New Nintendo Switch with a bigger, better OLED screen coming in October

An upgraded Nintendo Switch console didn’t make an appearance at E3 like many expected, but it’s here now. Nintendo announced a new Switch with a juicy OLED display on Tuesday, along with a host of smaller improvements. The Nintendo Switch (OLED Model)—yes, that’s the name, when “Super Nintendo Switch” was sitting right there—will launch on October 8 for $350.

OLED displays provide more luscious blacks, vivid contrast, and better color reproduction than typical LED displays, and Nintendo upped the Switch OLED Model’s screen size to 7-inches (from 6.2-inches on the original Switch) so you can see all the extra eye candy. The handheld is also apparently getting a sonic upgrade to match, with Nintendo promising “enhanced audio” in the new version.

The Nintendo Switch OLED Model comes with an adjustable stand for tabletop play on the road, while the new dock includes an Ethernet port for wired connectivity at home. Both scenarios will be bolstered by the Switch OLED’s bigger 64GB of internal storage, which doubles the amount available in the non-OLED version.

Rumors suggested the upgraded Switch would support 4K gaming when docked, but Nintendo’s specifications page confirms that the new model will only support 1080p TV output, same as the original (a development that already inspired sad emojis from my colleagues in PCWorld’s Slack chat). Darker corners of the Internet also whispered that the upgraded Switch would come with a new Nvidia chip inside. It’s unclear if that’s true, as Nintendo didn’t divulge deeper technical information about the revised console.

Nintendo offers the Switch OLED in both white and blue and red, though those landing pages are more of a tease than anything else until the upgraded handheld launches on October 8.  

Senior editor Brad Chacos covers gaming and graphics for PCWorld, and runs the morning news desk for PCWorld, Macworld, Greenbot, and TechHive. He tweets too.