© Nintendo LifeNvidia – the company that produces the Tegra X1 Mariko “system on a chip” that powers both the Switch and the Switch Lite – is reportedly ending production of the SoC this year, fueling more speculation that a Switch Pro is on the way. .
The news comes from Gamereactor, who has spoken to a source close to the case. The source claims production of the Tegra X1 Mariko will end in 2021, but has not worked out which chip it would replace in Nintendo’s supply chain.
It’s reasonable to assume that Nintendo will ensure it has a healthy supply of Tegra X1 Mariko chips before production ends, but it begs the question: whether the report is true and Nintendo thinks the Switch will only be halfway through its lifespan is, what happens after this year?
A logical answer would be that Nintendo will phase out the original Switch model and its ‘Lite’ sibling in favor of new versions of both models, as it did with the 3DS and 2DS when the new 3DS and the new 2DS available came.
While the Switch Pro has yet to be officially confirmed and Nintendo has stated that it has no plans for new hardware in the near future, a report that it has placed a major order for Samsung-made OLED panels suggests an updated hardware SKU. is indeed on the way; an improved Nvidia-made SoC would be a pretty reasonable addition to expect if the console offers a performance boost over the original version.
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