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Nintendo Switch 2 chassis leaked, ‘almost certainly real’, analysts say

Posted on by angelo
Nintendo Switch 2 chassis leaked, ‘almost certainly real’, analysts say

Rumor mill: Rumors and alleged leaks surrounding the Nintendo Switch successor have intensified in recent months, with Nintendo remaining silent on its plans. The skepticism surrounding the most recent leak, which claims to reveal the casing of the upcoming handheld console, is unsurprising, but a closer look suggests it could be legitimate.

Several images that may depict the design of Nintendo’s upcoming handheld console have recently begun circulating on social media. While these images are unverified, they correspond to internal information about the upcoming console’s hardware and have withstood scrutiny.

The information provided includes computer-aided design (CAD) screenshots, photos of a disassembled unit, and a partially obscured look at a motherboard design without the chips mounted on it. The images suggest that the Switch 2 looks a lot like its predecessor, with a few crucial differences.

Two CAD images show the original Switch for comparison, revealing that the revised design is considerably larger. While the Joy-Con button layout is nearly identical to the old Switch, the new design replaces the rail mounts with magnets. Additionally, the central unit includes two USB-C ports, one on the top and one on the bottom.

A user posted the images to Reddit via Chinese social media. A source reportedly acquired a chassis model from a company developing accessories for the upcoming device and reverse-engineered it to create the CAD renderings.

Theoretically, anyone could have come up with a fake design and 3D printed the shell based on previous leaks. However, a source familiar with internal briefings Nintendo sent to third-party developers told VGC that the leaked design is in line with their expectations.

Additionally, an analysis of the motherboard photo by Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry suggests that it would have been too difficult to fake. Slots for the previously reported two 6GB LPDDR5X RAM modules are visible, and the memory interface could be 128-bit, potentially allowing for bandwidth of up to 102GB/s.

Previous leaks suggested that the Switch 2 would feature 256GB of UFS 3.1 internal storage, an eight-inch display, 4K support in docked mode, and Nvidia DLSS. The SoC is likely a custom Nvidia chip called the T239, based on the Ampere architecture found in GeForce RTX 3000 series graphics cards. Samsung’s 8nm process is the likely suspect, but 6nm is also possible.

One of the few things known for sure about the upcoming handheld console is that Nintendo plans to unveil it before the end of the current fiscal year, on April 1, 2025. The company could launch the device shortly after or later in the year.