Nintendo Switch 2: “Performance-upgraded” variant with 5 nm chip under consideration

An earlier leak gave us an in-depth look at the Nvidia Tegra T239 chip that powers the Nintendo Switch 2. It used off-the-shelf Arm CPU cores and a GPU based on Nvidia's Ampere architecture. And lastly, it confirmed to be manufactured on Samsung Foundry's somewhat archaic 8 nm (8N) node. A new report from South Korean media outlet Chosun sheds light on Nintendo's prospects.

As speculated by earlier leaks, the Nintendo Switch 2's Tegra T239 was initially meant to be made on Samsung's newer 5 nm node. But Nintendo ultimately settled with the DUV-based 8 nm node because it was cheaper. And because it was already used for Nvidia Ampere (RTX 30 series), designing the GPU would be a lot less cumbersome. That said, if the recent Switch 2 performance simulation is accurate, the savings might affect Nintendo eventually. Nintendo's decision might have made sense if the Switch 2 cost $349 and not $449.

The report adds Nintendo could collaborate with Samsung again in the future. The 5 nm node mentioned above could be used for a "performance-upgraded version of the Switch 2". This could be the OLED variant that will arrive with some much-needed extra firepower. By modern-day console hardware standards, the Tegra T239 is already substandard, and the situation will only get worse in the coming years, with games demanding more powerful hardware.

Apparently, Nintendo's partnership should make other handheld chipmakers like AMD consider Samsung nodes for future offerings. But, that is unlikely to happen in the immediate future because AMD already has a cosy relationship with TSMC and even managed to secure precious fab space on the coveted N2X node for Zen 6.