The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Nintendo will release an updated version of the Nintendo Switch sometime in 2019.
The original report, which is behind a paywall on the WSJ’s website, is light on details. However, it seems that the only significant upgrade planned for this new version of the Switch is a newer, better screen. It seems that the new version of the Nintendo Switch may even utilise the “OLED panels used in Apple Inc.’s iPhone X series.” It seems that this change in the screen may also make the Switch thinner and help the console’s battery life.
If Nintendo is planning on adding any other features to this new version of the Switch, this report does not mention what those features may be. However, it does indicate that the current plan is for Nintendo to release it sometime during the second half of next year.
It’s worth noting that the Wall Street Journal also ran a report not long ago which stated that Nintendo was not planning on releasing a new version of the Switch in the near future. While it’s certainly possible that they’ve changed their mind since then, that does go to show that none of this information is set in stone quite yet and should be taken with a degree of caution.
However, there are very few people who are surprised to hear that Nintendo is actively working on a new version of the Switch. While Nintendo doesn’t always release significant new versions of their major consoles, they do regularly release improved versions of their handheld devices. It seems that the Switch’s portability may have inspired them to push for an improved version of the base console rather than rest on their hardware laurels.
So far as that goes, we’d be shocked if the new version of the Switch only featured a better screen. In fact, it’s not out of the question to think that they might go so far as to alter the console’s graphical hardware in order to improve things like the standard resolution of games when the Switch is docked to a television.
Matthew Byrd is a staff writer for Den of Geek. He spends most of his days trying to pitch deep-dive analytical pieces about Killer Klowns From Outer Space to an increasingly perturbed series of editors. You can read more of his work here or find him on Twitter at @SilverTuna014.