Nintendo is planning to release an upgraded model of the Switch this year with an OLED screen, according to a new report in Bloomberg. The report says Samsung Display is providing the screen, which will be a 7-inch 720p rigid OLED panel set to go into mass production this June.
The current Switch has a 6.2-inch 720p LCD panel, while the Switch Lite’s screen is a 5.5-inch 720p LCD. Many Switch games struggle to hit native resolution in handheld mode, so the lack of an upgrade in resolution isn’t really a surprise. Bloomberg’s report does note, however, that the new Switch model will be capable of 4K graphics when hooked up to a TV, so the decision to stick with 720p in handheld mode could also be about preserving battery life.
The report doesn’t state a possible release date for the new Switch, but Bloomberg’s sources say that it’ll come in time for the holidays and that the displays will start shipping to assemblers around July. The initial monthly target is said to be “just under a million units;” if the last holiday season is anything to go by, Nintendo will want to make as many consoles as it possibly can.
