Nintendo looks set to update the Switch 2's screen, with fans hoping this new display alleviates the console's so-called "ghosting" issues.
Rather than your Switch 2 packing up and never communicating with you again, "ghosting" here refers to image remnants briefly left behind on the console's display, causing a motion blur-like effect. It's an issue reported by some fans since Nintendo's newest console launched last year.
Officially, Nintendo is yet to announce any update to the Switch 2's LCD display, though photos of a redesigned screen apparently manufactured by tech company Sharp have now popped up online. In a post on Bluesky, Nintendo Patents Watch states that the new panel initially appeared on a Chinese resale site.
Details suggest this display is the same 7.9" size as the Switch 2 launch model, and once again a 1080p-capable LCD screen. So, to be clear, this isn't the eagerly-anticipated OLED upgrade some fans believe is still coming in future.
Nintendo raised eyebrows when it failed to go with an OLED display like the one in the most recent Switch 1 model for Switch 2, though defended its decision by pointing to its choice of LCD screen, which it said was of higher quality than the LCD in Switch 1. (Opting for LCD over OLED will also have kept component costs down, at a time that console prices are already skyrocketing.)
As Nintendo Patents Watch cautions, it's currently unclear when Switch 2 units with the new screen incorporated will hit shop shelves, or how much of a difference this new display will make. It also remains to be seen whether Nintendo will telegraph this change publicly or make the change silently. Historically, console manufacturers have often swapped out internal components with little fanfare unless there's a significant change to the console's overall form factor, performance or price.
One possibility here is that this change is being made alongside other alterations to the Switch 2 design required by EU legislation that demands consumers have access to the console's internal battery to enable self-replacement.
The Nintendo Switch 2 just ended its first 12 months on sale as the second fastest-selling hardware in U.S. history, behind only Nintendo's own Game Boy Advance. Globally, Nintendo has said Switch 2 is its fastest-selling hardware ever, boosted by particularly strong sales in the company's homeland of Japan. However, it remains to be seen how the console will fare over the coming year as Nintendo has announced price rises for Switch 2 consoles set to kick in on September 1 in the U.S. and Europe, blaming "changes in market conditions."
Tom Phillips is IGN's News Editor. You can reach Tom at [email protected] or find him on Bluesky @tomphillipseg.bsky.social
