Nintendo's New Switch Consoles Benefit From Power Efficient Sharp IGZO Display Panels

We're now learning thanks to a new report that these new Switch consoles may be benefiting from a previously undisclosed hardware upgrade. According to The Wall Street Journal, Sharp Executive VP Katsuaki Nomura confirmed that his company is proving indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) display panels to Nintendo for the Switch. 

IGZO panels are known for their energy efficiency, which is a big concern for a mobile gaming device powered by a battery with finite energy. IGZO panels are also said to be more durable with improved touch panel sensitivity compared to the panels used in the original Switch.

We should mention that the Nintendo Switch Lite has marginally better battery life than the original Switch (maxing out at 7 hours of runtime versus 6.5 hours) despite the fact that it has a smaller battery. Likewise, the revised standard Switch has the same battery capacity as its immediate predecessor, yet sees its max runtimes increase from 6.5 hours to an impressive 9 hours. Some of this increase could be chalked up to a more efficient NVIDIA Tegra X1 SoC, but we can't rule out the efficiency benefits inherent with an IGZO display panel.

The new Nintendo Switch Lite is priced at $199, while the revised Nintendo Switch retains the $299 price tag of the original model.