Now that the Xbox Series X and PS5 have launched, the time is ripe to spend more money on new hardware. Considering how the Wii U had turned the Big N into a laughing stock in the gaming industry, it’s amazing just how far the company has come in reversing this tide with the Nintendo Switch console. Now approaching four years of action, Nintendo’s hybrid home and handheld console still has plenty of grunt under its hood but an upgrade wouldn’t be unwelcome.
According to dataminer SciresM via VGC, references to the next console can be found in the latest Switch firmware update that makes reference to new hardware codenamed Aula. This hardware reportedly uses the same chip as the Nintendo Switch Lite and the 2019 Switch revision, the Mariko (Tegra X1+) SoC, which is capable of pushing out higher clock speeds.
Support for a Realtek chip which advertises itself as a “4K UHD multimedia SoC” is also mentioned, lining up with previous rumours that the Switch Pro will be capable of a 4K resolution when docked. As for the biggest upgrade, the actual console could have an OLED screen, a better battery life, and substantially better cooling according to reports.
It’s the OLED screen and 4K capabilities that get me hot under the collar. The Switch doesn’t do any 4K gaming currently, and even if that bump in resolution was applied to games which focus on minimal details in favour of brighter colour palettes, the end result would still be sharper and more vibrant gaming at home. Plus the multiple user interfaces available to players wouldn’t look like garbage.
An OLED screen for handheld gaming though? That would make a huge difference, especially with the ability to render games with perfect blacks thanks to the individual LEDs present in the tech. I’ve already raved about LG’s use of OLED technology, so that on a smaller and more portable scale will get my blood pumping.
Throw in some more ergonomically friendly design and an effort to kick scalpers and their armies of bots in the nads on preorder day, and we’ll have a winner right here.
Last Updated: January 7, 2021
Iskape
January 7, 2021 at 12:34
I am sincerely excited about this. I hope there is a more updated version coming soon, then I may take the plunge!
Kikmi
January 7, 2021 at 12:59
I am not liking the idea of using old Maxwell archi, hell even pascal archi, on what is supposedly a “new gen” console. Sure hope its not Mariko based, they need to dump some tensor cores in there so they can make use of dlss, which if anything, is the only way I can see a portable device pushing out anything even close to 4k