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7.07.2021

Switch OLED Announcement

 

There it is.  The 2021 Switch OLED Model.  So it's not a "pro" half-step mid-gen jump...just some lil-step improvements, a slight revision.

In my last Nintendo AGENDA video I discussed/speculated that Nintendo is probably working on multiple hardware revisions in the Switch family: Aula (a lil-step), Black Knight (now Dane, a "pro") and Copper/Calcio (screen-less home) versions...but that I did not know how/when/if each version would come.  I had said that if there is a new Switch this year it's more likely to be the lil-step version and not a "pro".  I also suspected that (like the Switch Lite & current "red box" Switch) that it'd be announced after e3, in July and launch alongside a game they wanna push with it: Metroid Dread (even the white Switch OLED Model color scheme matches the E.M.M.I.)!

This OLED Model is the Aula version which means more revisions (with different chipsets) will come in time.  I also theorized there won't be a "next-gen" Switch starting over the user-base with a new generation, but rather, Switch is a continuing platform that will get new revisions every other year like phones do.  The current Switch will be phased out by this OLED Model just as the current "red box" Switch phased out the launch Switch.

This revision is not what was rumored or what some people had wanted during the e3 hype time last month.  Some (Nintendoomed people) would say this is bad news and/or there never was a Switch "pro" and they mainly only think of things on their spec-driven terms.  But here's reality: the current Switch and new OLED Model have plenty of life left and real people (not forum dwellers) will keep buying in record numbers regardless of specs.

We all speculated the name: Switch Pro, Super Switch, Switch 2, Switch U and I personally thought: Switch + (this name as well as "pro" is more of a PlayStation nomenclature, though) but many of these suggest a bigger step or even a next-gen Switch.  As I said above, Switch is a continuing platform not confined to generational leaps.  Nintendo is smart to stick with the regular Switch name with the OLED Model in parentheses...it's not a next-gen name nor a silly name like "New" Switch.  It emphasizes the newer tech in it without being confusing.

"What's this new Switch?"
"Switch OLED Model!"
"What's new about it?"
"A new OLED screen!"

There may be a lil' bit more to this model (and Switch, in general), too.  As I talked about in my last video, the Switch as-is can explore more cloud game streaming and VR...this OLED Model makes that even more viable with the new screen & dock equipped with an ethernet jack.  Speaking of the dock, we still don't know if it has improved HDMI 2.0 (or 2.1?) output or anything else that makes things look better on a 4K TV?  Maybe, maybe not, but probably not as they'd advertise such a thing...but we do know the new dock will be compatible with the old Switch & vice versa.

As for a future "pro" I think it'll be the Dane chipset in a year or two (maybe alongside the BOTW sequel) and it'll be called the Switch 4K Model.