Oh man. It pains me to write this article. So, my good friend Cora who produces SCNS Live called this years ago and now it’s officially here. So she was right, you happy now Cora? Huh? There you were right. But I digress. There is a new Nintendo Switch on the way and your experience is about to get an upgrade.
Nintendo has officially announced the Nintendo Switch OLED Model and it is releasing October 8th, 2021. So basically, when I buy my new copy of Metroid I’ll be getting one of these too. Here is the official announcement from their Twitter.
So, let’s talk specs. New hardware with improved speakers, 7 inch OLED screen, 64 GB storage and a LAN port on the dock. Already those are very appealing to me but here is the complete list.
| Size | 4 inches high, 9.5 inches long, and 0.55 inches deep (with Joy-Con attached) *The depth from the tip of the analog sticks to the tip of the ZL/ZR buttons is 1.12 inches |
| Weight | Approximately .71 lbs (Approximately .93 lbs with Joy-Con controllers attached) |
| Screen | Multi-touch capacitive touch screen / 7.0 inch OLED screen / 1280×720 |
| CPU/GPU | NVIDIA Custom Tegra processor |
| Storage | 64 GB Users can easily expand storage space using microSDHC or microSDXC cards up to 2TB (sold separately). |
| Wireless | Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compliant) / Bluetooth 4.1 |
| Video output | Up to 1080p via HDMI in TV mode Up to 720p via built-in screen in Tabletop mode and Handheld modes |
| Audio output | Compatible with 5.1ch Linear PCM output Output via HDMI connector in TV mode |
| Speakers | Stereo |
| Buttons | Power button / Volume button |
| USB connector | USB Type-C Used for charging or for connecting to the Nintendo Switch dock. |
| Headphone/mic jack | 3.5mm 4-pole stereo (CTIA standard) |
| Game card slot | Nintendo Switch game cards |
| microSD card slot | Compatible with microSD, microSDHC, and microSDXC memory cards *Once the microSDXC card is inserted, a system update will be necessary. An internet connection is required to perform this system update. |
| Sensor | Accelerometer, gyroscope, and brightness sensor |
| Operating environment | 41-95 degrees F / 20-80% humidity |
| Internal battery | Lithium-ion battery / 4310mAh |
| Battery life | Approximately 4.5 – 9 hours The battery life will depend on the games you play. For instance, the battery will last approximately 5.5 hours for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. |
| Charging time | Approximately 3 hours *When charging while the hardware is in sleep mode |
Gamers have been wanting an upgrade to the Nintendo Switch and honestly this is enough of an upgrade for me to want this. Yes a few of the specs don’t seem that great but consider you literally hold this in your hands. If you started out with a Gameboy like I did you start to appreciate how far we’ve come since then. So my Metroid game is going to look great on this once it is in my hands. Call it an early Christmas present for me.
Jason The X
Follow me @JasonTheX
“Hopefully, I can actually find this game system on the shelf. I still don’t have a PS5”