New Nintendo Switch: Second report claims ‘Pro’ will release next year and could include 4K

A new Nintendo Switch model is being planned for early next year, a second report in 24 hours has claimed.

Bloomberg’s Takashi Mochizuki reports that the updated console hardware is yet to have its specifications finalised, but that it could feature upgraded computing power and support for 4K resolution graphics.

The publication claims that the launch of the new hardware will be coupled with a number of new first-party games, which it says could explain the relative drought of new releases so far in 2020.

Yesterday Taipei-based newspaper Economic Daily News was the first to claim that a new Nintendo Switch model will release in 2021. According to the publication, the new Switch model will feature upgraded “interactivity” and improved display quality.

The report cites various hardware manufacturers responsible for the Switch’s Flash storage, Joy-Con controllers and more.

Over the past year, several media reports have claimed that Nintendo has been planning a third Switch model, in addition to the flagship console and the Switch Lite.

Citing sources from the related supply chain, Taiwanese website DigiTimes reported in January that new Switch hardware would enter mass production in the first quarter of this year and launch soon after.

The Wall Street Journal also claimed in 2019 that Nintendo was planning a more powerful Nintendo Switch hardware revision, with “enhanced features targeted at avid gamers.”

And in April a Nintendo Switch firmware update reportedly referenced a new, unannounced hardware model.

Any existing hardware plans will likely have been significantly disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Nintendo resumed shipping Switch consoles in Japan in April after a brief hiatus, following a surge in demand for the hardware that has continued through the summer.

In the three months ending June 30, Nintendo Switch hardware cleared 5.5m units sold for the quarter, which represents a year-on-year sales increase of more than 160%.

Analysts have suggested that Nintendo Switch may have a longer than expected life cycle during which it surpasses Wii’s sales total of 102.63 million units. Switch launched in March 2017 and has sold some 61 million units as of June 30, 2020.