Highly anticipated: The pace of leaks surrounding Nintendo's next-generation handheld has intensified in recent weeks. Some are anticipating an imminent official unveiling of the Switch 2 and new material has reignited years-long speculation about the device's performance and functionality. While leakers agree on certain details, any information not directly from Nintendo should be taken with a grain of salt.
New photos of an alleged Switch 2 PCB emerged on Reddit on New Year's Eve. Around the same time, the US Patent Office published a document from the company describing machine learning-based upscaling functionality similar to Nvidia RTX graphics cards and the PlayStation 5 Pro.
Although the motherboard images don't conclusively reveal hardware specifications, they align with prior leaks and rumors regarding the upcoming handheld. Meanwhile, the patent confirms that Nintendo has at least explored enabling AI-assisted upscaling on the Nvidia chip powering the so-called Switch 2 console.
The document, filed in 2023 and published in late 2024, doesn't explicitly mention DLSS – Nvidia's upscaling technology that has significantly improved over the past few years and PC gaming performance along with it. However, it does describe a similar technique utilizing Nvidia's tensor cores.
The functionality would use neural networks to resample images from 900 x 540 pixels to 1080p, from 1080p to 4K, or combinations of resolutions in between. Nvidia's technology has shown impressive results on PC over the years but remains untested on portable devices with limited power budgets.
Interestingly, the Nintendo patent also indicates that upscaling could reduce a game's required install size. A game with assets designed for 4K resolution could theoretically use upscaling from 1080p to reduce its file size from 60 GB to 20 GB. Assuming the Switch 2 utilizes proprietary game cards like its predecessors, the technique could help larger titles avoid substantial download requirements.
Nintendo has so far confirmed only two details about its upcoming hardware: the device will be revealed before April 1, and it will be backwards compatible with Switch games. However, leakers have shared additional details from sources within the manufacturing supply chain.
The device will likely feature 12 GB of LPDDR5X RAM, an 8-inch LCD screen, and magnetic attachments for Joy-Con controllers. Additionally, recent mockups of the Switch 2's design are believed to closely resemble the final product.
While the device is expected to utilize a chip based on Nvidia's Ampere architecture, precise performance metrics remain elusive. The new PCB photos may raise more questions than they answer. Earlier information suggested the chip is based on Samsung's 8nm node, though a 6nm or 5nm SoC – offering improved performance and battery life – is also a possibility.
Nintendo Switch 2 alleged motherboard leaks, patent confirms DLSS upscaling-like tech
