Next-Gen Hardware Reignites Nintendo Switch Pro Speculations

A more powerful Nintendo Switch Pro could still arrive in 2022 with the help of the next-generation technology from Nvidia, a new leak has claimed.

Japanese video gaming titan Nintendo previously said it has "no plans of launching any other [Switch] model at this time," following the debut of the Switch OLED. Because of this, some fans now believe the heavily rumored Switch Pro might no longer arrive. But a new set of leaks points to the possible processor that could power the upgraded hybrid console in the future.

Industry insider greymon55, who claims to know the graphics processing unit (GPU) supply chain, shared some interesting details about Nvidia's next-generation gaming graphics chips. According to this insider, the Nvidia Lovelace architecture is "definitely the next generation gaming card, as the entire project plan has been finalized and will not change." They also said that the next-gen gaming chip would be based on TSMC's 5nm fabrication process. However, the insider is uncertain whether the chip would be built on N5P or standard N5.

Earlier rumors claimed that the Lovelace architecture would power the next-generation Nvidia RTX 4000 GPUs. This particular GPU is believed to have a scaled-down variant that could power the rumored more powerful Nintendo Switch Pro. Content creator Moore's Law Is Dead recently shared in a YouTube video that through Nvidia's Orin SoC, this GPU could also be used to power self-driving cars.

The latest information from insider greymon55 seemingly aligns with the information tipster kopite7kimi leaked earlier this year, saying that the Nintendo Switch Pro would house Nvidia's Lovelace technology. The confirmation that the Lovelace is being finalized gives credence to rumors claiming that a more powerful Nintendo hybrid console could still arrive soon.

While the latest leak is quite interesting, details on how powerful the rumored Nvidia Lovelace-powered chip remain scarce at this point. If the Switch Pro actually releases, rumors claim that it would feature 4K resolution on displays. Meanwhile, the rumored next-gen Nvidia GPU is expected to release in 2022.

If ever Nintendo plans to release a new Switch model, it will not happen anytime soon because the Switch OLED is set to launch this year. With the next-gen GPU rumored to launch next year, Nintendo has a good window to introduce a more powerful hybrid, probably the Switch pro, in the latter part of 2022.