Since the original release of the Switch, there has been a significant increase in interest from gamers in handheld gaming consoles. Competing companies have taken notice of this trend and are now introducing their own devices with cloud gaming capabilities or powerful native CPUs, something that the current Switch lacks. It has been reported that Nintendo may be releasing a successor to the Nintendo Switch next year, which could potentially address the gaps that other companies have capitalized on.
The current Switch hardware is considered outdated as it relies on the NVIDIA Tegra X1 SoC, manufactured using either a 20nm or 16nm process. It combines ARM Cortex A57/53 cores with an NVIDIA Maxwell GPU and 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM, which are specifications that have been surpassed by modern mobile SoCs.
As per the report, the upcoming Switch is anticipated to retain its portability aspect, but it might not include the OLED screen featured in the 2021 version, possibly to cut costs and prioritize allocating resources for more internal memory. Presently, the console offers either 32GB or 64GB of storage. However, the report doesn’t clarify if the new version will support backward compatibility with existing devices, and the omission of this feature could potentially disappoint users.
Based on VCG’s rumors, the Nintendo Switch 2 is said to have already distributed development kits to key partners and is scheduled for a release in the second half of 2024. It is speculated that the new version might feature an LCD screen instead of an OLED display, while still maintaining support for cartridges to ensure compatibility with existing games.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is surrounded by rumors, indicating that it might come with a new NVIDIA SoC. Earlier speculations hinted at the possibility of the device benefiting greatly from upscaling technology, leading to improved fidelity in gaming. Furthermore, it is anticipated that the docking station, which enhances hardware performance and enables higher resolution output, will see significant improvements with the incorporation of DLSS (Deep Learning Super Sampling) technology.
Despite being released over 6 years ago, the current version of the console has surpassed 125 million units sold, marking a substantial achievement. This update cycle is notably longer compared to Nintendo’s previous transitions, such as from the Wii to Wii U and Wii U to Switch.