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Nintendo announces Switch OLED Model
- TillE 5y agoIt doesn't say otherwise, so I'm guessing the screen is still scratchable plastic, rather than glass.
- jdoliner 5y agoGiven the product is mostly for kids who are prone to dropping it I think scratchable plastic is a better idea than breakable glass.
- willis936 5y ago>Given the product is mostly for kids Someone should tell Nintendo's marketing department. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mHq6Y7JSmg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4mHq6Y7JSmg
- mschuster91 5y agoScreen protectors are a dime a dozen.
- Wowfunhappy 5y agoPut a screen protector on it! I think it’s a good trade-off to prevent the screen from shattering.
- silicon2401 5y agoPersonally I found the announcement underwhelming. Aside from the screen size, it felt like the changes should've been part of the console from day one. That being said, I still support Nintendo for offering a unique and, frankly, fun experience in gaming. The PS5 and Xbox being not much more than home PCs and hardly available to boot really take the wind out of gaming sails.
- cybwraith 5y agoI agree. Unless theres some hidden changes like an upgraded/faster SoC, battery etc. Also, is the screen still 720p?
- cableshaft 5y agoI finally just upgraded my desktop to play modern games again, after about two decades of just getting whatever new console is out. It plays all current games on Xbox Game Pass at Ultra High settings, so I don't feel a big urge to get any new consoles. And with the curved 3440x1440p 144hz monitor I'm starting to prefer gaming on the PC again (except Switch games, of course, currently playing Super Mario Golf and Game Maker Studio on there). Granted it's more expensive, but it also gives me a beefy computer for development, if I ever come up with a game idea that's not some simple graphic puzzle game (I'm trying, my designer brain just really likes grids for some reason, and I have very limited art skills).
- timw4mail 5y agoThis is the equivalent to a Playstation slim model: basically the same, but might be just enough better for someone undecided on the console.
- nvarsj 5y agoOLED is quite a difference though.
- timw4mail 5y agoIf it is worth the full price is a matter of debate for existing switch owners, though.
- Cthulhu_ 5y agoExcept the Slim models had a new refresh of the CPU's so they were a lot more energy efficient and quiet. Hoping they do the same for the PS5, given that its size is mostly due to cooling requirements.
- Hamuko 5y agoSlim models usually cost less, not more than the original.
- knolan 5y agoI upgraded my original Switch to the revamped model with the new SoC a couple of years ago. GameStop were offering a really great trade in which cost €50 for the new model. It basically boiled down to a €50 100% battery life boost, and new hardware of course which may have some useful other revisions. Curious if they will do it again.
- CaptainBern 5y agoThose original consoles are becoming more rare, you could have probably sold it for close to what you originally paid for it, exactly because of that older SoC!
- tobyhinloopen 5y agoWhy, what’s so special about the “old” switch?
- markus92 5y agoSoC has a bootloader exploit which makes it great for homebrew.
- squeaky-clean 5y agoAs far as I know, not every original SOC switch has this exploit, just ones from the first year of production or so. There are tools to lookup your serial number and see if you have a valid model. My switch has the homebrew exploit, but none of my friends' switches do, and they're all the first switch model but mine was purchased a few months earlier than the others.
- zeitg3ist 5y agoIt has an unpatchable hardware exploit that allows it to run unsigned stuff, IIRC.
- tobyhinloopen 5y ago
- willis936 5y agoThe built-in Ethernet port is seemingly the biggest deal here. The kickstand also looks improved. Any hints about an SoC update?
- staticman2 5y agoThe Switch already can support some third party ethernet ports while docked via USB so the Ethernet port doesn't strike me as a big deal.
- willis936 5y agoIt is a big deal because the switch does not go to sleep when a USB-Ethernet adapter is plugged in. This hardware does not have a powered-on MTTF that would make many customers happy.
- bzzzt 5y agoNot sleeping with a plugged in Ethernet adapter seems to be a problem with certain third-party adapters. I'm using an old Wii ethernet adapter which works fine.
- willis936 5y agoI thought so too. I've gone down the rabbit hole in the past. I've tried three different chips and the result is always the same. Sometimes it's spottier behavior but it always ends up staying on in the steady state.
- staticman2 5y agoI've never had that problem with the official wii adapter as far as I've noticed.
