New Nintendo Switch with 4K output, 7-inch OLED screen coming this year – report

Nintendo is reportedly planning to release a new Switch console with a bigger OLED display this year.

According to a Bloomberg report, Samsung Display Co. will begin the production on “7-inch 720p-resolution OLED panels” for the long-rumored device. Dubbed as Nintendo Switch Pro by fans, the upgraded model will also come with “4K ultra-high definition graphics when paired with TVs.”

“The OLED panel will consume less battery, offer higher contrast and possibly faster response time when compared to the Switch’s current liquid-crystal display,” co-founder of display consultancy DSCC Yoshio Tamura said.

The rumored new display will share the same resolution of the current Nintendo consoles at 720p but will be much larger than Switch’s 6.2-inch and Switch Lite’s 5.5-inch screen.

There’s no mention of a specific release date for the new console but the report said that it will be launched in time for the holidays. Both Nintendo and Samsung declined to comment on Bloomberg’s report.

Prior to this, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa previously said during the company’s earnings call last month that there won’t be a new Nintendo Switch model “anytime soon.” 

The publication first reported about the new device last year although specifications remained unclear. The report only mentioned that the tech company was looking into an upgraded console with “more computing power and 4K high-definition graphics.” 

The Tokyo-based company released a refreshed model of the Switch in 2019 with improved battery life, drastically extending the standard version’s 2.5-6.5 hours to 4.5-9 hours. The Nintendo Switch Lite edition, meanwhile, focused on the handheld console market and discarded the Switch’s removable Joy-Con controllers and docking system capability.