The ‘Nintendo Switch OLED Model’ is nothing you hyped it up to be disappointed by.
Earlier today, after months of speculation concerning the ‘Switch Pro’ (aided by online leaks and curiously worded promotional material), Nintendo finally announced the new model for the Nintendo Switch; The Nintendo Switch OLED Model. It’s set to release October 8th for $349.99. Though the name certainly begs to be dragged back to the drawing board, there doesn’t seem to be anything wrong with the console’s new model. It boasts a slightly-larger-yet-still-functionally-portable screen size of seven inches; It has an enhanced audio system through new built-in speakers; It has a new adjustable stand for all those times you’ve whipped it out at a get-together to play on a tiny screen; And yet consumers have found a way to complain.
So what else is new about the new Switch? Tragically, not much else. And if you’re let down by that, it’s probably not Nintendo’s fault.
Despite it only ever being presented as anonymous rumors to Bloomberg, the new Switch does not have an nVidia chip upgrade (or any sort of upgrade) to help render in 4K. Yet, it can manage 1080p (while docked), which was a thing it could already do! Incredible. And, no, it hasn’t gotten an internal hardware update to its CPU or memory, but it now has double the built-in storage, going up to 64GB!
Old Joycons will also still function with the new model. Though it’s a wonder if you even have your old Joycons, if you took the time to send them in for repairs and replacement due to Joycon Drift. And the new dock possesses an ethernet port for proper wired internet connection, which has been a long time coming.
All of these features showcased on the trailer above were also confirmed on Nintendo’s Official Website for the OLED Model, in case you were wondering.
So should you grab a Nintendo Switch OLED Model come October? For people who haven’t gotten a Switch yet for whatever reason, it doesn’t seem like the worst idea in the world. But, if you drop 50 less dollars, you can pick up a Switch bundle instead. With video games being so expensive (in Canada especially), it may be better to grab one of those. So unless Nintendo announces that some games will be exclusive to the new version, I can’t imagine it being worth it for the average player.