Nintendo Switch Pro: what we want to see from a new Switch

After months of rumors and supposed leaks, a Nintendo Switch Pro has just been announced. Well… kind of. That’s because Nintendo has officially revealed the Nintendo Switch OLED, but it supports many of the details we’ve been expecting for some time from the widely reported Switch Pro.

It seems odd that Nintendo would drop a trailer for the Nintendo Switch OLED without any sort of fanfare, especially after such huge gaming events like E3 were allowed to come and go with no announcement or even a teaser for the device, but that’s exactly what it did. We had suspected a dedicated reveal event would be hosted at some point, maybe a mini Nintendo Direct of sorts, but alas, Nintendo decided to go with a more subdued announcement.

Here’s everything you need to know about Nintendo’s mid-gen refresh of the current Switch model including its price, release date, and specs.

Nintendo Switch Pro at a glance

• What is it? A new Nintendo Switch with a 7-inch OLED display
• How much will it cost? $349.99 / £309 / AU$539 
• When will it release? October 8, 2021

Nintendo Switch Pro release date

After months of speculation, we finally have an official release date for the Nintendo Switch Pro (which we now know is called the Nintendo Switch OLED): October 8, 2021. 

Bloomberg predicted a Nintendo Switch Pro console would have a release date around September or October this year, which surprised many at the time. Previously, a release date of March 2022 was hinted at, but that’s been ruled out thanks to this announcement.

Nintendo Switch Pro price

Obviously redesigns cost money, and redesigns with improved hardware doubly so. We were expecting a Nintendo Switch Pro, with its updated hardware, to cost more than the current Switch’s £279 / $299 / AU$449 pricing, and we were right.

Regional pricing details are still being announced but the Nintendo Switch OLED will launch at $349.99 / £309 / AU$539. Thankfully this isn’t a huge step up from the original Switch’s asking price and is less than the $399 price tag that was predicted by some like Dr Toto. For comparison, the PS4 Pro was $100 more than the PS4. 

At this price, the Nintendo Switch OLED is able to fund its improved specs, but shouldn’t venture too far outside an affordable range for gamers looking to upgrade their handheld console.

• Switch Pro: developers tell us what they want from the rumored Switch upgrade

Nintendo Switch Pro news and rumors

A Nintendo Switch Pro could still be in the works
According to Tokyo-based analyst Serkan Toto, a Nintendo Switch Pro could still happen. Toto has suggested that the Switch OLED might be a “dummy upgrade” before a real upgrade arrives next year.

Speaking to Bloomberg, Toto said: “This new Switch looks more like an interim model than a real upgrade to me,” Toto told Bloomberg. “This might just be a dummy upgrade until Breath Of The Wild 2 is ready and the component shortage is over next year.”

The Nintendo Switch OLED has been announced
The Nintendo Switch OLED (which was supposed to be the Nintendo Switch Pro) has been announced by Nintendo. In an announcement trailer posted to the official Nintendo YouTube channel, we got our first glimpse of the hardware improvements that are coming.

Obviously, the display will be enhanced and take advantage of OLED technology to deliver an amazing picture with vivid colors and impressive contrast. The Switch OLED’s screen will also be slightly bigger (7-inches as opposed to 6.2-inches) and the internal sound system is getting a boost. If you like downloading games you’ll be able to take advantage of 64GB of internal storage, and those who like gaming online can use the new Nintendo Switch dock’s Ethernet port which is built in.

The Nintendo Switch OLED does not support 4K gaming while docked as was expected of the rumored Nintendo Switch Pro, and outputs at 720p in handheld mode. 

Where is the Nintendo Switch Pro?
Now that June 3 has been and gone, the imminent announcement of a Nintendo Switch Pro seems less likely. Nintendo is also hosting its own event during E3 on June 15, so it could make the announcement then. Either way, we’ll be keeping an eye out for any news should it appear.

Nintendo Switch preorders might go live on June 4
Preorders for the Nintendo Switch Pro could go live on June 4 according to a tweet from prominent Pokémon leaker CentroLeaks. A date of June 30 has also been suggested, but CentroLeaks believes that this was likely a placeholder.

This date doesn’t sound too farfetched, considering the Nintendo Switch Pro could be revealed on June 3.

Nintendo Switch Pro announced could take place on June 3
We could get a Nintendo Switch Pro announcement as soon as June 3, according to one of the hosts of the Xbox Era podcast.

