Nintendo Switch 2 to be unveiled this year with 8-inch LCD

Bloomberg has reported that, as per Omdia analyst Hiroshi Hayase, the Nintendo Switch 2 console might hit the shelves this year with a new 8-inch LCD screen.

According to the Bloomberg report, Hayase’s forecast relies on research into small and medium displays, involving consultations with companies in the supply chain. Based on this, Hayase predicts that the Nintendo Switch 2 will drive a doubling in the shipments of entertainment displays in 2024.

While Nintendo hasn’t officially given the green light for a new console, the rumor mill has been buzzing about the Nintendo Switch 2 for quite a few months. Even folks in the industry are chiming in on the possibility, with Japanese game developers from CAPCOM, Koei Tecmo, and Spike Chunsoft expressing excitement about the prospect.

There’s word that Nintendo unveiled the console to fellow publishers and developers for the first time during Gamescom 2023. According to reports, the Nintendo Switch 2 showcased an enhanced demo of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild running at 4K resolution and 60 frames per second. Another demo featured at that event was Epic’s Unreal Engine 5 – The Matrix Awakens.

The system specifications have been a bit of a mixed bag. While some rumors hinted at a 5nm node for the chipset, other trustworthy leakers are sticking to the belief that it’ll opt for a Samsung 8nm process node. The Nintendo Switch 2 is anticipated to be built on the NVIDIA Tegra 239, a customized version of the T234. It’s expected to support NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction for ray tracing, but there’s a likelihood that Frame Generation won’t be included.

Despite the varied spec rumors, a preliminary analysis by Digital Foundry, using comparable specs, suggests the Nintendo Switch 2 should handle 1080p with ray tracing just fine. The overall performance of the console is thought to be not far off from the Xbox Series S, the benchmark for current-generation games. There’s also a rumor circulating that Nintendo might be experimenting with High Dynamic Range (HDR) support for the console, although it’s expected to be confined to the docked mode.