Everything We Know About The Nintendo Switch Pro: Release Date, Features

Fans of the Nintendo Switch have been waiting to hear news about a new model, aka the Switch Pro, for a long time. While the Switch and Switch Lite are both excellent consoles with downright impressive features, they still feel a bit lacking when compared to the likes of PS5 and Xbox Series X. And it’s already been about 4 years since the launch of the original Nintendo Switch, so the time for an upgrade announcement might be coming soon.

According to a recent Bloomberg report, Nintendo is currently planning to announce a new model for the Nintendo Switch sometime later in 2021. Logic states that it might happen a few months down the line, maybe right before the holiday season kicks in. There doesn’t seem to be any concrete evidence of what this model is going to be called, but for the sake of clarification, we’ll refer to it as the Nintendo Switch Pro for now.

Nintendo Switch Pro Screen Size and Panel

The rumoured upgraded model will come with a bigger OLED screen. For reference, the current Switch model has a 6.2-inch LCD panel. This makes us think that the screen size on the Switch Pro would be at least 7-inches.

What makes this belief more solid is that Samsung plans to produce 7-inch OLED screens with a 720p resolution, starting in June 2021. Since phones and tablets have moved on to much higher display resolutions, this seems more like for the Switch Pro’s handheld mode. Even now, the Nintendo Switch runs games at 720p when played in the handheld mode.

The OLED screen will offer better color and contrast while consuming less battery than the Switch’s current LCD panel, states Yoshio Tamura, the co-founder of DSCC. Additionally, Nintendo has apparently chosen to equip the Switch Pro with rigid OLED panels. These are a low-cost, less flexible alternative to the ones we see in smartphones.

4K Output in Dock Mode

The report also states that the Switch Pro will support 4K resolution output in the docked mode. However, even now there seem to be complaints from devs regarding the disparity between handheld and docked resolutions. If the handheld mode continues to be 720p with 4K output using the dock, it will only compound this issue.

Possible Reveal/Announcement Date

The production of the panels is supposed to begin in June, scheduled to be delivered to assemblers in July, as the Bloomberg report states. Additionally, the monthly production target for the OLED panels is close to a million units. This can only mean that Nintendo is possibly gearing up for a console reveal.

Considering the success of games like Animal Crossing during the pandemic, the company can easily capitalize on the momentum. Not to mention that they have just revealed a mainline Pokemon title, Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Throw that in with the fact that we still have to get some news regarding Breath of the Wild 2, and we could very well be looking at a September/October reveal.

But, apart from the actual report, we can only speculate about what Nintendo plans to do. Unless they make an official announcement, it’s best to take this with a grain of salt.

Source: Bloomberg