Nintendo Switch update: Second version of console could be released next year, report claims

New features could include an updated screen – or they could not

Nintendo is planning an update to the Switch, according to new reports.

The new console is likely to arrive next year, the Wall Street Journal said. But beyond that details remain murky.

The Switch was first released in March of last year. The new update is being planned for the second half 2019 and could come as soon as the summer, according to the WSJ.

It isn't clear what updates the new version of the console would bring. But chief among them is likely to be a new screen: the first Switch, while broadly praised, drew some criticism for the quality of the display.

Nintendo is said to be avoiding the OLED technology that is used in Apple's new iPhones and which can give improved performance and rich blacks. But it could improve to the more detailed LCD screens on other recent handsets.

That uncertainly might partly be because Nintendo itself isn't exactly clear what the new console might look like.

If it does arrive, it's likely that it will follow the lead of recent new consoles like the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X – adding new features and improving specs, while staying on the same generation and allowing players to bring games and friends over. Nintendo has already done that in the past, repeatedly updating the Nintendo 3DS after it was first released.