The Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite have dominated the handheld gaming market for years now, with the family of consoles becoming the portables that hardcore and casual gamers alike buy.
But the Nintendo Switch range is far from perfect, and one of the biggest issues that gamers have levelled against the consoles is that they do not allow for Bluetooth headphone connections, with users having to use the physical 3.5mm audio jack instead.
Most people now own Bluetooth headphones, though, and prefer the wireless convenience they deliver. And, in addition, the Switch does technically have a Bluetooth chip. As such, it felt like a missed open goal by the Big N not to allow for Bluetooth audio connections.
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Luckily, though, based on datamined information from the Switch's latest 12.0.0 firmware update, which was ascertained by dataminer OatmealDome, that now looks like it is about to change, with the update unlocking audio support for the Switch's Bluetooth driver.
[Nintendo Switch System Update]12.0.0 has added audio support to the Bluetooth driver.*However*, I’m not sure if anything is actually using this new support so far. No guarantees it will ever be used, either.(SOURCE: yellows8 via SwitchBrew)https://t.co/Zyn35f3dZd pic.twitter.com/Ag5I0h8nicApril 7, 2021
As can be seen in OatmealDome's post above, "12.0.0 has added audio support to the Bluetooth driver", however, the dataminer is quick to point out that there are "no guarantees it will ever be used".
And, while that is true, here at T3 we would say why would Nintendo go to the trouble of unlocking audio support for the console's Bluetooth driver it is was never going to be used? It seems like a waste of time and resources.
It also raises the question once more of just why the Nintendo Switch did not launch with support for Bluetooth audio devices in the first place? If the hardware was already there, and unlocking it required nothing but a firmware update, surely it should of been delivered at launch or, if not, soon after.
All that said, though, if the feature is made use of then it is better late than never, and it comes in the same year in which the much-rumored Nintendo Switch Pro is set to launch, too. Hopefully the Switch Pro will launch with Bluetooth headphone support as standard.
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