The new OLED Nintendo Switch will be releasing later this week, but one enterprising YouTuber has already done a teardown and revealed that the new dock included with the console is 4K ready. The teardown was done by YouTuber Nintendo Prime. He found during his teardown that the new revision of the dock includes the parts necessary to output 4K. Although this does not mean that the OLED Switch can output 4K, it could be that the dock has been future-proofed for an unannounced 4K Switch. Reports from last week suggested that developers already have their hands on 4K Switch development kits.
What Makes the OLED Nintendo Switch Dock 4K Ready?
The new dock that comes with the OLED Nintendo Switch looks to be just a minor revision at first glance. The new dock is slightly redesigned and comes with a new LAN port for wired internet access. However, the teardown by Nintendo Prime has revealed that the HDMI port on the new OLED Switch dock is actually an HDMI 2.0 port. The dock that comes with the original Switch is just an HDMI 1.4 port. HDMI 2.0 is the HDMI standard required for 4K video output. The OLED Switch also comes with a 4K capable HDMI 2.0 cable instead of the HDMI 1.4 cable included with the original Nintendo Switch.
The OLED Nintendo Switch isn’t capable of 4K, since it runs the same hardware underneath as the original Switch, so there are questions about why Nintendo would include 4K capabilities in the dock. It could be that the new dock is now future-proofed for an upcoming Nintendo Switch. It could also be as boring as HDMI 2.0 ports and cables simply being easier for Nintendo to source. Whatever the reason, until a new Switch is announced this will further add to the hopes that a 4K Nintendo Switch is just beyond the horizon.