New Nintendo Switch may arrive in 2019, report says

Could the screen be getting an upgrade?

Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice

I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.

Expertise Photography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories

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Lori Grunin

Oct. 4, 2018 7:08 a.m. PT

Hard on the heels of Nintendo's new Switch Online subscription program, news emerges the company may be planning to release an updated version of the Nintendo Switch next year.

That's according to a report Thursday in The Wall Street Journal, which says some "suppliers and others with direct knowledge of the plan" passed on the information. The updated Switch could be released as soon as the summer of 2019, according to the report, which would be just over two years on from the portable game console's launch.

The article suggests one component ripe for upgrade is the screen, which isn't as bright or contrasty as the phone screens we've become accustomed to, and harder to see in bright sunlight.

While Switch hardware may not be flying off the shelves the way it used to, new games keep coming. Just this week three new NES ports arrived for Switch Online.

Nintendo's not the only console maker looking at updates. At E3 2018, Microsoft announced its plans for a next-generation Xbox, which the rumor mill has targeted for 2020.

Nintendo declined to comment.