- willis936 5y agoThe models I tested included the Wii/Wii U official adapter and the official Switch adapter.
- simlevesque 5y agoWith the joy-con drift problem still present, no one should buy this.
- pupppet 5y agoNot buying a Nintendo console again after the time and money I’ve spent on this issue.
- dafelst 5y agoNot excusing the issue, but did they not just replace your joycons once they started drifting? Mine were replaced at no cost.
- nvarsj 5y agoIt gets annoying after you've replaced them 6+ times in the space of a year. Personally I just gave up and avoid using joycons or live with the drift when I have to.
- pupppet 5y agoI've sent back 4 different sets for repair, after a few months the drift returned along with pairing issues.
- G3rn0ti 5y agoBTW: The joysticks in the JoyCons that seem to wear out quickly are at least very easy to fix yourself as the electronic switches are just screwed on and not soldered. I bought replacement sticks (including the electronic switch component) for as much as €2.50 and just followed The guide on ifixit: https://de.ifixit.com/Device/Joy-Con# https://de.ifixit.com/Device/Joy-Con#
- Eric_WVGG 5y agoI did a whole lot of research on this topic — including replacing several defective sticks — last winter. The strangest thing I learned is, virtually everyone uses the same thumbsticks. Sony and Microsoft etc. buy them all from a company called ALPS, whom I remember as mouse/trackpad manufacturers back in the nineties. So why do Switches seem to have so much trouble with this, while Playstations don't? my guesses… - Switches are just used a lot more (seems unlikely) - Switches get exposed to more dirt and crap by being thrown in backpacks and bags a lot (maybe?) - The clearance between the joycon and the stick mechanism isn't tight enough (doesn't hold up to scrutiny IMHO) Anyway, I've found that dribbling a little rubbing alcohol on the ball of the thumbsticks and rocking a few orbits usually clears it up for a few months, and I still derive enough joy from these cons to give them a pass on it.
- user3939382 5y agoMy favorite part was the wired LAN port on the dock. They didn’t mention it but I assume the OLED would be more power efficient.
- Cthulhu_ 5y agoThe indicated battery life remains the same though. OLED might be more power efficient, but if they pump up the brightness and increase the screen size it's pretty much negated.
- mikhailt 5y agoOLED doesn't mean more power efficient by default across the board. In fact, it can use up more power in white/light scenes to the point that it averages out to not really make a huge difference. If your average use include a lot of light/white content, you'd have even less battery life than what you'd get with LCD. Here's one test (a bit older but OLED hasn't changed much since then): https://www.anandtech.com/show/10697/the-lenovo-thinkpad-x1-yoga-review/9 https://www.anandtech.com/show/10697/the-lenovo-thinkpad-x1-...
- dvfjsdhgfv 5y agoI love the Ethernet port. Normally everybody follows Apple in the fight against number of built-in ports in general, and in particular it's very rare to have an Ethernet port on a mobile device which can be extremely limiting.
- dimitrios1 5y agoa response to their generally poor online experience, maybe?
- effingwewt 5y agoSeriously what's up with people touting the ethernet port when it's only added because of the dismally powered wifi chip.It had to be throttled so as not to interfere with the BT joycons. So, rather than fix the issue they throw in wired so people won't complain? At this point they need to make a home console and a handheld separately. I love my switch (2.0),but the wireless issues drive me insane. No way in hell will I reward them by buying this version.
- Cthulhu_ 5y agoThat's in relation to portable devices though; the device itself doesn't have an ethernet port, the docking station does.
- majkinetor 5y agoI love Ethernet port ? OMG, we are in 2021. Ethernet ports should be on ones body already and people love that 2021 nintendo added one. Amazed.
- dvfjsdhgfv 5y agoWell, kind of. It's obviously a matter of personal taste but we've had GbE for two decades whereas even with 802.11ax you are lucky to get more than 500 Mbps. It's extremely useful not just for the Internet but mainly for local network communication. Why have a bottleneck when you can have much higher speeds? More importantly, it sends a message to other vendors they shouldn't remove the Ethernet port too hastily. Apple won't listen, someone else might. Really, too many companies seem to reason "Apple removed it so can we." At least someone can point out: "Nintendo did it, too, and later regretted it."
- gigatexal 5y agoDid the SoC get upgraded?