Nick Baker believes that Nintendo will reveal the new console on Thursday June 3; however, he noted that the date could be pushed back, as it has been before.

The reveal would line up with Bloomberg’s report, which tipped the console to be announced before E3 takes place. 

Nintendo Switch Pro to be revealed before E3
We might see Nintendo’s new Nintendo Switch before E3, according to sources at Bloomberg. The console could be announced ahead of June 12 so that publishers can show off upcoming games, and a release date is tipped for as early as October.

Nintendo Switch Pro confirmed?
OLED firm Universal Display Corp might have inadvertently revealed that a Nintendo Switch Pro is indeed on the way, as a recent transcription of an investors call by the company made mention of a “new Switch Pro” and its choice of OLED as its screen.

Universal Display Corp CEO Steven V. Abramson stated during the investors call: “…Nintendo has selected an OLED screen for the new Switch Pro due to OLED benefits of higher contrast and faster response times.”

This our best proof yet that a new Nintendo Switch is indeed on the way, but it’s still unclear what form it will take. 

Nintendo Switch Pro in doubt
Nintendo has ramped up Nintendo Switch production as it aims to shift 30m units this fiscal year, according to Nikkei Asia. This is an unusual move when a company is set to release new hardware, particularly if its set to replace an existing model, and it’s clear that Nintendo thinks that the Nintendo Switch has plenty of life in it yet. 

Dataminer strikes gold?
A data miner known as SciresM has claimed (via Wccftech) that they have found reference to a new Nintendo Switch model within the Switch’s latest firmware update, codenamed ‘Aula’. 

Reportedly, this hardware uses the same chip as the Nintendo Switch Lite and 2019 Switch model, the Mariko (Tegra X1+) SoC. However, SciresM also claims that there are references to support for a Realtek chip which is a “4K UHD multimedia SoC”. 

Rather than being within the Switch tablet, they think that it “might be inside a new dock and not inside the tablet, though, there’s no way to tell from the firmware code yet.” They also say that the tablet itself will have an improved OLED screen, though what resolution it’ll offer is still unclear. The claims of some kind of 4K support do line up with the many other reports from the past year which claim that an upgraded Switch capable of 4K is on the horizon. 

Of course, there’s been no confirmation from Nintendo itself that a new Switch is on the cards and, in fact, Doug Bowser has made comments very recently that suggest there might not be for some time. With that in mind, we’re still taking this with a pinch of salt.

Analysts think it’s still on the cards
Despite Doug Bowser’s recent comments, industry analysts still seem to think that there could be an upgraded Nintendo Switch on the cards for 2021. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz,  Dr Serkan Toto of Kantan Games and Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis said they think the console is on the horizon. Toto was quite confident in his prediction, while Harding-Rolls was more reserved, saying he thought such a release in 2021 would make “commercial sense”. 

Doug Bowser comments suggest no Nintendo Switch Pro anytime soon
We should temper our expectations that there’s going to be a Nintendo Switch Pro or new Nintendo Switch any time soon if recent comments from Nintendo of America’s Doug Bowser are anything to go by. 

Speaking to Polygon, Bowser said that while improvements to the Switch technology are always being thought about, the company isn’t exactly feeling the pressure thanks the ongoing success of the original Switch and its Lite counterpart. 

“We’re always looking at technology,” says Bowser. “And as we know, technology is constantly evolving and changing. And we’re always looking at what is coming to determine: how can it enhance and improve the gameplay experience? And whether that’s on a current platform, or whether that’s on a future platform, we’re always looking at that.”

Adding that “the momentum on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite in the fourth year is strong. And we believe we’re changing the trajectory of another typical console life cycle.”

Bowser calls 2020 the “midpoint of this life cycle”, which suggests that it could still be another three years or so before we see any new Nintendo Switch. That, of course, doesn’t mean there won’t be any improvements at all given the battery upgrade given to new consoles in 2019, but it does make those rumors of a new console in 2021 seem less likely than they did.

Nintendo Switch outsells PS5 and Xbox Series X
Perhaps Nintendo was right not to worry about the launch of the next-generation consoles from Sony and Microsoft. It has been revealed that in the launch month of the PS5 and Xbox Series X, Nintendo’s Switch family of consoles has stayed on top in the US in terms of console sales. 

