"New" Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) [2021-07-06]

Goodtwin

Veteran
Supporter
https://www.resetera.com/threads/sc...otentially-a-new-dock-for-added-power.356782/

A member posted this link in the Switch 2 thread, but I feel like this new information leaked alludes to a new Switch model that is very much in line with Nintendo upgrades for its handhelds in the past. The DSi and New 3DS being the most recent examples. When Nintendo and Nivida moved the Tegra X1 from the 20nm process to the 16nm FinFet process, the reduction in power consumption were huge. Nintendo did nothing at that time for performance, and improved energy consumption and thermals went entirely to extending battery life and allowing the Switch Lite to get away with using a smaller battery while still maintaining over 3 hours of battery life.

The Tegra X1 Mariko iteration was always a logical candidate for a "New" Switch. Nintendo doesnt shoot for huge improvements. The DSi and New 3DS had improved performance, but nothing like the PS4 compared to the PS4 Pro. A Switch Pro model was probably always unlikely, where as the "New" Switch is right there in Nintendo's playbook. The new X1 has a max GPU clock speed of 1.26Ghz, about a 20% improvement over the standard X1. Nintendo will likely still shy away from using the max clock speed just like they did with the original, but a 20-25% increase is a reasonable estimate. The three ARM A57 cores could see the most substantial benefit. We have seen from hacked Nintendo Switch units that bumping the CPU cores clock speed by just a few hundred Mhz can substantially improvement framerates in many games that struggle to stick to the target. My guestimate would be around 1.5Ghz.

Memory improvements are available. I believe LPDDR5 is an option, but its still fairly expensive. The more likely option would be to go with the fastest LPDDR4X available, and this yields a 25% increase in memory bandwidth compared to the original Switch models.

An improved screen could mean anything. Ive seen speculation that it will be OLED, but I kind of doubt it. I have been fine with the quality of the Switch screen but I am aware its far from high end. There is plenty of room to go with an improved LCD.
 
Yeah, it seems reasonable. I was all set for a new base console, I was expecting it. But it's Nintendo. As much as the "New 3DS" was a totally forgotten bland lump that passed without notice even among dedicated gamers in much of the world, I wouldn't put it past Nintendo to do the exact same thing again.

But hey that's the worst case scenario. Most likely case scenario if this is true is that it's mostly unexciting update that doesn't get a lot of attention. After all Switch buyers don't seem to crossover into hardcore "Graphics and tech" types a whole lot, so a somewhat middling update that's not even up to PS4 Pro type upgrades probably isn't going to get many excited.

Not that I can blame Nintendo wholly. Given the GPU targets for something like "A console that is to the PS5/XS what the Switch was to the PS4/ONE" I don't see anything commercially available to Nintendo that could do that at the moment.
 
Last edited:
When Nintendo releases the "New" models, I would suspect that many of the sales go to people who already own a previous model. A lot of current Switch gamers would be up for buying an upgraded model, even if those upgrades are somewhat modest. In no way would this new Switch unit be aimed at closing the gap in performance with the other consoles on the market, that's not really feasible even if they wanted to do it. I believe the best performing mobile chip on the market right now just barely surpasses the Xbox One performance. The true successor to Switch is likely 3-4 years away. The New Switch would just be a premium model for those interested in upgrading, I do not believe there would be any exclusive software developed for it.
 
The true successor to Switch is likely 3-4 years away.

If the Switch successor is 4 years away, it would mean for the Switch to be 8 years old by the time it's replaced.
Nintendo never went over 6 years between console generations.
 
But hey that's the worst case scenario. Most likely case scenario if this is true is that it's mostly unexciting update that doesn't get a lot of attention. After all Switch buyers don't seem to crossover into hardcore "Graphics and tech" types a whole lot, so a somewhat middling update that's not even up to PS4 Pro type upgrades probably isn't going to get many excited.

Do you know Nintendo fans? If there are people out there that paid real money for "3D Mario Quick And Dirty Emulators and ROMs found on the Web 30 years Anniversery Edition", man, they are willing to buy anything. I swear that I saw dozens of people on youtube say things like "man, the game sucks, like, of course I'm gonna buy it, duh, but it does suck"

Nintendo could release a Switch cow poo edition, which is actually just a plastic bag with cow poo. Put a triforce sticker in there somewhere, and they'd do unboxing videos with tears in their eyes and a smile to their face.