- Saoshyant 5y agoNope. Same old hardware.
- robin_reala 5y agoNintendo finally starting to catch up with the Playstation Vita.
- Hamuko 5y agoThe slimmer Vita, which is arguably the better Vita, didn't have an OLED display.
- Wowfunhappy 5y agoArguably, only because it didn’t have an OLED display.
- Hamuko 5y agoNo, but it's much nicer to hold, comes in a bunch of cute colours, has a 1GB internal memory (so you can actually save games without immediately buying one of the dumb memory cards) and uses a standard charger.
- salamandersauce 5y ago1GB is near useless for the Vita. I think Killzone had an 8GB day one patch or something? FFX/X-2 only had X on the cart so you needed to download X-2 anyways and it wouldn't fit in a gig. Plus a ton of games skipped retail releases outside Asia or just in general like Minecraft. My 1000 series came with a 4GB card in a bundle for the same price. I still upgraded it soon after because it got filled fast.
- dinero_rojo 5y agoIt’s arguably slimmer or arguably better because it didn’t have an OLED? I guess I was under the impression that other than lifetime and pricing, OLEDs were the best displays available right now in terms of quality, efficiency, and thickness.
- Wowfunhappy 5y ago
- ElmUser1022 5y agoDoes it finally support bluetooth audio?
- ganoushoreilly 5y agosadly nothing was stated so I assume no
- AndyMcConachie 5y agoThis is one thing I really don't get. It doesn't even support a USB dongle to do Bluetooth. I've heard it works with some of them, but not all of them. I use my Switch only plugged into its dock routed through another device that allows me to use Bluetooth headphones. So it's not an issue for me. But I really can't understand how you can sell something as portable if you can't use it with Bluetooth headphones out of the box.
- 12ian34 5y agoDo you know of Genki Audio[0]? Sure, it's expensive but I trust Genki. I have their covert dock and it works perfectly. [0]: https://www.genkithings.com/products/genki-audio https://www.genkithings.com/products/genki-audio
- shantara 5y agoAfter years of rumors about hardware revamps, new SoC and DLSS support, this feels like a very underwhelming announcement. It’s hard to believe that hardware built on top of the original nVidia Shield is still being sold in 2021 at a full price.
- Hamuko 5y ago>It’s hard to believe that hardware built on top of the original nVidia Shield is still being sold in 2021 at a full price. It's not really that hard to believe if you look at a) how long console lifespans are b) what kind of hardware Nintendo usually puts in their home consoles.
- effingwewt 5y agoYea this feels super iterative. It's the new 'New 3DS' all over again. Actually, not even. Pretty sure the new New 3DS had a beefier processor and added the 2nd joystick.
- read_if_gay_ 5y agoIt doubled the RAM, too.
- Wowfunhappy 5y agoThe New 3DS was actually a huge hardware upgrade, relative to the original model. I actually thought at the time that it was going to be a stealth new console, similar to how the Gameboy Color was originally just “gameboy games, now in color”, but after a couple of years GBC-only titles were the norm. That didn’t happen, of course.
- pavlov 5y agoThat’s the traditional console business model. The original NES used a CPU design from 1975 and was still sold in 1995.
- rchaud 5y ago1995 was a quarter of a century ago, the traditional console model is long gone, as are Nintendo's biggest rivals at the time, Sega. Sony and Microsoft have greatly pushed the capabilities of consoles over the past 20 years. Nintendo for its part has been happy to stay out of the specs race and focus its console offerings around staples like Mario and Zelda.
- vlunkr 5y agoI'm not as disappointed as others seem to be. It never made sense to me that they would upgrade the hardware much. The whole selling point of the console is that it can be handheld, despite having much less graphical power than the competition. If they take steps towards upgrading hardware at the cost of portability or battery life, then it's less appealing. And on a minor note, the original kickstand is an absolute joke, it would be nice to try one that actually works.
- CaptainBern 5y agoYeah, I agree with you. The rumors that have been going around didn't make much sense IMO. (Has Nintendo ever done a hardware upgrade that would have been as drastic? Genuinely asking). Also yes, the original kickstand made me wonder if anyone at Nintendo had actually tried to use it more than once. It's by far my least favorite part of the Switch.
