Nintendo Switch OLED Model has an OLED screen, a better kickstand, enhanced audio features, more internal memory than the standard Switch, and a dock with an Ethernet port, but it has practically the same specifications as the standard Switch.
There was a lot of speculation at the end of 2020 and early 2021 that Nintendo was about to announce a more powerful Nintendo Switch model, as it had done with the Nintendo 3DS years earlier. The Switch had been on the market for years at that point, so the time was right for a new model. There were numerous reports regarding Nintendo's hardware spending that suggested the rumored Nintendo Switch Pro model was on the way, with better specs and the ability to display games in 4k. It turned out that these rumors were actually pointing to the Nintendo Switch OLED Model, which was announced in July 2021 and released in October of the same year.
Nintendo recently privated videos of the Nintendo Switch Lite and Nintendo Switch OLED Model announcements on its YouTube channels, which some fans took as a sign that a Nintendo Switch Pro model was about to be announced. Nintendo did something similar when the OLED was announced, possibly to stop any confusion regarding Google traffic. It turns out that the announcement was for the Nintendo Switch - OLED Model Splatoon 3 Edition, which can be seen on the official Nintendo YouTube channel.
The Nintendo Switch - OLED Model Splatoon 3 Edition launches on August 24, even though Splatoon 3's fall release date arrives on September 9. The dock has a neon splat of paint and faint graffiti art of the Splatoon 3 characters, as does the OLED Switch itself, while the Joy-Cons are a gorgeous shade of green and purple. The official Nintendo website has also confirmed that the Nintendo Switch - OLED Model Splatoon 3 edition doesn't actually come with a copy of Splatoon 3 - not even a digital code.
This reveal will be disappointing to the people who thought a Nintendo Switch Pro announcement was incoming, but it was still way too soon for Nintendo to announce a new version of the Switch. The base OLED model hasn't even been on the market for a year, while the base Nintendo Switch units are still selling like hot cakes, thanks to the Nintendo Switch's packed 2022 game schedule. There are also ongoing hardware shortages, which means that a new Nintendo Switch model will face the same supply issues that Sony and Microsoft have been dealing with, regarding their own current-gen systems, so there's no rush for Nintendo to bring something to the market just yet.
Nintendo Switch – OLED Model Splatoon 3 Edition will be released on August 24, 2022.
Source: Nintendo/YouTube
