Report Nintendo mulling Switch 2 OLED with Samsung Display panel

While the Switch 2 is a delightful piece of hardware, owners of the original Switch OLED (myself included) were a bit disappointed that the new model came with an LCD display only. That display is bigger and brighter with a higher refresh rate than the Switch OLED, but the inky blacks and excellent motion clarity from OLED are hard to give up.

Now a report from ZDNet Korea suggests that a Switch 2 OLED model may be on the way - eventually. The new version would reportedly come with a Samsung Display "rigid" (ie non-flexible) OLED panel at the same 1080p resolution as the original Switch 2 LCD, but nothing is known about other panel specs like size, refresh rate, HDR support and so on. However, it would make sense for the SWOLED2 to at least match the original model in these areas, which if true would make for at least a 7.9-inch 120Hz display with VRR and HDR10 support.

The timeline for a Switch 2 OLED is unfortunately not particularly advanced, according to what's being reported. ZDNet Korea states that Nintendo leadership is still considering whether to go ahead with the plan, with there being some discussion on to what extent Nintendo could absorb the extra cost of the OLED model versus passing it on to consumers - and, with RAM/SSD prices having risen stratospherically since the Switch 2 launch, whether such a premium model would be at all achievable at a reasonable price point.

If Nintendo do go ahead with Operation S.W.O.L.E.D.2, it's thought that development would start towards the end of the year, with mass production expected around the turn of 2027/2028, with retail availability to fall sometime within 2028 at the earliest. That would still be a smaller gap between LCD and OLED release dates for the OG Switch, but perhaps quite a long wait for anyone that has been holding out on a Switch 2 purchase until an OLED model is available.

What do you make of the news? Would a Switch 2 OLED be a day one purchase for you, or are you happy enough with the existing LCD model? Let me know via the poll above and the comments below.