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Nintendo reportedly buying Samsung OLED panels for a larger Switch/Switch Pro

UltimaKilo

Gold Member
Obviously welcoming news. I had pie-in-the-sky hopes that they would use mini-led displays, but they don’t seem ready for prime time.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
Please release a console-only version of the Switch Pro, I'm not interested in shelling out extra money for an expensive screen on a device that simply isn't ergonomically suited for portable gameplay.


That would be nice, the SoC on a stick would cost like nothing, they could make a 150 dollar console that blows through marketshare...But why would they when they're selling every Switch they can make with a higher MRSP.

They actually had the idea for something like that before, during the Wii development they had thought up a 99 dollar console that everyone could get and focus all the traditional cost on software instead, Miyamoto was big on the idea.
 
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That would be nice, the SoC on a stick would cost like nothing, they could make a 150 dollar console that blows through marketshare...But why would they when they're selling every Switch they can make with a higher MRSP.
I guess. Still, it's not like they'd have to reduce their profit per unit - just deduct whatever the BoM is for the screen, battery, and joycons, then add back in the cost of a pro controller. I would literally rather buy two devices, a Switch Pro Console and a Switch Pro Lite, over a single compromised Switch Pro.
 

Andodalf

Banned
I see the sarcasm, but isn't the vita's screen resolution 544p

I am not being Sarcastic, the Vita had a great Screen. Yes vita was qHD, which was fine for 2011. Its PPI is similar to the larger switch screen at 720. And the Oled Panel was 100x better than the TN panels some 3DS had
 

Elysion

Banned
I‘m a bit confused, why does everyone expect DLSS to be used only in docked mode? Couldn‘t it be used in portable mode too, to upscale a native 540p or 720p picture to 1080p? That way we would get a 1080p resolution without the need for a huge performance jump. Combined with a more modern production process (I assume 7nm) this should easily allow any ‚pro‘ model to have a 1080p screen without killing battery life. And this doesn‘t even take into account that OLED screens consume less power in general.

Though as others have pointed out, if the pro model is still going to have a 720p screen, then this will be a very minor update. Which makes sense, since I believe we‘ll see a true Switch successor within the next two years anyway (Q4 2022 or Q1 2023 most likely). It would be kind of redundant to release a pro model that‘s substantially more powerful than a base Switch less than two years before the launch of the true successor.
 
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Termite

Member
Assuming this is true, what are the chances it actually runs 4k versions of games, as opposed to just upscaling from 1080?
There is zero chance it runs games natively at 4k, and little chance it does so at 1440p either.

The idea is to finally be able to hit native res 720p in portable mode, then hit 1080p in docked mode using some kind of reconstruction technique (probably DLSS) to get to 4k.

Which is probably the smartest way to approach all of this given that it is, ultimately, still a handheld, and still needs to be sold at a family friendly cost.
 
Obviously welcoming news. I had pie-in-the-sky hopes that they would use mini-led displays, but they don’t seem ready for prime time.
The only benefit to mini led would be longevity,

admittedly, RGB oled used in phones is much less durable than WRGB oled used in TVs, so maybe it's not a great option in the long term. But damn I bet it will look nice if it turns out to be true.
 

LordOfChaos

Member
Obviously welcoming news. I had pie-in-the-sky hopes that they would use mini-led displays, but they don’t seem ready for prime time.

Do you mean microLED? Mini LED is increasingly in affordable TVs and laptops, and Apple may go balls deep in laptops and tablets right around the corner too, it's pretty ready, it's not really "better" than OLED in that it's still LCD response times and not per pixel lighting, but it doesn't suffer from the organic compounds degrading like OLED is the biggest thing.


It's in much less expensive TVs than OLEDs already, like a 600 dollar TCL 6 series
 
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baphomet

Member
There is zero chance it runs games natively at 4k, and little chance it does so at 1440p either.

The idea is to finally be able to hit native res 720p in portable mode, then hit 1080p in docked mode using some kind of reconstruction technique (probably DLSS) to get to 4k.

Which is probably the smartest way to approach all of this given that it is, ultimately, still a handheld, and still needs to be sold at a family friendly cost.
If it were using DLSS they would also be using it in portable mode on a 1080p screen.
 

Imtjnotu

Member
720p in 2021

gross vomit GIF
 

carlosrox

Banned
I'm up for handheld changes but what I really want are docked changes.

