Nintendo Switch OLED lacks Bluetooth headphone support — and that’s just embarrassing
The Nintendo Switch OLED is not the Switch Pro. Apart from the updated OLED screen, better speakers and more adjustable kickstand, the internal specifications are identical to the current Switch, only at a $50 markup.
But Nintendo’s insistence on doing the least amount of work possible butts heads with current consumer expectations. Heck, it even butts heads with expectations from a decade prior, as the Nintendo Switch OLED will seemingly not support Bluetooth headset connectivity. That’s a a feature you’ll find in the PSP Go — which came out a dozen years ago in 2009.
According to the spec list released by Nintendo, the Switch OLED will feature the same Wi-Fi and Bluetooth chip that’s currently in circulation. The Bluetooth onboard is version 4.1, meaning that it’s more than capable of handling multiple controllers and wireless earbuds. The PSP Go used Bluetooth 2.0 by comparison. For all intents and purposes, Nintendo could implement Bluetooth headset functionality via software but has intentionally opted not to.
The reasons for the omission could be numerous. Headphone frequency might interfere with controller connectivity. It could be that there’s enough of a perceptible lag while gaming that it would be deemed an unconducive experience. Or, despite Bluetooth 5.0 being around since 2016, 4.1 chips were simply the cheapest parts to source, and creating a redesigned motherboard to house a modern 5.2 chip wouldn’t be worth the hassle. Because, you know, Nintendo fans might complain about the lack of support, but they’ll still buy the gaming device.
Regardless of what justifications Nintendo might tell its shareholders, this profit-driven bare-minimum approach the company takes with its hardware revisions creates a mismatched consumer experience that at worst can hobble the storied Japanese game maker, or, at the very least, harm consumer confidence.
Nintendo has a history of prioritizing profit over practicality. And before anyone starts chiming in that Nintendo is a business and has a fiduciary duty to its shareholders, take a moment to consider its cartridge doggedness. With the launch of the Nintendo 64, Kyoto opted to stick with outdated and expensive cartridges over the much cheaper and data-dense compact discs. In doing so, Nintendo was hoping it could have a tight grip on the manufacturing side of its games business, ensuring it would get royalties from third parties as cartridges had to be manufactured by Nintendo. But in picking that strategy, Nintendo bled third-party developers that were more eager to make content for the PlayStation, where CDs could hold 700 megabytes of data as opposed to the N64’s max of 64. Plus, royalties were much cheaper.
