Nintendo might refresh the Switch with a new CPU and more storage

JUST BOUGHT A NEW SWITCH? Then it sucks to be you as Nintendo is apparently gearing up to release an upgraded model with a new CPU and extra storage.

At least that's according to filings made with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC), in which Nintendo requests for a "Class II Permission Change", which in a nutshell means it can change bits of the console without seeking recertification to flog its product in Trump land.

The filing notes that Nintendo wants to pop in a new SoC, change the NAND memory type, and change the CPU board due to the changes in the previous two components.

The component changes could all translate into improved performance, such as a reduction in frame rate drops in more demanding Switch games like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, as well as faster loading times and potentially more efficiency in terms of battery life and heat reduction.

That being said, the filing could simply be a way for Nintendo to change parts due to supply chain complexities or other business and production operations, and for the end-user, the Switch will continue to perform as it currently does.

But Nintendo has refreshed its consoles this way in the past, with the current Nintendo 3DS XL launching in 2015 as a refreshed version of the original 3DS, bringing in a larger screen and chipset with boosted performance.

And with Microsoft's Xbox One X and Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro both being semi-refreshed and boosted takes on the original consoles, there's a trend in such mid-life tweaks happening in the console world.

This all comes a mere day after Nintendo revealed the Switch Lite, which is a re-jigged version of the Switch that shapes it into a handheld-only console, with fixed controllers and no docking capabilities. µ

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
•  
•  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Hardware
• Numb Thumbs
• Nintendo
• nintendo switch