All signs are pointing to the 4K Nintendo Switch, which some have dubbed the Switch Pro, being announced soon. Like, really soon. According to a report by Bloomberg, the device will be released in September or October, will begin to be shipped by assemblers in July, and could be announced before E3.
Considering E3 begins June 12, that means the announcement is likely just days away. Reportedly, the announcement may come before the event so that the games can get some time to shine during E3.
The new Switch is reported to have Nvidia’s latest graphics technology and a 7-inch OLED display made by Samsung. It will reportedly be able to run games at 4K resolution using Nvidia’s DLSS(Deep Learning Super Sampling) technology, which is basically a way to upscale graphics convincingly using AI.
This would allow the Switch to actually render games at a lower resolution — likely variable depending on the graphical intensity of the game — while using DLSS to make it look almost as sharp as native 4K. That said, DLSS requires game makers to support the technology, so 4K will probably only be an option for new games (or older ones that have enough budget to run an update).
It also appears 4K will only be available while the Switch is docked, presumably because the display won’t be quite that high resolution (and who needs 4K on a 7-inch screen anyway?).
The one bad bit of news in all of this is that the 4K Switch will likely cost more than the $299 of the existing model. It’s expected the new Switch will replace the old one and live alongside the Switch Lite. We’ll find out soon enough.
The Switch Pro news is great, but please Nintendo, just give me some more Zelda news. We’ve been waiting for two years since the last trailer, thank-you-very-much.
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