Nintendo Switch 2 sounds more powerful than we expected in new hardware leak

It seems that the Nintendo Switch 2 rumour mill keeps on spinning but these latest rumours imply that it’s a console that might be more powerful than we expected.

The Nintendo Switch was launched in 2017 and since that time it has become one of the Japanese giant's most popular systems. There are rumours that the Nintendo Switch 2 might be released this year with no official word being announced. It’s looking more likely, however, that the Nintendo Switch 2 could be released in 2025.

Check out the Pokémon Z-A trailer below!

During a recent Pokémon presentation, the latest entry in the long-running video game franchise was announced with Pokémon Legends Z-A to be released in 2025 on “Nintendo systems”. Many believe that this particular wording means that the next Pokémon will be released on the Nintendo Switch successor, as well as the current system.

Seeing as Nintendo hasn't officially announced the Nintendo Switch 2, we can only speculate on how it looks, whether it will be backwards compatible, when it will be released or what it will be called. That being said, if fresh rumours are to be believed, the Nintendo Switch 2 might be somewhat of a little beast.

As reported by TweakTown.com (via the YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead), the Nintendo Switch 2 will be powered by Nvidia SoC using Samsung’s 8nm process node with 8GB, 12GB or 16GB of 128-bit LPDDR5 memory. The current Nintendo Switch is using Nvidia Tegra X1, so if the rumours are true, the new console will benefit from quite the upgrade.

One source of Moore’s Law Is Dead, reportedly said: “I'm not that close to the project, but I can say that Samsung 8nm is a perfect match for Nintendo. It's the lowest cost/transistor node on the market, and it's not expected to be as competitive for capacity as more modern nodes over the next few years. Also, remember that with 128-bit LPDDR5, Nintendo could realistically choose 8GB, 12GB, or 16GB capacities for the SoC we designed for them.”

Another source added: “To be honest, the Switch 2 isn't really on my radar anymore right now I am focused on finishing up validation for Blackwell. Switch 2 silicon has been done since late 2022. As far as I am aware, that Digital Foundry article looking at the T239 processor leaked from when we were hacked is an almost entirely correct summary of what's true about the silicon in the Switch 2.”

“We presented several options to Nintendo, including one that utilised Lovelace, and they basically selected a cost-optimised version of Orin,” the second source continued. “It has some efficiency tweaks from Lovelace, and a few other goodies added as well. Oh, and AMD bid against us HARD for the Switch 2 btw, but ended up losing the bid.”

We should take all unconfirmed rumours with a pinch of salt until proven otherwise, especially when Nintendo often makes a good habit of keeping leaks and rumours to a minimum. That being said, hopefully, Nintendo will announce the Switch successor at some point this year.