According to analytics film NPD Group the Switch and Switch Lite garnered a total 1.35 million sales in the US alone throughout November. In fact, the report also says that Nintendo’s hardware is selling even more in 2020 than the previous year – around half a million units more, to a total of 6.92 million – despite now being three years into its lifecycle.  We don’t actually have firm numbers for sales of the PS5 and Xbox Series X yet, but the former console is estimated to have sold around 2 million units worldwide across its two November launch dates, with stock drying up soon after. 

The story isn’t the same across the world – it’s worth noting that the PS5 did outsell the Switch in the UK. Regardless, it shows that the Switch’s momentum does not seem to be slowing even in the face of new and more powerful 4K consoles. What this means for a prospective more powerful Nintendo Switch Pro remains to be seen. Nintendo clearly doesn’t really need a new console right now with those sales but launched at the right time it could propel the Switch to even greater heights.

Standalone Joy-Con patent
A newly discovered patent (via VGC) suggests that some standalone Joy-Con controllers have been considered by Nintendo. 

A newly-discovered Nintendo patent suggests that the company may be planning to release a new form of Joy-Con style controller.

Originally filed in May 2018 and registered in April 2020, the patent shows a controller that’s highly similar in shape and layout to the existing Joy-Con found on the original Switch. However, it is slightly updated and rather than being designed to slide onto a screen like the current Joy-Con, this controller appears to be a standalone device, with no rails for sliding in sight. 

While there isn’t much need for standalone Joy-Con on the original Switch, they could be useful with the more recent Nintendo Switch Lite, which has its controls permanently attached, as it would allow for easier multiplayer gaming. Given the recent rumors around the Nintendo Switch Pro, though, it’s also worth considering that the standalone Joy-Con has been designed with this new console in mind.  

Considering this is a patent, however, there’s no guarantee that Nintendo is still pursuing the idea of standalone Joy-Con controllers or that we will ever see anything like this come to market. 

Rumors of a mini-LED display
Something slightly different from the 4K rumors we’ve been used to when it comes to the Nintendo Switch Pro; we may see a mini-LED display replace the current LCD screen. According to a report from Taiwan’s Economic Daily News, the still-rumored Switch Pro model could sport mini-LED screens supplied by Innolux, a well-known manufacturer in the field.

The current Switch and Switch Lite consoles use an HD (720p) LCD screen. If a new Switch console did have 4K capability, we imagine it’d be in docked mode, with handheld mode offering a slightly-boosted Full HD (1080p) display. Upgrading to a mini-LED display would make all of those pixels look better than before as mini-LED displays use thousands of tiny individually-controlled backlights in the glass substrate of the panel to offer a wider contrast ratio, better brightness control, deeper blacks and richer colors. It could even mean thinner and lighter product designs. There are rumors that 2021 will bring an iPad Pro 12.9 which utilizes mini-LED technology, too, so it could be a technology that’s on the rise. 

Devs reportedly being told to get 4K-ready
A recent report by Bloomberg has alleged that Nintendo is asking developers to make their Nintendo Switch games 4K-ready, adding weight to previous rumors that Nintendo has a resolution upgrade up its sleeve with a 4K-ready upgraded Switch console. 

Bloomberg’s report most notably corresponds with a recent reports from the Economic Daily News, which cited various hardware manufacturers responsible for the Switch’s flash storage and Joy-Con controllers, and claimed that a more powerful Nintendo Switch console with upgraded interactivity and improved display quality could go into production in 2021.

Reports of a new console in 2021
If a reports from the Economic Daily News is to be believed, a more powerful Nintendo Switch console with upgraded interactivity and improved display quality could be coming next year.

The report cites various hardware manufacturers responsible for the Switch’s Flash storage and Joy-Con controllers, and says that the console could go into production by the end of 2021.

This has been backed up by a second report from  Bloomberg, which cites sources familiar with the upgraded Switch console. The report notes that the new Nintendo Switch’s specs haven’t been finalized yet, though it notes that Nintendo has apparently been investigating 4K visuals and more power for the new unit. 

Bloomberg’s report also suggests that Nintendo is planning a bunch of new games alongside the console, which the report says is why this year has been relatively fallow for Switch releases. A new, more powerful console could certainly be good way to show off Breath of the Wild 2.

Utilizing Nintendo Switch features
In the 80th Annual General Meeting of Shareholders (via VideoGamer), Nintendo stated that future consoles will harness the the Switch’s unique elements and experience.