So talk around the campfire seem to say that this actually worthy of being called a Pro model?

Switch 1.5?

The Switch screen already looks excellent in 720p so I have no issues at all with it maintaining that res. However AA would probably be a good idea. If this thing is actually appreciably stronger, hopefully it'll happen.
 
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SafeOrAlone

Banned
I've never owned a Switch.
I'll buy the new version if it is 1080p minimum docked and has a decent controller.
I want to play the recent releases in the Mario, Donkey Kong, and Zelda franchise. Hopefully Metroid as well. I've been off Nintendo since early days of Wii U.
 

Woopah

Member
I've never owned a Switch.
I'll buy the new version if it is 1080p minimum docked and has a decent controller.
I want to play the recent releases in the Mario, Donkey Kong, and Zelda franchise. Hopefully Metroid as well. I've been off Nintendo since early days of Wii U.
New Metroid and Donkey Kong may be coming this year so it's a good time to jump in.
 

kunonabi

Member
Bigger screen better not mean a bigger device. Of course, none of that matters if they don't fix all the other problems.
 

Kataploom

Gold Member
Reading these threads makes me think I'm the only one that prefers a docked upgrade over a portable upgrade... I don't even ever play portable :(
 

Polygonal_Sprite

Gold Member
Yeah I can't deal with the standard joycons in portable mode without a grip at least. The asymmetrical button placement and tiny ass joysticks makes me feel like I'm straining my right thumb to get to it.

The HORI Pro controller for handheld mode is a total game changer for portable play at home. My god the joycons suck for anything more than a few minutes.
 

NickFire

Member
Reading these threads makes me think I'm the only one that prefers a docked upgrade over a portable upgrade... I don't even ever play portable :(
You're not alone, but there's no business justification for it from Nintendo's standpoint. They are making way too much money to change this drastically right now.
 

CobraAB

Member
i want them to stick with 720p. it makes no sense going to 1080p unless they significantly improve battery life (which i doubt they have). 1080p = more processing power = less battery. so just stick with 720p. the screen is likely only gonna be slightly larger to fill up the bezels. maybe 6.4-6.6" so it's not gonna look much different.

if they are gonna beef up the hardware then it makes senses to only use that for docked performance to try hit 1080-1440p natively and if they can get hold of DLSS (which would be a HUGE deal) then they can upscale to 2160p. it would be stupid of nintendo to even try render native 4K. upscaling is the way to go.
I can see them doing a 1080p screen but nothing more than that.

I imagine it will pretty a pretty nice quality LED backlit screen. Nothing more.
 
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Termite

Member
It is.

But I do not see a OLED screen coming to a new Switch either.

Not a Nintendo type move.
The rumor is that they're doing it not because it's a better screen, but because it's cheaper. Which is a very Nintendo move.

Apparently Samsung have a surplus of these rigid OLED panels that can't be used in phones (they need flexible OLEDs) and realised that if they gave Nintendo a sweetheart deal then they could shift a few million of them.

That's 100% how Nintendo do business and basically the exact same way they ended up with the Nvidia Tegra as the SoC for the Switch. The fact that "OLED!" will help when marketing the device doesn't hurt.
 
I am not being Sarcastic, the Vita had a great Screen. Yes vita was qHD, which was fine for 2011. Its PPI is similar to the larger switch screen at 720. And the Oled Panel was 100x better than the TN panels some 3DS had
I remember it looking amazing. Too bad it didn't do well. The 3DS, which I did love, absolutely had a shit, 240p garbage screen.
Edit
I shouldn't say it didn't do well, I actually don't know that. All I remember was that I was buying remasters and psp titles on the dang thing before I sold it.
Gravity Rush was brilliant.
 
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ultrazilla

Gold Member
So my best guess is that Nintendo will be squeezing every ounce of power left over from going to an OLED display(less power draw) and then say bump
up the 4gb ram to 6gb, keep the Mariko but add the DLSS tech. Add the rumored magnesium alloy case(heat dissipation) and unlock
the Mariko chip for the clock speeds it's capable of performing which should be decent performance to get games to 60fps. I think that's pretty close to
what we'll end up getting.

So specs wise:
Mariko SOC with DLSS running at full clocks speeds
6gb ram
OLED screen
Magnesium alloy case
(improved heat dissipation and better kick stand)

This will keep backwards compatibility intact while keeping the price reasonable.

