Nintendo May Be Considering An OLED Switch 2

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The Switch 2 has been on shelves for just over a year, and there’s already a rumour about the model that might replace it. ZDNet Korea reports that Nintendo is weighing an OLED version of the console, sourced from three industry contacts.

According to ZDNet Korea, Nintendo is considering a rigid OLED panel for the Switch 2, with Samsung Display as the likely supplier, the same company that built the screen for the original Switch OLED in 2021. One source told the outlet that if the project gets approved, development could begin by the end of this year, putting mass production at the earliest end of 2027, more realistically early 2028.

A second source was blunter about the state of the decision, Nintendo hasn’t confirmed anything because the price gap between OLED and the current LCD panel is still the deciding factor. A third source framed it as Samsung actively pushing to land the contract, while the actual price increase such a panel would force onto the Switch 2 remains unresolved.

Accounts of the report diverge on resolution. Some coverage states the OLED model would jump to FHD, 1920×1080, an upgrade over the 720p screen used in the original Switch 1 OLED. Other outlets describe a 1080p panel matching the current Switch 2’s existing resolution, not an increase over it. Both figures are unconfirmed.

Nintendo typically waits years before revising a console. The original Switch launched in March 2017 with LCD only, and the OLED model didn’t arrive until October 2021, four and a half years later, once the platform’s success was already proven. The Switch 2 then launched in June 2025. A rumoured OLED variant landing in 2027 or 2028 would still be faster than that precedent, though not dramatically so.

There’s also a cost problem working against the timeline. Component prices, particularly memory chips, have been climbing across the industry, and Nintendo has already raised Switch 2 pricing once this year, a $50 increase in North America that took effect in Japan and rolls out to Western markets in September. Layering a pricier OLED panel on top of a console that’s already Nintendo’s most expensive handheld is a harder sell than it was with the original Switch, when OLED arrived as a premium option alongside an already-established cheaper base model.