Nintendo has mentioned that the upcoming Nintendo Switch OLED Model will have improved Joy-Cons, especially in regards to the analog sticks. Fans were concerned that the Nintendo Switch OLED would suffer from drift, as the official Nintendo UK website confirmed it used the same Joy-Cons as the old Switch.
The Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons have suffered from drift since the console first launched in 2017. Drift is the issue where the joystick acts as if it's moving, even when it's not being pushed. Nintendo is facing legal action involving drift and the Joy-Cons, with consumer groups from all around the world taking issue with the company. It has seemed as if Nintendo hasn't made any significant changes to the Joy-Cons over the years, which is especially frustrating to those who purchased the Switch Lite, as it has the same analog sticks baked into the console, meaning the whole system has to be shipped off when drift starts occurring.
The Nintendo OLED is coming out soon and it seems the new Joy-Cons will feature improvements over the initial models. Ko Shiota and Toru Yamashita of Nintendo's Technology Department talked about the Joy-Cons in a post on the official Nintendo website. They revealed that the analog sticks in the OLED Joy-Cons have received a number of under-the-hood improvements, in order to make them more durable and resistant.
The word "drift" was never brought up and they admitted that wear and tear on the controllers are inevitable, but the controllers will be more reliable going forward. These changes will also be made to Nintendo Pro Controllers, and the analog sticks used in Joy-Cons and Nintendo Switch Lite units going forward.
The existence of Joy-Con drift has been a major blemish on the success story of the Nintendo Switch. There are consumers who purchased the Switch on launch day that have had to purchase multiple sets of Joy-Cons, as the originals have degraded over time. This is especially frustrating to those who did not suffer drift until after their Switch's one-year guarantee had expired. It has been long overdue for the Joy-Cons to be fixed, and the ones that come with the Nintendo Switch OLED might be the first generation to escape from the horrors of drift. There are people who have claimed that Joy-Con drift can be fixed with cardboard, but the newer Joy-Cons have been reported as featuring tweaked designs that alleviate the issue.
The Nintendo Switch OLED Model will be released on October 8, 2021.
Source: Nintendo