A major news outlet has issued a lengthy report on the specs of Nintendo’s next-gen console, generally dubbed the Nintendo Switch 2, and it carries big implications for those hoping the hardware can run at 4K.
According to the console maker, the Nintendo Switch is effectively immortal. The company’s CEO swatted away questions about reports on a new console but came up short of actually denying the development of a new platform. In reality, the existence of the Switch 2 and estimates regarding its specs were effectively confirmed when Microsoft leaked a load of documents related to the FTC investigation into its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
This was followed by leaks from internet personalities as well as reports from video game media. Though there were benchmarks and tidbits of information flying around, a cohesive picture about the Nintendo Switch 2 didn’t really form. The United Daily News, a major news outlet from Taiwan, gave a unified list of specs that provide some insight into what the Switch 2 might be capable of.
Nintendo Switch 2 specs discussed in report
The Nintendo Switch 2 will reportedly have an Nvidia T239 chip, 8GB of RAM, and will have a screen with a refresh rate of 120hz.
The piece hones in on a number of specs that were included in previous reports and leaks regarding the Switch 2. At the center of this is the Nvidia T239 chip which has been discussed regularly in relation to the console. The system on a chip is part of Nvidia’s Tegra series and is allegedly a customized version of the T234 chip that is used in cars, robots, and some machinery.
The T239 chip is said to have 8GB of RAM to work with. While this is comparatively light by modern hardware standards, particularly next to the Steam Deck Portable PC and its 16GB of RAM, it aligns with estimates from developers of the Switch 2 having specs comparable to a PlayStation 4.
Though it’s not necessarily going to be appreciated by docked mode purists and isn’t technically a part of the specs, the biggest upgrade to the Nintendo Switch 2 is said to be its specs. The Switch 2 will reportedly have a screen with a 120hz refresh rate, which should make for a significant jump in graphical fidelity while playing in handheld mode. It isn’t stated whether the screen will be LCD or OLED, but previous reporting has stated that it will have an LCD screen to tamp down costs. It’s also unclear whether the Nintendo Switch 2 screen will run at 720p, 1080p, or 4K resolution.
Not everything is set to receive an enormous improvement, however. The reported specs include just 64GB of internal memory for the Switch 2, the same as what’s available in the existing Switch OLED model. That amount of internal memory is shockingly low and will force players to purchase external memory. This is par for the course with Nintendo, but is particularly notable given the state of the platforms.
The improved specs of the Nintendo Switch 2 will ideally attract major third-party releases back to the platform. Given how Call of Duty games are guaranteed to return to Nintendo hardware and the most recent title required 150GB of hard drive space for its PC version, fans ought to make sure to have money set aside for a sizable SD card.
Will the Switch 2 be able to run games at 4K?
The Nintendo Switch 2 will likely either struggle to run games at 4K or will be unable to, if these specs are true.
These specs align with previous leaks, which various tech-focused influencers and social media networks have poured over and run experiments with. All reached the same conclusion, which is that the Switch 2’s specs won’t be able to hack it when it comes to running at 4K. Without effective optimization, some games might not be able to hit 1080p while maintaining a steady 30 frames per second.
Though DLSS has been at the center of multiple leaks and reports regarding the Nintendo Switch 2, the upscaling technology is unlikely to be a magic ticket to games running at 4K. While this means that third-party releases will likely struggle on the Switch 2 relative to the PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X/S consoles, first-party titles will benefit greatly.
There’s a night-and-day difference between Pokemon Scarlet and Violet running normally compared with running on an overclocked Nintendo Switch. Developers like Game Freak and HAL Laboratory who exclusively work on Nintendo hardware will likely have a much easier job working with these specs, and will likely produce games with better graphics and improved performance as a result.
