Rumour | Nintendo may release a Switch Pro with a custom NVIDIA Volta GPU, but not before the end of the year

Nintendo Switch Pro rumours have been circulating for a while now, with the original one about a new NVIDIA Tegra X1+ powered model turning out to be about the Switch Lite. More recently, Digitimes claimed that a new Nintendo Switch console would "enter mass production in 1Q20", with a Pro edition possibly arriving before the end of the year. The website offered no details on specifications or whether this would be a redesigned console, for reference.

A new rumour currently circulating online disavows the typically unreliable Digitimes, though. Brought to our attention by Wccftech, a new Nintendo Switch is apparently unlikely to arrive before the end of the year. However, a new "Pro" Switch is supposedly in development and is based on the NVIDIA Volta architecture. NVIDIA announced the 12 nm architecture in 2017, but only ever released Tesla and Titan GPUs before moving onto the Turing architecture, soon to be replaced itself by Ampere.

The rumour claims that Nintendo and NVIDIA are working on a custom chip, but that it is also not ready for mass production. Moreover, the custom Volta GPU will not support 4K gaming or any significant performance improvements over the Tegra X1 and Tegra X1+ found in the Switch and Switch Lite.

It should go without saying that this may never come to pass, especially as Nintendo is yet to acknowledge it. Nintendo typically does not release more powerful mid-generation consoles, either. The 64DD peripheral for the N64 is probably the closest example of a more powerful mid-cycle refresh in the last twenty years or so, but Nintendo discontinued it less than a year after its release.