“Our current generation game system, Nintendo Switch, has entered its fourth year since launch, but its momentum is increasing,” Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa said. “We believe there are two factors behind this. First is the existence of two hardware configurations with different characteristics, in Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite. The second factor is that Nintendo’s development resources are concentrated on developing content for a single platform, Nintendo Switch. We want to extend the life cycle of Nintendo Switch while maximising such advantages.

“From the perspective of playing with the image displayed on a TV, we believe that because consumers can play Nintendo Switch on a TV or the game console screen itself, it has greatly increased the opportunities for gameplay in various scenes in their lives, compared to previous consoles,” Furukawa continued. “Through Nintendo Switch, we’ve made many discoveries about where a dedicated video game platform can fit into a consumer’s daily life. We see scenes on social media of children and their families sitting around a game console to play, which gives us a renewed sense of the value of our dedicated video game platform. We will utilise these experiences in carefully considering the form our future game consoles will take.”

Codenames
Dataminers have been coursing through Nintendo’s firmware version 10.0.0 for information on new Switch consoles and have apparently identified codenames for the upcoming devices.

According to JershJopstin on Resetera, there are five identified codenames for Nintendo Switch models: Icosa, Copper, Hoag, Iowa, and Calcio. Here’s a breakdown of what we know about their codenames so far (thanks TweakTown):

• Icosa – Switch released at launch – nx-abca2 – 20nm Tegra X1 – 
• Iowa – revised Switch –  nx-abca2 – 16nm Tegra X1 and ‘Mariko’ chip
• Hoag – the Switch Lite – nx-abcc – 16nm Tegra X1 and Mariko chip
• Copper – unconfirmed- nx-abcb
• Calcio – unconfirmed – nx-abcb – 16nm Tegra X1 and Mariko chip

While Iow, Hoag and Icosa have already released, Copper and Calcio have not been confirmed to be in development. 

According to JershJopstin, Copper appears to be a non-mobile device due to its lack of battery and charging services, and the HDMI services it appears to have which would typically be handled by a Switch docking station.

Meanwhile, according to another rumor, Calcio will apparently be a docked-only, more traditional console.

In addition, JershJopstin has suggested that this Calcio console could be digital-only due to its apparent lack of support for game cards and new naming form factor.

However these rumors should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism until we get confirmation from Nintendo.

Possible dual-screen
A dataminer has dug into the new Nintendo Switch version 10.00 firmware and found hints that it adds preliminary support for a new Switch model, – nx-abcd -, one with a secondary display, possibly a dual-screen like the Nintendo DS. This is the same dataminer who previously uncovered that Nintendo was working on a revised model – which turned out to be longer battery-life Switch – from firmware version 9.0.0. However, this should still be treated with skepticism.

This is a different form factor from the Switch codenames we’ve seen before, with Resetera user suggesting we may see a different type of Switch device altogether – not handheld or docked.

Nintendo isn’t worried about the next console generation
2020 isn’t the year of a new Nintendo Switch console, but it was the year that Sony and Microsoft launch the next generation of consoles: the PS5 and Xbox Series X. Nintendo, however, isn’t worried about catching up. Talking to investors during a Japanese Q&A (via VGC), Nintendo’s president Shuntaro Furukawa said that while the gaming landscape will change, the company doesn’t think the release of these next-gen consoles will have a big impact on its own fortunes.

“We do not believe that the business trends of other companies will have a significant impact on our business,” Furukawa told investors, explaining that the reason Nintendo is so confident that the PS5 and Xbox Series X won’t pose huge competition is because the Nintendo Switch targets a different audience.

While this doesn’t tell us a whole lot about any specific new console plans Nintendo has, it does suggest that the company isn’t feeling any great hurry or pressure from its supposed competitors to release, or even announce, a Nintendo Switch Pro in the immediate future. 

No 4K or performance upgrades? – Debunked
On Korean site Clién’s community forums (via Wccftech), a poster named Cathedral Knight claimed that the Switch Pro will launch in Q4 2020 but will not boast 4K and upgraded performance as expected.

Instead of moving to an upgraded version of Tegrax1 +GPU, the post claims Nintendo will work with Nvidia to create a custom processor based on Volta. In other words, not much will actually improve with the Switch Pro, it may just be a little faster.

However, Nintendo has since shut down rumors that a new Switch will release in 2020 – meaning we can probably assume the claims about performance are also untrue.