The internet made me realize that Nintendo's lazyness is a direct consequence of their own fans' complacent purchasing behaviour.
 
Last edited:
The DS released in 2004 and the 3DS released in 2011.
November 2004 to March 2011. 6 years and 4 months is still 6 years.
And it was for their handheld console that at the time was running in parallel with their home console.
With only one line of consoles, there should be more pressure to decrease the time between console launches, not less.
 
November 2004 to March 2011. 6 years and 4 months is still 6 years.
And it was for their handheld console that at the time was running in parallel with their home console.
With only one line of consoles, there should be more pressure to decrease the time between console launches, not less.

I hope you are right, because I will be ready for new hardware sooner than later, but the only pressure Nintendo will feel is the pressure of decreasing sales. The Switch has been selling extremely well, so until that starts to slow down, Nintendo wont be in a hurry to get a new console to market. Switch turns 4 years old in March this year. March of 2023 would be the earliest I could see the successor being released. Between a New Nintendo Switch model and the viability for price cuts of the existing models, Switch should continue to sell well for years to come.
 
Nintendo just denied it's happening. Which... I hope so. Wait a year or two, mariko isn't a substantial enough upgrade, they're on their way to the best selling console of all time, no need to rush.
 
They lied about the "New" 3DS being a thing up until the day they announced it. They have a Mario 3D World bundle and a Monster Hunter Rise bundle next month, so I doubt Nintendo wants to discuss a New or Pro model just before they roll those out to the market. With that, I agree that I would rather Nintendo just focus on the true successor and put their efforts into getting that ready for a March 2023 release. The March release window was excellent for the Switch launch, allowing the die hard early adopters to get theirs prior to the Christmas season, that way supply wont hold back the first holiday season sales.
 
If they ere going to launch anything, presumably it would be for the Holidays? Or has Nintendo ever launched in a different part of the year?

So they wouldn't telegraph a launch 9-10 months ahead of time.

But this fall/winter figures to be a big one for PS5 and XSX so they may want to wait until pent up demand for those consoles are fulfilled first.
 
If they ere going to launch anything, presumably it would be for the Holidays? Or has Nintendo ever launched in a different part of the year?

So they wouldn't telegraph a launch 9-10 months ahead of time.

But this fall/winter figures to be a big one for PS5 and XSX so they may want to wait until pent up demand for those consoles are fulfilled first.
Switch launched in March.
 
They might have to wait till the fall to stock pile enough devices. There isn't enough 7nm to go around already and I doubt they would try 7nm+ or 5nm. I'm not even sure if they would go with 7nm to be honest
 
OK, it seems unlikely they will launch this March. I know there's some kind of school holiday in March in Japan so that's a big gift buying period over there.

Right now, there seems to be all kinds of chip shortages, not just for the PS5 and XSX from AMD but also other types of devices, supposedly affecting companies like Qualcomm.

Maybe TMSC and other fabs are just being overwhelmed with greater demand that they have the throughput capacity?

So a Switch launch this year may not be a good financial decision, apart from the fact that the current Switch is still selling well.

Maybe fabs on the older, larger processes still have capacity? Or do they typically replace those with more current processes?
 
Are there any intermediate nodes that might have some capacity and be technically feasible?
Samsung immediately comes to mind, of course.
But it's impossible to say if Nintendo (Nvidia) can use TSMC, while their order books are full who's to say Nvidia isn't one of players who have made wafer start reservations? If so, no need for any excess capacity at the foundry. And a small mobile chip is unlikely to have major yield issues, particularly as they can set clock targets to whatever they want if need be.

We just don't know anything. It's speculation free-for-all.
 

is this the new nintendo switch with OLED screen that's bigger but the same size? (thus the smaller bezel)

jump to 11 secs
 
isnt the new switch supposedly to be the same as the current switch, just thinner bezel? So accessories like LABO, etc works interchangable.

its also missing the bottom stereo speakers slits.

although yeah, it could be simply they used switch image and then used the whole bezel instead of the screen for their video.
 
Back
Top