An updated switch with a large OLED screen may be running.
Marta Franco / CNET
Nintendo achieved great success with its Switch console, and in 2019, the success with the Switch Lite expanded. Now it appears that the Japanese gaming giant is getting big and preparing an updated version of the console with a larger screen, reports Bloomberg.
The new Switch, which according to unnamed sources is likely to launch for the 2021 holiday, will reportedly have a 7-inch OLED screen made by Samsung. This would make it larger than the 6.2-inch screen on the standard Switch, and much larger than the 5.5-inch Switch Lite.
Both existing Switch consoles use LCD screens, so an OLED upgrade will mean better contrast thanks to deeper blacks. The Boomberg report also notes that the new switch was able to perform 4K docking on a TV. This is a change compared to previous reports, in which insiders in the industry said that the new Switch will come with a 4K screen.
The Switch is Nintendo’s second most successful console of all time and sells out the NES, SNES, N64, Gamecube and (especially) the Wii U. More than 79 million units have been sold since 2017, of which approximately 13.5 million are Switch Lite consoles. The only Nintendo console that performs better is the Wii, whose lifetime sales are over 100 million.
By comparison, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One have sold 114 million and an estimated 48 million units, respectively, since their launch in 2013.
Although Nintendo is tight on its next Switch update, despite rumors of a 4K switch spreading for more than a year, it has only given the spotlight on what the next few months of software will look like there. Link leads the charge, with Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD come in July. Mario Golf: Super Rush (June 25) and New Pokémon Snap (April 30) is also coming, while the end of the year will dawn Pokémon Brilliant diamond and shiny pearl.