Nintendo Switch to get new version with bigger display and 4K graphics, report claims

Andrew Griffin
Thursday 04 March 2021 17:39 GMT
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Nintendo Switch
Nintendo Switch (AFP via Getty Images)
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Nintendo is planning a new version of the Switch with a bigger screen and 4K graphics, according to a new report.

The Switch was first released in 2017 and has remained largely unchanged since then. While the company released another version – called the Switch Lite – in 2019, Nintendo has not added new features or capabilities to either console in the years since.

That could change later this year when the company unveils a more capable version of the portable console with its new display technologies, Bloomberg reported.

The new display will be a larger, 720p display that Nintendo will buy from Samsung, the report claimed. They will measure 7 inches across and use OLED technology that allows for a richer picture, it said.

Those displays are set to go into mass production in June ahead of the beginning of assembly in July, Bloomberg said.

The new version of the Switch will also have greater capabilities when plugged into its dock, the report claimed. It will be able to support up to 4K, ultra-high definition graphics, a vast improvement on the current 1080p that is output by the existing version of the Switch.

That could help it better compete with other consoles such as the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X. The Switch has continued to sell very well despite the release of those consoles – perhaps in part because they are so difficult to buy – but its years-old technology could be holding it back.

Rumours have swirled for years that a new version of the Switch would be coming to market. Reports have repeatedly suggested the company was planning a “pro” version of the handheld console alongside its “Lite” one, but with the exception of a minor battery update in 2019 it has not changed the Switch’s capabilities significantly.

It is not clear whether Nintendo will continue making the existing version of the Switch even if the new one arrives. The company has indicated that it plans to make and sell the console for some time, suggesting that the two consoles could stay on the market together, with the new and upgraded version being positioned as the premium or “pro” model.

In February, the company was reported to have said that it was not planning to announce any new versions of the console “anytime soon”, but did not give specific indications of how long that might be.

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