Switch & Lite
Image: Nintendo Life

As eager followers of forums and social media will be aware, in recent hours talk of a Nintendo Switch 'Pro' model have accelerated. Bloomberg has weighed in with a report [paywall], and our own sources support some of the same details.

The big headline for those desperate to see the new hardware is that it's expected to be revealed before E3 - Bloomberg reports that this is to allow major third-parties to showcase a full range of titles during the upcoming event. That means, provided the reports are accurate, any time in the next two weeks.

Manufacturing is expected to begin fully in July, with a targeted launch of September or October, which would also allow the system to hit the busiest shopping period of the year.

Intriguingly, Bloomberg's report suggests two key things - that the new model will replace the current standard model (with the older iteration being phased out), and then be sold along with the Lite system. The report anticipates that the new model will have a price increase over the current $299USD, though Nintendo could arguably do this and pitch the Lite as the portable-only affordable option. As previously rumoured, Bloomberg's report claims the new system will be capable of 4K output when docked.

In terms of potential manufacturing challenges, as seen with PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S, suppliers are reportedly confident that the system can be produced in significant numbers. This may be due to the hardware using relatively bespoke parts - it'll reportedly have an upgraded NVIDIA GPU, and as previously stated a 7-inch Samsung OLED display. However, it will nonetheless remain a priority to secure resources for full manufacturing, with parts such as Bluetooth chips apparently one potential bottleneck.

There's certainly momentum to these reports and multiple sources doing the rounds, so perhaps the time for a new Switch system is finally very close. Let us know what you think in the comments!

[source bloomberg.com]