It *should* also be enough for the system to output to 1080p but use DLSS to bump the resolution to 4k while hitting the sought
after 60fps most developers and gamers prefer.

This revision could be considered a "Switch Pro" model while the inevitable "Next Generation Switch 2" hits in a couple years.

images
 

LordOfChaos

Member
So my best guess is that Nintendo will be squeezing every ounce of power left over from going to an OLED display(less power draw) and then say bump
up the 4gb ram to 6gb, keep the Mariko but add the DLSS tech. Add the rumored magnesium alloy case(heat dissipation) and unlock
the Mariko chip for the clock speeds it's capable of performing which should be decent performance to get games to 60fps. I think that's pretty close to
what we'll end up getting.


I have to throw it out there that this is a myth except where displaying true blacks for a substantial area of the screen.

csm_Efficiency3_4339dd0768.png


lcd-oled-power-brightness.png


OLED-TV-power-chart.jpg



I assume statistically for most games, most of your time is going to be spent looking at something, and designers will want to avoid using true OLED blacks for things that are prone to moving fast because that creates the OLED blur streak when the truly off blacks turn back on.
 
So my best guess is that Nintendo will be squeezing every ounce of power left over from going to an OLED display(less power draw) and then say bump
up the 4gb ram to 6gb, keep the Mariko but add the DLSS tech. Add the rumored magnesium alloy case(heat dissipation) and unlock
the Mariko chip for the clock speeds it's capable of performing which should be decent performance to get games to 60fps. I think that's pretty close to
what we'll end up getting.

So specs wise:
Mariko SOC with DLSS running at full clocks speeds
6gb ram
OLED screen
Magnesium alloy case
(improved heat dissipation and better kick stand)

This will keep backwards compatibility intact while keeping the price reasonable.

It *should* also be enough for the system to output to 1080p but use DLSS to bump the resolution to 4k while hitting the sought
after 60fps most developers and gamers prefer.

This revision could be considered a "Switch Pro" model while the inevitable "Next Generation Switch 2" hits in a couple years.

images
Expecting tensor and or RT cores in a simple pro and not a switch 2 is probably crazy talk. It's Nintendo, they wouldn't want to pay Nvidia for a custom design that is still stuck on maxwell cuda cores with tensor cores bolted on, it'd be absolute madness to do so. Of course, a pro could be using a new architecture, but at that point it's pretty much a switch 2, no?

When they have a dlss capable switch, i'm pretty certain it'll be a brand new architecture.

If it's just a pro on maxwell, we can expect more memory and bandwidth, and higher clocks, and probably more cores (see new 3ds having 4 vs. original 2), maybe 8 with 1 disabled? There are actually 4 cores on switch but 1 is for the OS.
 
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llien

Member
Supposedly, your TV was less likely to have problems with normal use than the other products you listed, more complex circuitry and mitigations being in, also despite it having HDR it might not go as bright as some mobile OLED screens on the market, as LG has some pretty severe ABL going on on most TV's that I don't see on most OLED phones. That might just be a defect, as 2.5 years with normal use shouldn't amount to a dangerous amount of hours.
The way it worked, was there was something that looked like a burn in (a blob in the middle of the screen, lol) which would most likely disappear after normal use (TV does pixel refresh routinely), but I've panicked and ran full screen refresh multiple times in a row, that is how vertical banding of yellow appeared.

I disagree with mobile screens being brighter, perhaps as full screen (still, doubt) but definitely not spots (using S10 as reference).
 
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Bodomism

Banned
Nintendo never learns.

Short-term profit at the expense of long-term growth; make quick money, survive the next failure.

No wonder Sony is absolutely destroying Nintendo in sales and market cap (¥13.93T vs ¥8.04T) at Switch peak.

Sales - Nine months ended Dec, 2020
PS ¥1.996T
N ¥1.404T

16010d40a77148fc329002d8b7c2553d23c7844e.jpg
Nintendo made more profits with Nintendo Switch than Sony with PS4 in just half of PS4 lifetime lol.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
So my best guess is that Nintendo will be squeezing every ounce of power left over from going to an OLED display(less power draw) and then say bump
up the 4gb ram to 6gb, keep the Mariko but add the DLSS tech. Add the rumored magnesium alloy case(heat dissipation) and unlock
the Mariko chip for the clock speeds it's capable of performing which should be decent performance to get games to 60fps. I think that's pretty close to
what we'll end up getting.

