Nintendo Switch Pro rumored to launch in 2020, but without expected upgrade

By Aaron Mamiit January 26, 2020

The long-rumored Nintendo Switch Pro is reportedly being targeted to launch in the holiday season of 2020 alongside the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, but the new version of the hybrid console might be missing a key feature that gamers are expecting.

Metro, citing rumors from Taiwan through a source in Korea, reported that the GPU of the next version of the Nintendo Switch will be powered by Nvidia’s Volta architecture. Nintendo is said to be working with Nvidia on creating a new custom processor to replace the Tegra X1, which is found in current models of the hybrid console.

However, the report claims that the new processor will not result in a major performance increase for the upcoming Nintendo Switch model. This means that the expected support for 4K resolution, which has been linked to the Pro moniker partly due to the PlayStation 4 Pro, will likely not be coming to the next version of the console. If not for a graphics upgrade, the purpose of the custom processor remains unclear.

The report, however, claims that the new Nintendo Switch will feature an improved battery, following a version released in August 2019 that already increased the console’s battery life.

Nintendo has never confirmed that it will be releasing a Nintendo Switch Pro, and the rumor has been met with skepticism as the company’s devices have historically never attempted to match the graphics and processing power of the PlayStation and Xbox consoles. The rumors provide increasing hints that Nintendo may be working on a new Nintendo Switch, but possibly not in an attempt to get the console to go head-to-head with the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X.

Metro also reported that while Nintendo is planning to release the next version of the Nintendo Switch later this year, the development of the console is currently behind schedule, which raises the possibility that it will be delayed into 2021, possibly to the device’s third birthday in March.

Instead of 4K gaming, Digital Trends believes that an option to increase games’ frame rates to 60 frames per second is a more realistic target for the next Nintendo Switch.

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