New Nintendo Switch OLED console officially announced: 6 upgrades it delivers

Nintendo has officially announced the follow up console to the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite. Say hello to the Nintendo Switch OLED!

The Nintendo Switch OLED was officially announced on the BigN's official website and Twitter feed, with an official trailer showing off the console and its features. You can watch that official video directly below.

• Nintendo Switch OLED pre-orders: where to buy the new Nintendo Switch

Nintendo Switch OLED price and release date

There had been a lot of talk of a new Nintendo Switch console coming down the pipe, which the media had dubbed the "Nintendo Switch Pro", and now the cover has been pulled off the new console.

The Nintendo Switch Pro release date is October 8th, 2021.

The Nintendo Switch OLED price is confirmed as $349.99, which converts as roughly £253, 295.77 Euro or 463.66 Australian Dollars.

The Nintendo Switch OLED comes with a variety of upgrades over the standard Nintendo Switch, and below T3 has listed the 6 biggest that we think gamers will want to know about.

1. The Nintendo Switch OLED has a 7-inch OLED screen

The Nintendo Switch OLED is confirmed as packing a 7-inch screen. This is bigger than the screen on the standard Nintendo Switch, which is only 6.2 inches. This screen is also an OLED panel, not an LCD one, which the Switch and Switch Lite have. OLED screens offer more vibrant colors and contrast, meaning that the new Switch will make games looks much better.

2. The Nintendo Switch OLED has upgraded speakers 

The next big upgrade on the Nintendo Switch OLED is an upgraded speaker system. This is referred to as "enhanced audio" by the official Nintendo console listing, and shows two front firing horizontal stereo speaker holes. No other information has been so far forthcoming about exactly how these speakers are upgraded, but we're expecting new drivers with tuned acoustics.

3. The Nintendo Switch OLED has a new wider stand

Unlike the original Nintendo Switch, which only had a very tiny and brittle kick stand, the new 7-inch OLED Nintendo Switch comes with a completely redesigned stand that is as wide as the console. This stand is extra sturdy for ensuring stable Tabletop mode usage. The stand can also be orientated at a variety of different angles, meaning you can slant the console as you wish.

4. The Nintendo Switch OLED comes with 64GB of internal storage

Unlike the standard Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite, the Nintendo Switch OLED comes with 64GB of internal storage out of the box. This is twice the amount offered by the pre-existing consoles, which both only have 32GB of storage for games and media. This upgraded storage will no doubt be a boon for serious gamers who want to store lots of titles on their console, as well as let Nintendo expand the install size of AAA games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2.

5. The Nintendo Switch OLED has a built in LAN port

The Nintendo Switch necessitates that you connect to the internet through a wireless Wi-Fi connection, which is fine but is not the most stable connection or the fastest. The Nintendo Switch OLED, though, comes with a built-in LAN port, meaning that when the console is docked a wired connection can be used for downloading and upgrading games.

6. The Nintendo Switch OLED has a new colorway

Another new thing the Nintendo Switch OLED delivers is a new colorway. While the new Switch has been confirmed to come in the traditional Switch Neon Red/Neon Blue colorway, it will also offer gamers a white design, too. This can be seen in the official retail box above, and includes a white charging dock and Joy-Con controllers.

Nintendo Switch OLED hardware specs

The full Nintendo Switch OLED hardware specs have been released by Nintendo. A lot of the specs are identical to the to the original Switch, but there are key differences in things like dimensions and weight. Here are the key Switch OLED hardware specs you need to know about:

Size: 4 inches high, 9.5 inches long, and 0.55 inches deep with Joy-Con attached

Weight: .93 lbs with Joy-Con controllers attached

Screen: 7-inch OLED, multi-touch capacitive, 1280x720

CPU/GPU: NVIDIA Custom Tegra

Internal storage: 64GB (expandable via microSDHC/microSDXC cards)

Video output: 1080p TV mode / 720p Tabletop and Handheld modes

Speakers: Stereo speakers with enhanced audio

Battery: 4310mAh Lithium-ion

Battery life: 4.5-9 hours depending on application

Charging time: 3 hours (console in sleep mode)

Connectivity: USB  Type-C, 3.5mm stereo, microSD card slot, LAN port

Game card slot: 1 x Nintendo Switch game card slot

Nintendo Switch OLED: T3's hot take opinion

So, after all the talk of a powered-up Nintendo Switch Pro-style console, in the end we've got an upgrade but nowhere near the upgrade that a lot of gamers thought we were going to get.

The larger, OLED screen has proved correct and that looks like a really nice upgrade over the Switch and Switch Lite's LCD panels, but internally the new console is basically identical to the console already on the market.

Talk of a Switch Pro capable of 4K graphics in docked mode always seemed a little wishful in thinking, but a console that doesn't deliver any notable power and performance increase over the original model going on half a decade after its original release is a come down for sure.

The other new features like improved, wider kick stand, better stereo speakers, a built-in LAN port and fresh colorway are all very welcome, but it's hard to think that Nintendo isn't just fixing what issues with the original Switch design, rather than genuinely offering gamers a new experience.

There's also some things that aren't addressed in the information we have right now about the Nintendo Switch OLED, such as if it comes with internally revised Joy-Con controllers that don't suffer from the dreaded, well-documented drift issue.

Overall, then, a lot seems to rest right now on just how impressive that new, larger OLED screen will be in the flesh so to speak, as otherwise its going to be a tough sell for Nintendo to convince gamers to part with their cash for what seems, at least right now, like a very marginal upgrade to the Switch experience.