Nintendo Switch owners have been craving bluetooth headphone support ever since it launched. But just as we thought we'd finally get wireless audio support, the company takes away our hopes and dreams.
Dataminer OatmealDome spotted Nintendo added Bluetooth audio support in its latest 12.0.0 system update, hinting that wireless headsets would now work with the Switch. The bad news? It doesn't seem to actually work.
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I personally don’t think Nintendo would add this for “no reason”, so hopefully this will be used somewhere. (Especially since Bluetooth Audio is a highly requested feature on the Switch.) We’ll see what happens. Maybe it will, maybe it won't. Nintendo works in mysterious ways.April 7, 2021
The dataminer points out that while support is clearly there, it has yet to support any Bluetooth devices. In the patch notes for the system update (via Nintendo Life), Nintendo makes no mention of the added support.
The patch was released to fix an issue concerning the console's save data backup feature, to help prevent the save data backup process from being interrupted. Thanks, Nintendo, but what about that Bluetooth support?
Nintendo could be laying the groundwork to eventually release Bluetooth audio support down the line. Or we could be setting ourselves up for disappointment again, since it wasn't officially announced.
You never know, this feature could to the highly-anticipated OLED Nintendo Switch, due to arrive later this year.
For now, Switch owners will have to play the waiting game before they can get rid of their wired headphones. Unless they opt to add Bluetooth support themselves.
How to add Nintendo Switch Bluetooth support
If you're looking to use your AirPods Pro, Sony WH-1000XM4, Bose Earbuds, or any other wireless headphones when gaming, you'll want to know about the AirFly Pro Switch Edition.
In short, it's a headphone-based adaptor that streams audio to wireless devices, so it could technically work with any device that has a headphone jack. Although, the Switch Edition has been built for, well, the Switch.
Instead of waiting for Nintendo, you might want to nab these instead so you can put those wireless headphones to good use.
