Despite its runaway success on the market, the Nintendo Switch might not be all it's cracked up to be. Some feedback on the hybrid console suggests it may require an upgrade to mitigate or remove some shortcomings with its hardware. According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Nintendo could be planning to answer those prayers by releasing a new Switch model in 2019 in a move to increase sales.
An OLED screen planned
In its report, the WSJ cited several sources including insiders close to suppliers. According to the details, the new Nintendo Switch will feature an OLED screen as opposed to its regular LCD screen, though its panels won't be comparable to the iPhone X screen.
This is a huge upgrade as the regular model's screen isn't even on par with current standards of competing with smart devices, featuring a 6.2" LCD screen with 1280 x 720p resolution.
Although sources aren't fully clear on the dimensions and resolution of the new screen, the normal advantages with an OLED screen are a given. in terms of quality, OLED can display true black levels and has the full sRGB gamut as opposed to its LCD competitor. Besides quality, OLED is also more energy efficient than the LCD screen. That last one especially will benefit the Switch as many owners have complained about its demeaningly short battery life.
However, the information provided to the WSJ is pretty much that.
Hence, no mentioning of other revisions for the console like the onboard chip, Joy-Cons, button layout or storage. It's too soon to tell if the information passed onto the WSJ is complete or not but for now, it has to be taken with a grain of salt. The WSJ has been both right and wrong in regards to the Nintendo Switch and other consoles from the company.
It's all about the sales
The WSJ sources claimed Nintendo's plan for releasing this upgraded model is in accordance with their plan to increase Nintendo Switch sales substantially. Since it's launch in mid-2017, the hybrid console has been struggling to meet with the company's quota despite projecting huge sales. This was largely due to supply shortages in response to an incredibly high demand for the console.
Although the supply issue has been solved, the company is ultimately dissatisfied with the Nintendo Switch's performance for the past two years and want to roll out a hardware revision before the end of 2019. That would make it only two and a half years before Nintendo released new hardware on the market post Switch launch.