Nintendo might join Sony and Microsoft in the next-gen console market sooner than expected. On Wednesday, Bloomberg reported that the company has asked Samsung to start mass production on a 7-inch OLED display meant for a new version of the Switch.
The current version of the Switch debuted in March 2017. Nintendo updated the console with a brighter display in 2019, and introduced the Nintendo Switch Lite handheld that same year, but on the whole it’s still a three-year-old console.
Yet the Switch has been the best-selling console for more than two years straight despite supply constraints resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. (It seems like practically everyone bought a Switch and Animal Crossing in early 2020.)
Bloomberg’s report indicated that Nintendo isn’t messing with success. Rather than redesigning the Switch entirely, the company is poised to introduce a model with a larger OLED display, along with the ability to output at 4K when it’s docked.
The report claimed that Samsung is set to manufacture a 7-inch OLED display; the current Switch boasts a 6.2-inch LCD display. Unfortunately it seems the relatively low 720p resolution won’t change, which will likely disappoint handheld players.
Bloomberg reported that mass production for the display is supposed to start in June with an initial goal of 1 million units per month. Nintendo will have to wait for other parts as well, of course, but this suggests a new Switch could arrive this year.