- anotherman554 5y agoNintendo did an upgraded 3ds called "New 3ds" that had a better chip and could run games the regular 3ds couldn't. The only prominent one being a port of the Wii game Xenoblade that they clearly couldn't get working on the regular 3ds.
- danhor 5y agoThe DSi has four times the ram and the main processor is twice as fast as the DS. The GB Color is also twice as fast and has more than double the RAM. (Although one can argue if it's an upgrade or a real "separate" console) The New 3ds has been mentioned, which is more than 8 times faster and has double the ram. The only handheld generation where Nintendo didn't do this was the GBA, so it's very common.
- CaptainBern 5y agoThanks for the list! I didn't knew about the 'New' 3DS. Though, I would still argue a 4K upgrade is a little far fetched. Nintendo hardware has always been less powerful than that of its 'competitors', who only recently started pushing 4K. (whether or not Nintendo actually competes with Sony and Microsoft is a whole other discussion :P).
- hypnoscripto 5y agoThe Switch controllers are so disappointing I doubt I'll ever buy another Nintendo product. Out of 4 Joycons and 3 Pro controllers, 1 pro controller is still fully functional. They're ok for solo gaming, but anything multiplayer or especially cooperative is impossible.
- jordache 5y agoyour complaint does not align with your final statement. If controller's longevity is inherently problematic, how is it suitable for solo while not so for copperative?
- hypnoscripto 5y agoIf I'm playing Zelda or something, it's bearable because it's not too time sensitive and no one else is depending on me. If I'm playing Smash Bros then I just can't hit any combos and if I'm playing Overcooked then we are all letting each other down because we're running past and into each other.
- jordache 5y agook so it's a latency issue? Your original statement indicated physical longevity issues with the controller.
- hypnoscripto 5y agoNo it's not latency, the controllers just don't work. The sticks drift and the buttons sometimes take multiple presses.
- majkinetor 5y agoI have the same experience. If I knew, I wouldn't never bought it. And once I experienced it, everybody was like, oooh yeah, joy cons are broken, buy pro controller. I have 4 joy cons and all started to drift and thus unusable, 3-6 months after I bough them. Bought pro controller 6 months ago and so far it still works. So bad yet so expensive. I am honestly amazed there is no drama around it, its THAT bad. People can obviously tolerate any kind of shit.
- racl101 5y agoCan't wait for scalper bots to buy them up!
- slightwinder 5y agoIs it me or are the corners of the new dock rounder then the old dock ones?
- esnard 5y agoHere is the official technical specs page: https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs/#oled-section https://www.nintendo.com/switch/tech-specs/#oled-section A lot of people are hoping for unannounced changes, but there doesn't seem to be any.
- cainxinth 5y agoHN: No new hardware other than the screen? What a let down. Everyone Else: Where do I preorder?
- Aissen 5y agoMany people here saying the SoC has not been upgraded, but anyone has a definitive source for this ? Best information I could find was the estimated battery life is the same as the current Switch (higher than release-day model).
- Aissen 5y agoI'd be open to any source if you know or have seen something.
- Aissen 5y agoHere is Nintendo issuing a statement to the press: https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/6/22565118/nintendo-oled-switch-cpu-ram-bluetooth-audio-headphones-dock-no-4k https://www.theverge.com/2021/7/6/22565118/nintendo-oled-swi... — much clearer.
- threeboy 5y agoI don’t use handheld mode and can still play BOTW2 - this is good.
- zenron 5y agoI just purchased my second switch recently and the only regret is the Lan port! It would have been nice to be there if I wanted to stream without having to buy an adapter to waste a port on.
- ArkanExplorer 5y agoI have internal statistics that 80% of Switch game instances are in handheld mode. Docked-only features like DLSS are unnecessary. Even with DLSS, the CPU heavily limits performance anyway. Indies are making so much money on Switch that there is a guaranteed pipeline of titles, plus Nintendo 1st-party, to keep the system relevant for about another 3 years, until hopefully we see a Switch 2 with much more powerful CPU and GPU (with basic raytracing), still 720p handheld, with maybe a standalone dock with a DLSS chip for 4k docked.