So specs wise:
Mariko SOC with DLSS running at full clocks speeds
6gb ram
OLED screen
Magnesium alloy case
(improved heat dissipation and better kick stand)

This will keep backwards compatibility intact while keeping the price reasonable.

It *should* also be enough for the system to output to 1080p but use DLSS to bump the resolution to 4k while hitting the sought
after 60fps most developers and gamers prefer.

This revision could be considered a "Switch Pro" model while the inevitable "Next Generation Switch 2" hits in a couple years.

images
Sounds more like your wet dream rather than something Nintendo would ever actually do.

Get ready for basically the same console we have now but with an oled and a dock with DLSS lol.
 

Andodalf

Banned
I remember it looking amazing. Too bad it didn't do well. The 3DS, which I did love, absolutely had a shit, 240p garbage screen.
Edit
I shouldn't say it didn't do well, I actually don't know that. All I remember was that I was buying remasters and psp titles on the dang thing before I sold it.
Gravity Rush was brilliant.

It did not do well. Sony was cool on it when it didn’t do great out of the gate and the 3ds floundering at the start made them think handhelds would die, so they shifted all their Devs to PS4. Without first party support the vita had no chance to blow up in later years like the 3ds, despite the massively better hardware. RIP Vita


Ps- It means life
 

Marvel14

Banned
Sadly, this is more in line with my expectations. There's so much chatter about DLSS and a 4K dock, but it would be totally like Nintendo to add another model to the current Switch with very minimal performance improvements and expect that a Switch XL will carry momentum for a couple more years...

Well, it won't. Not with me. I stopped paying attention to the Wii even with Skyward Sword in the works, and while I still bought the game, by that time, I was able to pick up the collector's edition with Wii motion plus controller for $40. I look forward to MP4/BotW2 on discounts by the time they arrive!
This is my approach to my Playstation library...only difference is that the games get REALLY cheap if you wait long enough...TLOU for a tenner woo hoo!

Doesn't happen like that with nintendo games though....
 

Silver Wattle

Gold Member
DLSS from 720p to 4k would take rtx 2060+ levels of tensor performance.
The more likely outcome is DLSS from 720p to 1440p and then upscaling to 4k.

Even that I find questionable as it is unlikely those tensor cores can be running outside of docked mode, so has Nvidia made a DLSS/upscaling chiplet?
 
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Sounds more like your wet dream rather than something Nintendo would ever actually do.

Get ready for basically the same console we have now but with an oled and a dock with DLSS lol.
Cant have tensor cores in the dock. They need to be in the render pipeline afaik.
 
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MagnesG

Banned
I love nintendo games.

But they cannot get consecutive success. Cause whatever innovation they launch gets stale by the time they lauch next gen of the hardware.

All the casuals they roped in due to wow factor abandon it in droves.

On plus side it motivates Nintendo to bring in new innovation after abysmal failiure.

Its a cycle of doom. The Nintendo curse.
Their handheld lines never failed though, only minimal stumbles at times. Also as far I'm aware only WiiU and that ancient VR peripheral fails.


really surprised they went with OLED. seems not very nintendo-like, given that OLED is more costly to produce/source than LCD.
Prices of rigid OLED displays have fallen off the cliff, maybe that's why.

Bigger screen better not mean a bigger device. Of course, none of that matters if they don't fix all the other problems.
7 inch screen could somewhat fit in on the current Switch build of course with less bezels.
 

dotnotbot

Member
Purple smearing with darker colors on Samsung's mobile OLEDs is atrocious. This isn't as good idea as some of you think.
 
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Zannegan

Member
On the one hand, you'd think that with a bigger screen and (presumably) more power, they'd want to bump the resolution up to 1080p. Then again, think of how few games are running at native res anyway.

If they use that extra grunt/DLSS trickery/whatever to bring us native res games at rock-solid FPS, I'll be well satisfied. However, having followed Nintendo for a long time, I know even that much isn't guaraneed. They're more than capable of just slapping a bigger screen on there, putting some m-cable-esque upscaling into the dock and calling it a day.

Hopefully we get more info before everyone's hopes shoot through the roof.
 
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