Switch
Image: Nintendo Life

Nvidia – the company which produces the Tegra X1 Mariko "system on a chip" that powers both the Switch and Switch Lite – is reportedly bringing production of the SoC to an end this year, fuelling more speculation that a Switch Pro is on the way.

The news comes from Gamereactor, which has spoken to a source close to the matter. The source claims production on the Tegra X1 Mariko will end in 2021, but did not elaborate on what chip would be replacing it in Nintendo's supply chain.

It's fair to assume that Nintendo will ensure it has a healthy stockpile of Tegra X1 Mariko chips prior to production coming to a close, but it does beg the question – if the report is true and Nintendo thinks the Switch is only halfway through its lifespan, what happens beyond this year?

A logical answer would be that Nintendo will phase out the original Switch model and its 'Lite' sibling in favour of new versions of both models, as it did with the 3DS and 2DS when the New 3DS and New 2DS became available.

While the Switch Pro is still 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 big order for Samsung-made OLED panels suggests that an updated hardware SKU is indeed on the way; an improved Nvidia-made SoC would be a fairly reasonable inclusion to expect if the console is to offer a performance boost over the original version.

What do you make of this report? Let us know with a comment.

[source gamereactor.eu]