In an article we wrote a few weeks ago about whether you should wait for the Switch OLED or buy the regular model, we speculated that the new version might have some hidden improvements that could address the Joy-Con drift mishap.

Now Nintendo has confirmed that the Joy-Con on the Nintendo Switch OLED is more reliable than the launch model, and the latest Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch Lite models seem to benefit from it. However, do not expect Joy-Con to be 100% reliable.

Curiously, this news came through an "Ask the Developer" interview posted on Nintendo's website. Nevertheless, it is not difficult to read between the lines of the answers to questions about improvements to the Joy-Con controllers.

"We are continuing to make invisible improvements," replied Toru Yamashita, Deputy General Manager of Nintendo's Technical Development Department.

"Among them, the analog sticks have continued to be improved since the first release, and we are still improving them."

The original Joy-Con was stress tested using the same system as the Wii U Gamepad, he explained, but these tests have been refined as we "studied" customer Joy-Cons.

"The analog stick component of the Joy-Con is not something you can buy off-the-shelf," he continued, "but is specially designed, so it has undergone a lot of study to improve it.

"Additionally, we have continued to make changes to improve the reliability tests themselves, to increase durability, and to pass these new tests.

These improved joysticks look the same, so it's impossible to tell which one you've got. However, they are "promptly" integrated into the regular Switch and Switch Lite systems, replacing those purchased separately. If they are replaced by Nintendo, it appears that new components are also used.

In other words, the Switch OLED should not be needed to benefit from the latest improved joystick. However, since we don't know how old the regular Switch and Switch Lite systems are in stock, going OLED is the way to guarantee the most reliable components.

However, there is a "but."

When asked by an interviewer if wear is inevitable as long as the components are in physical contact, neither Yamashita nor Nintendo's General Manager of Technology, Koh Shiota, disputed the question.

"Well, for example, a car tire is constantly rotating in friction with the ground, so it wears as the car moves," Shiota replied.

"On that same premise, how can we improve durability, and not only that, how can we make operability and durability coexist? That is something we are constantly working on."

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A losing battle? Perhaps, but Nintendo is not giving up. They say, "The degree of wear depends on the combination of materials and shapes, so we are constantly researching and improving which combinations are less prone to wear."

A note at the top of the article emphasizes that this manuscript was translated from the Japanese.

Likewise, purchasing an OLED for the Switch does not seem to be a special remedy to get around the Joy-Con issue before it surfaces.