade it seems. Kind of dissapointing. Sure, an OLED screen is great (and the option of a larger handheld screen), but there's not even a battery upgrade? Oh well. I guess Nintendo feels like they don't have any real pressure on them to make a "better" product as of right now, especially since the Switch has sold so well (especially under lockdown).
    Reply
  • Chung Leong
    Does the current Switch even render at full resolution when it runs on battery?
    Reply