The Nintendo Switch 2 is the subject of a large number of rumors, and a profile is emerging. Will the console really be as powerful as hoped? This is the question that everyone is asking, but we are starting to see it a little more clearly.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is on everyone’s lips even though it hasn’t even been made official yet. It’s been months that the machine has been talked about through a multitude of rumors. Rumors from all over the world, some more reliable than others, but in all cases, nothing confirmed by Big N, who has also not frankly denied anything, apart from two or three small things to try to calm the ardor.
Regardless, the Nintendo Switch 2 has many people fantasizing and everyone is looking to discover the future technical specifications of the machine. This is the case here with the Universo Nintendo site which we have already heard several times on the subject. Our Portuguese comrades have freshly summarized everything they know about the next Nintendo console by cross-referencing the information contained in the Nvidia files which leaked in 2022, but also that coming from several sources considered reliable.
Once again, caution is in order, nothing is official and we do not yet know when Nintendo will speak. Many agree that it would be this year. Some say that Nintendo will take advantage of the first quarter of the year to announce the release date of its machine which would then be available at the end of 2024 or the beginning of 2025. On this, Universo Nintendo does not elaborate, preferring to focus on the technical details.
The Nintendo Switch 2, a truly powerful console?
It would therefore still be a question of an NVIDIA Tegra 239 main chip, as was mentioned in the Nvidia documents leaked in early 2022, then confirmed by another leak in September of the same year. Difficult to say if there has been any change since then or not. Same story for the processor and the GPU, having also been the subject of numerous leaks. We are talking here about an 8-core ARM A78C or A78 CPU in short, coupled with a GPU equivalent to an RTX 3000 generation graphics card. Enough to ensure much greater power than that of the small Switch, but above all to open up the brings to technologies unattainable by the current console, namely DLSS or Ray Tracing.
As a reminder, DLSS is an Nvidia system that improves in-game performance using AI. A technology which has already proven itself on PC and which could also have a major competitor on PS5 Pro.
Ray Tracing offers a more realistic rendering of lighting effects, the volume of shadows and even reflections. From there to say that the Nintendo Switch 2 will be able to take full advantage of it, it’s difficult to say. Universo’s estimates claim that in dock mode, the Switch 2 would have a power of 3.5 to 4.5 TFLOPs (roughly a PS4 Pro) while in portable mode, that would drop to 1.7-2 TFLOPs (a standard PS4). We are well above the current Switch with its almost 400 GFLOPs (dock) and almost 200 GFLOPs (portable).
We are also told of an 8-inch LCD screen allowing up to a resolution of 1080P 60 fps in portable mode. 1440p and 4K are very often mentioned here and there when rumors surface on the internet, a possibility thanks to upscaling.
Nintendo Switch 2 technical details (according to all rumors so far)
- SoC : NVIDIA Tegra 239
- Processor : 8-core A78C @ ??? GHz
- GPU : 12 Amps SM / GA10F
- Power in Dock mode : 3.5 to 4.5 TFLOP
- Power in Portable mode : 1.7 to 2 TFLOP
- RAM :12 -16 GB in LPDDR5/X
- Screen – 8-inch LCD 1080p (60 Hz)
- Storage : 256 – 512 GB
More an evolution than a revolution?
For the rest, the information is really very detailed, more than anything else. The storage still remains a mystery, as does the media used by the games or the battery life. Many features are also anticipated and are already selling dreams, while many are already speculating on the design of the Nintendo Switch 2. But we will only really know all of this when Nintendo decides to present its machine to us. For the moment, therefore, we will have to be patient.
What is certain, however, is that the Nintendo Switch 2 should mark a significant change in power with the current Switch. Fortunately you will tell me, but we should not expect a real juggernaut capable of competing with the large home consoles, nor even with the PCs/portable consoles which are multiplying. If the technical specifications presented here are confirmed, it could stand up to the current Steam Deck and equivalent machines. It’s not too bad. But we would be far from the real revolution that some still seem to talk about.