- 12ian34 5y agoPS1-PS4 and PC gamer here. I got into the Switch in Dec 2020 and I've been significantly impressed with the quality of the games and console. I had heard from many that the Switch is worth buying for "Breath of the Wild" alone and that was fair for me. That game is still IMO far better than any AAA title I've played (including GTA V, Red Dead 2, Cyberpunk (!), AC Origins/Odyssey/Valhalla) on significantly more powerful consoles/PC and it runs nearly perfectly on the current Switch, both handheld and docked. What's even more shocking is how they manage to keep the game so engaging and beautiful looking whilst keeping the loading times so low. I can boot the console, load the game and be playing in probably <30 seconds compared to at least 4 minutes for top PS4 titles. Who needs hyper-realistic graphics and 5 min load times (looking at you AC/RDR/GTA...) when you have less realistic but MORE beautiful graphics, attention-to-detail with truly addictive, deep and mastery-focused gameplay? Which leads me to the new OLED Switch release: when a game like BOTW is so great, still so relevant today and runs so perfectly on the existing Switch models, I'd say the console didn't even need an update ... although I would personally have loved bluetooth audio.
- ex3ndr 5y agoPS4 and first Switch are like 4 years apart and modern (PS5/XBox) load almost any game in seconds.
- bentcorner 5y agoYes - I recently got a XSX and fast-switching is (sorry for the pun) game-changing. It's extremely similar to the DS-close-lid suspend experience, but you can also juggle multiple games at once. I no longer need to think about save points.
- 12ian34 5y agoSure, and whilst I used them as main examples, it's not just about hardware and load times. What's important to me at the end of the day is a great game, not technical metrics which aren't meaningless but less meaningful ... e.g. Donkey Kong Country on a SNES emulator is still a better, more enjoyable game than 2020's Crash Bandicoot 4 which fits into the same platforming category. PS4 had plenty of chances to release a "great" critically acclaimed game given the hardware, even 4 years in yet they still didn't manage to beat BOTW according to gamers/critics. Looking at metacritic, the best PS4 games of all time (RDR2, GTAV) are at 97, which is the same as BOTW. As for PS5/XSX. Do they even have any truly "great" games yet? All their best games are remakes/remasters which are limited to better graphics. Truly great games are exactly why Nintendo can afford to barely update their console 5 years after release.
- adamrezich 5y agothe only two improvements I wanted were joycons that don't suck ass (3/4 of my joycon thumbsticks are messed up, and I don't even play the console that much), and a newer, less terrible eShop, in that order. maybe some kind of form factor update, like the DS lite was compared to the original DS. I don't care about 4k output from "underpowered, by current console standards" hardware. this announcement is only disappointing because while the Switch is obviously a hybrid handheld/TV console, Nintendo has a great history of making hardware updates to their handheld lines that make them better in various ways (not just performance!).
- bwship 5y agoI have been really happy with these replaycement joycons - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FJ7XY3B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08FJ7XY3B/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b... - The battery life has been pretty good too.
- adamrezich 5y agocool, I'll check them out. I'm a bit wary of buying third-party controllers for any system, but if it's Hori, and $30 cheaper than the official Nintendo ones...
- ksec 5y agoI thought it was fair considering no change in SoC makes Software development easier. Wait till Switch 2 to make the big hardware leap. Average life time of console are 7 years. So Switch still has a few more years to go. Nintendo cares way more about the experience rather than spec, as they have been for the past 20 if not 30 years. My biggest question is the OLED, is it pentile? Since the resolution is the same but with a larger 7" OLED, the pixel density are already lower, and if they are using the industry norm pentile matrix OLED, it would means the pixel density is even lower for certain colour. I suppose better colour saturation and accuracy might make up for it. Although $349 is quite expensive. I guess since they cant make enough of it for demand they might as well price it higher. I am wondering if Nvidia SoC will make it into Switch 2 again. Low Budget Low Margin chips aren't exactly their usual play. And sometimes I just wish Nintendo make their own Smartphones.
- panda21 5y agoI'm a bit surprised they went with OLED and didn't try going with new hardware to prolong the battery life and maybe wring out a bit of extra performance.
- fouric 5y agoI would be interested in this, if Nintendo wasn't such a user-hostile (heck, fan-hostile) company. Many of the Switch games (excluding BotW) are available on other platforms (including Linux!) and because I haven't gotten hooked on Zelda yet I don't even know what I'm missing out on.