Nintendo Switch With Eye-Popping OLED Display And 64GB Storage Ships This October At $349

by Brandon Hill — Tuesday, July 06, 2021, 10:04 AM EDT

The many rumors about Nintendo's updated Switch with an OLED display that pelted us over the past few months were accurate, but the timing of the announcement was a bit off. The company surprised us all this morning by announcing the new OLED model without any fanfare. As expected, the new display panel measures 7 inches diagonally versus 6.2 inches for the original Switch.

While earlier rumors had indicated that the new Switch would support up to 4K resolutions, Nintendo brings us back down to earth by confirming that it only supports up to 1080p when docked. So, unfortunately, the hopes of gaming with the Nintendo Switch at 4K resolution with NVIDIA DLSS have gone up in smoke. Given that Nintendo is sticking with a maximum of 1080p output, we're going to assume that the NVIDIA Tegra X1 SoC hasn't been replaced.

On the plus side, Nintendo doubled the amount of onboard storage from 32GB to 64GB, and the shift from an LCD to OLED didn't ding the battery life. The Nintendo Switch with an OLED display is still rated at 9 hours of runtime. Additional physical differences (other than the larger display with slimmer bezels) include the fact that the new model weighs 0.71 pounds versus 0.66 pounds for the original, and that there is a vastly improved kickstand design. There’s also a sweet white and black color scheme available for the console and dock, which makes it look Stormtrooper-esque.

"The new Nintendo Switch (OLED model) is a great option for players who want to experience the new vibrant screen when playing in handheld and tabletop mode," said Nintendo of America President Doug Bowser. "With the addition of this new model to the Nintendo Switch family of systems, people have an additional choice of a system that best fits the gaming experience they desire – whether it's Nintendo Switch (OLED model), Nintendo Switch or Nintendo Switch Lite."

We have the feeling that the new OLED-equipped Nintendo Switch will be a hot seller this holiday season, as it is only priced $50 higher than the original ($349.99). Nintendo says that it will ship on October 8^th; however, there is currently no information on preorders at this time.

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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