Why You Can Trust CNET Nintendo Switch OLED model will be available in October
The new handheld console includes a 7-inch OLED screen and a wide adjustable stand. It costs $350.
Nintendo on Tuesday revealed its Switch OLED model, the long-awaited upgrade to its hybrid console. It'll be available on Oct. 8 -- the day Metroid Dread comes out -- and will cost $350, or $50 more than the original. As of Wednesday morning, Best Buy and GameSpot had product pages for the new Switch, but you can't preorder just yet.
UK retailer Game has it up for preorder at £310, while Australia's EB Games has it for $539, but Nintendo hasn't announced official prices for those countries.
Read more: How to preorder the new Nintendo Switch (OLED)
The 7-inch screen is slightly bigger than the regular Switch model's 6.2- and the Switch Lite's 5.5-inch LCD screens, but the new model's organic light-emitting diode display will offer more vivid colors and crisp contrast. It also features a wide adjustable stand (compared to the original model's flimsy kickstand), a new dock with a wired LAN port, 64 gigabytes of internal storage and "enhanced audio for handheld and tabletop play."
It offers the same 4.5- to 9-hour battery life as the regular Switch (the Lite lasts 3 to 7 hours), and uses the same Nvidia Custom Tegra processor. It weighs 0.93 pound (420 grams) with Joy-Cons attached, compared to the regular model's 0.88 pound and the Switch Lite's 0.61 pound.
It'll be available in two color variations -- one with white Joy-Cons and a matching dock, and the other with neon red and blue Joy-Cons and a black dock. Your old Joy-Cons will also be compatible with the new model.
Nintendo's reveal mostly lines up with a Bloomberg report from earlier this year, but is missing one feature -- the ability to output at 4K to a compatible TV when docked.
UK and Australian prices weren't announced, but $350 converts to about £255 or AU$465.
Read more: New OLED Switch underwhelms: 'More of a switch young professional'
