Nintendo will release two new versions of Switch as early as summer, according to a Wall Street Journal report citing “people familiar with the matter,” which follows up on a report from October 2018.

One new version will have enhanced features targeted at avid gamers, but is not as powerful as PlayStation 4 Pro or Xbox One X, the publication said citing “parts suppliers and software developers for Nintendo who have early access to a prototype of the machine.” The other version is said to be a cheaper option for casual gamers that Nintendo sees as a successor to 3DS.

“You would be wrong to think the enhanced version is similar to what Sony did with PS4 Pro and the other is just a cheap alternative that looks very similar to some past hand-held machines, say, Sony’s PlayStation Vita,” a source told The Wall Street Journal.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that people who have seen the two new versions of Switch said their designs are “different from the original and you’d be surprised.”

My latest on new Nintendo Switch coming as early as this summer. There would be two models, and people who've seen them said designs of new devices are "different from the original and you'd be surprised." https://t.co/ZJ18BN2Gjm

— Takashi Mochizuki (@6d6f636869) March 25, 2019

Source

I guess this means that the current base model might be fased out. I'll upgrade to the "avid" gamer model though .

This might surprise some people. But given the architecture of the Switch, and technology that has come down the pipeline, it should be no surprise if we’ll be seeing the gen 2 family this year. Especially with the killer app Pokémon and the major backup software with Animal Crossing to help launch the new hardware.

So the current model wont be able to play new games after the new model releases. Im gonna trade in my switch tomorrow hopefully i can get decent credit for it

Going for the enhance version without knowing what it will be...

I am not sure where you are reading that. It’s  near certain they’re going with the iOS model in that all Switch systems will receive support for X amount of years, independent of whether or not new hardware is released. That means, unless a special exemption is granted, software must work on all supported hardware units in the family. They already said that the current Switch model has a 7 year plan, so there’s nearly 5 years left before they stop mandating support.

He's probably referencing the 3DS's late games, which technically ran on a 3DS, but where such a stuttery mess that they were only really playable on a New 3DS.

The big question for these models is the hardware. Did NVidia relent and make custom chips for Nintendo now? Or will it just be an X2 with 2 different clock speed settings (basically switch and switch plus modes)?

Also, I seriously hope for a bigger battery. These things have gotten a lot cheaper and more compact over the last 2 years, so unless the weight gain would be too much I don't see why not going for about 5500-6000 mAh (30% increase, basically 1 hour more in demanding titles if the consumption is the same)

I'm pretty happy with my Switch right now, not going to upgrade anytime soon. If however the OG Switch may get too sluggy, I will possibly upgrade later down the road - but not before 2021. My nephew or my niece would then probably inherit the base model.

What I find interesting is the timing. With the slew of games coming out this year, Switch will already sell let hot pancakes, so I was expecting new hardware to only come out next year to keep the sales high. Maybe the fact that some bugs cracked the security of the X1 chip and it not being patchable could have been used as leverage to get a new, safe chip from NVidia. I guess we'll see at E3 (I don't imagine Nintendo squanders that announcement on anything less than their E3 direct)

In any case (lame pun considering what's gonna follow), I don't think the dimensions will change much, if at all. That would allow to upgrade the cheap one with more feature-rich Joycons (one feature removed for instance is vibration according to the kokatu article I read) and allow Labo to work with the new models without a fuss. They could also keep the current Dock and cables (and this time implement USB 3.x correctly, please) in production.

In other words, only the internals would change, but the external dimension will be left unchanged - it's too standardized to change them now.

If true sales are going to explode this year.

They already were going to though

I'll pick up both and hand my OG Switch off to a family member, if one of them is truly pocketable. I only really play the current Switch in Handheld Mode unless I have guests over. The current Model is just too big to take to work though. Having current games available on the road, and during lunch without the need of an internet connection would be great.