Production rumored to start as soon as April – Debunked
A report by Taiwan newspaper DigiTimes claimed that mass production on a new Switch will start “at the end of first-quarter 2020”- with the console itself releasing in mid-2020. However, as we’ve pointed out, Nintendo has ruled out a 2020 release date.

No Switch Pro in 2019
At a press briefing for the announcement of the Switch Lite, Nintendo president Doug Bowser revealed that we wouldn’t be seeing another new Switch model in 2019, according to CNET.

“[The Nintendo Switch Lite will] be the only new Nintendo Switch hardware this holiday, as Bowser says the larger Switch won’t get an upgrade right now,” CNET wrote.

However, Bowser’s comments suggested an upgraded Switch model is on the way, perhaps a Switch Pro?

Two new Nintendo Switch devices
A Wall Street Journal report suggests that Nintendo is working on two individual Switch variants that, rather than making the current Nintendo Switch obsolete, would put it in the middle of a range growing to suit all budgets.

According the publication’s sources, the first of these new devices will be aimed at budget gamers, and will see the Switch presented in a more traditional handheld-first format. It’ll replace removable Joy-Cons with fixed ones, and ditch their HD Rumble feature in order to bring costs down. This was confirmed with the announcement of the Nintendo Switch Lite.

The second new version of the Nintendo Switch, going by the rumor, is a little harder to pin down, but would be a premium version of the console with “enhanced features targeted at avid videogamers.” That’s not to suggest it would be aiming for 4K or HDR visuals, but would more likely have features and services baked in that would accommodate the modern obsession with streaming to platforms like Twitch. 

The confirmation of the Switch Lite adds some weight to this report and could mean we will see another new premium Switch console at a future date.

The 5.0 firmware dig
Though the Nintendo Switch’s 5.0 firmware update wasn’t up to much on the surface, hackers on Switchbrew dug into the upgrade in 2019 and found evidence which suggests a hardware refresh is in the works. 

Switchbrew discovered references to a new T214 chip (which would be a small improvement on the current T210) as well as an updated printed circuit board and 8GB of RAM instead of the current 4GB. This T214 is likely what was used in the Switch Lite and improved battery Switch, but we’re expecting a Switch Pro to have even further hardware improvements that will push the devices overall performance.

AR and VR support
VR and AR support for the Switch never looked likely, with the MD of Nintendo France citing a lack of mainstream appeal for the technology back in 2018, but the Labo VR Kit shows Nintendo has changed its mind about the viability of VR.

The Switch doesn’t have the high resolution of most VR gaming rigs, so we could see an advanced model with 2K or 4K resolution to improve those close-up VR experiences. However, given the VR Kit is still focused mainly on children, we’d be surprised to see a visual overhaul simply for this one peripheral.

What about 3D?
Another Nintendo patent came to light in early 2019: this time for a 3D sensor array that sits above your television, and creates a stereoscopic image in a similar way to the 3DS, meaning you wouldn’t even need glasses.

3D visuals felt like a passing gimmick even with Nintendo’s handheld consoles – and the defunct Microsoft Kinect camera will no doubt keep it wary of unnecessary TV peripherals. But getting convincing 3D imaging on standard 2D TVs may the step needed to bring 3D gaming mainstream.

Could it support 4K?
While Sony and Microsoft push at the 4K market, there isn’t really any big reason for Nintendo, the company that staunchly sets itself apart from other hardware producers, to follow suit. 

In the same interview where he dismissed VR, Nintendo France General Manager Philippe Lavoué also brushed off 4K saying that the technology has “not been adopted by the majority” and it would, therefore, be too early for Nintendo to jump in. 

Nintendo didn’t enter the HD console market until 2012 when it released the Wii U. This was around four years after Sony and Microsoft and at the point when more than 75% of US households actually had HD displays in their home. 

Miyamoto however has said he wished Nintendo had done the jump to HD sooner than this, saying that the display technology became popular around three years before Nintendo expected it to. It’s expected that by 2020, 50% of US households will have adopted 4K technology and it might be at this point that Nintendo decides to join the 4K fray, rather than waiting until the 75% market saturation of before. 

Switch 2 could have a 7-inch OLED
The latest Nintendo Switch rumors points to the device having a 7-inch OLED screen from Samsung Display. Production is slated for July, according to Bloomberg, and the new device would support 4K resolution when docked instead of 1080p.

The screen size is a nice upgrade over the original Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite, which currently offer LCD displays in 6.2-inch and 5.5-inch sizes, respectively.