Nintendo is very happy with the Switch. So happy that it may be planning the introduction of a new upgraded console just a few months after the launch of 2019's Switch Lite and upgraded standard Switch.
According to Taiwanese electronics industry outlet Digitimes, production of this new Switch model will come by the end of the first quarter of 2020, with an introduction planned for mid-2020.
Digitimes often gets its Apple rumors wrong, but it’s pretty solid when it comes to other news from the supply and manufacturing chain. The report echoes Wall Street Journal’s tech reporter Takashi Mochizuki and game industry consultant Serkan Toto, so it seems this may be kosher.
Nintendo Switch Pro specs and price
We don’t know much about the new Nintendo Switch, but Digitimes says that it will come with faster, updated electronics. Toto predicts that the updated CPU and GPU will be capable of providing with 4K support while connected to a TV through the Switch’s dock.
There’s no word about Nintendo upgrading the resolution of the device’s display itself with a higher density panel to match the external pixel resolution. A 4K display at the Switch’s current 6.2 inches is highly unlikely. However, we can hope to have a Retina-like display, jumping from the current 1280 x 720 pixel resolution to 1080p.
The Taiwanese paper also points out that Nintendo may replace the Switch's plastic chassis for a magnesium alloy body, which would be much more expensive than the current device. The magnesium alloy could greatly shave both the size and weight of the system, as it has more structural strength than plastic while providing a much thinner profile.
Toto believes the retail price will be $399, so all these specs may be too much to ask.
Nintendo told Polygon that it has “nothing to announce on this topic.” At least it’s not a no.
