Lengthy awaited: The tempo of leaks surrounding Nintendo’s next-generation handheld has intensified in current weeks. Some are anticipating an imminent official unveiling of the Swap 2, and the brand new materials has reignited years of hypothesis in regards to the gadget’s efficiency and performance. Whereas leakers agree on sure particulars, any data that does not come instantly from Nintendo must be taken with a grain of salt.
New photographs of an alleged Swap 2 PCB arose on Reddit on New 12 months’s Eve. Across the identical time, the US Patent Workplace revealed an organization doc outlining machine learning-based enhancement performance much like Nvidia RTX and PlayStation 5 Professional graphics playing cards.
Though the motherboard photos don’t conclusively reveal {hardware} specs, they do align with earlier leaks and rumors in regards to the upcoming handheld. In the meantime, the patent confirms that Nintendo has not less than explored enabling AI-assisted upscaling within the Nvidia chip that powers the so-called Swap 2 console.
The doc, introduced in 2023 and revealed on the finish of 2024, doesn’t explicitly point out DLSS – Improved Nvidia expertise, which has improved considerably in recent times, and with it PC gaming efficiency. Nonetheless, it describes an analogous method that makes use of Nvidia’s Tensor Cores.
The performance would use neural networks to resample 900 x 540 pixel photos at 1080p, 1080p at 4K, or mixtures of intermediate resolutions. Nvidia expertise has proven Spectacular outcomes on PCs over time, however nonetheless untested on transportable gadgets with restricted energy budgets.
Apparently, Nintendo’s patent additionally signifies that scaling might cut back a recreation’s required set up measurement. In idea, a recreation with property designed for 4K decision might use the 1080p upscaling to cut back the file measurement from 60GB to 20GB. Assuming the Swap 2 makes use of proprietary recreation playing cards like its predecessors, the method might assist bigger titles keep away from substantial obtain necessities.
nintendo has to date confirmed Simply two particulars about its upcoming {hardware}: the gadget can be revealed earlier than April 1 and can be backward suitable with Swap video games. Nonetheless, leakers have shared extra particulars from sources throughout the manufacturing provide chain.
The gadget is more likely to characteristic 12GB of LPDDR5X RAM, an 8-inch LCD show, and magnetic attachments for Pleasure-Con controllers. Moreover, current Swap 2 design mockups are believed to be intently following resemble the ultimate product.
Whereas the gadget is predicted to make use of a chip based mostly on Nvidia’s Ampere structure, exact efficiency metrics stay elusive. The brand new PCB photographs could elevate extra questions than they reply. Earlier data instructed that the chip is predicated on Samsung’s 8nm node, though a 6nm or 5nm SoC can also be doable, providing higher efficiency and battery life.
