The Nintendo Switch OLED is now up for pre-order. It's a new model that has a larger OLED screen along with ethernet support. While the upgrade wasn't quite what people were expecting, hope for a later 'Pro' announcement didn't die out. However, Nintendo has clarified that there will be no further models beyond the OLED "at this time."
Bloomberg's initial report from March accurately describes what would later be revealed as the OLED variant but one key detail was missing – the 4k support. Given that production hadn't yet begun, it is possible that this was something removed between March and now, but some believed that it was being saved for a later model, the elusive Switch Pro.
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"A news report on July 15, 2021 [Bloomberg] claimed that the profit margin of the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) would increase compared to the Nintendo Switch. To ensure correct understanding among our investors and customers, we want to make clear that the claim is incorrect," Nintendo stated, "We also want to clarify that we just announced that the Nintendo Switch (OLED Model) will launch in October 2021, and we have no plans for launching any other model at this time."
With Nintendo claiming not to have any further plans for the time being, it's likely that the 4k support was either incorrect information provided to Bloomberg by its sources or Nintendo removed the feature for whatever reason between then and now.
However, Nintendo is known to be tight-lipped about future projects until it is ready to announce them. The OLED's unveiling alone fits that behavior. Given its track record with the Game Boy and the DS, two other iconic handheld consoles from the company, it is very likely that we haven't seen the last evolution of the Nintendo Switch just yet.
Already, we've seen the base model, the Lite variant, and the new OLED version. That's within just four years. The DS, for comparison, was released at the end of 2004. A Lite model, like with the Switch, debuted not long after in 2006. Eventually, the DSi, DSi XL, 3DS, 3DS XL, and New Nintendo 3DS would follow, leading up to the final release in 2017. That's a 13-year timespan with a slew of models from start to finish. The Switch could see a similar trajectory, but for now, Nintendo isn't ready to talk.
The OLED model releases on October 8 for $350.
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