They may be able to get savings from re-using the OLED parts for the Switch 2. especially screen and other components but with it being slightly bigger and thicker, so the bezel may return simply from using the same OLED screens but now there's more Switch around the screen again.
The thicker bit I think makes a lot of sense as it will prevent a lot of absent minded docking of the new unit into the old dock, assuming they stick to the hybrid configuration. I'm 90% sure they will, but you never know with Nintendo.
No way it doesn't work with the old dock, that would be absurd and unnecessary.
I think everyone is being absurdly pessimistic, to the point of absurdity, about how this thing is engineered.
I don't even think it will reuse the OLED screen. If anything, a 1080p screen would be cheaper at scale because unlike the OLED, they don't have to get it fully custom, and instead can share a screen with mid range tablets.
Meanwhile, the dock and charger are no brainers for re-using them. We know the Dock with LAN port can do 4K, we know Nintendo already uses DP1.4! Why break compatibility when there's no need? When they redesigned the dock not even two years ago with all the features the new system needs, more ventilation, etc. If they didn't intend to reuse the dock later they massively overengineered it and that's not very Nintendo, not when Wii and Wii U shared composite and component cables, not when DSi, WiFi Adaptor and every 3DS shared chargers.
Do people think Nintendo's engineers are horses that last saw a tablet in 2009?
OLED Model has plenty of internal space without modifying the shell to add whatever cooling they could possibly need for a chip we already have an approximate size for, we have leaked power consumption that isn't any different to the V1, so why would it be any bigger when components, screens and connectors have only gotten smaller since 2017?
A new kickstand to find more space for extra support circuitry, a bigger fan, maybe a bigger battery? Sure, I'd expect at least a change to the kickstand to visually differentiate it. But an entirely different, incompatible, larger shell? No. Absolutely not.
This thing isn't Steam Deck 1.5, it's Nintendo Switch 2, and Nintendo Switch is a portable system! Not just a handheld, a true portable, something that slips into a satchel or a handbag not a dedicated briefcase.
Then the dock situation! You know they already have two colours of Nintendo Switch Dock with LAN Port? They only advertise the white model, but, I have a black one. Consumers aren't going to obsess over the two docks in the ads that have the same curves, they'll see a white one labelled Nintendo Switch OLED Model, and a black one labelled Nintendo Switch [Redacted] with 4K.
There won't be confusion because the dock is the same mould because they don't advertise the black dock at the moment!
It's not like the dock's design is central to the console's identity like the ability to dock is, or they wouldn't have redesigned it halfway through. Worrying about "differentiation" between Nintendo Switch Docks with LAN Ports is like worrying that consumers won't understand the Switch is a new console because it uses the same HDMI cable as Wii U, or the 3DS is a new console because it uses the same adaptor as the DSi. That's all it is. An adaptor. A USB hub. It's not the cornerstone of the brand, its FUNCTION is.