It turns out there’s much more to Nintendo’s recently released OLED Switch than a new display panel from Samsung. Conducting a teardown of the console, the DIY heroes at iFixit found the company made a variety of internal tweaks that make for a device that’s significantly different from its predecessor.
Like Sony’s latest PlayStation 5 revision, the OLED Switch features a smaller cooling assembly than previous models. iFixit suspects Nintendo this tweak to either save on space or dial back the launch model’s “cooling overcompensation.” All we can say is we hope the change doesn’t lead to claims the new model is “worse” than its predecessor. In another space-saving measure, Nintendo has consolidated some components onto a single board. The console’s SD card reader, headphone jack and cartridge reader are now all found on a single PCB.
Notably, the only controller-related change the OLED variant features is a set of new console-side rails that hold their respective Joy-Cons more securely. Another change sees the console’s interconnect cables taped to the top of a metal shield. While that's something that will make fixing the OLED Switch on your own more difficult, iFixit suspects it could help with WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity issues.
Speaking of repairability, iFixit gave the OLED model a score of seven out of 10. That’s one less than the company awarded the original model. The OLED Switch features a non-modular storage module that’s soldered to its motherboard, making easy repairs and upgrades on that front something you can’t do.