Wall Street Journal Japan Reports A New Switch Model Will Release In The Second Half Of 2019

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JEMC said:

Soundwave said:

I think Nintendo will do away with the "hard system relaunches". It's really not good business to be honest to reset back to 0 every 5-6 years and flush basically all your hard work down the toilet. Especially now that they don't have a secondary hardware platform to bank on, what would have happened to Nintendo during the GameCube era if GBA was not around? What would've happened to Nintendo during the Wii to Wii U transition if 3DS wasn't there? It's too risky to just bet everything on Switch 2, audiences are fickle and can be gone at the snap of a finger, I think Nintendo will change this whole system to protect themselves. 

I think they will instead adopt a more Apple like model of new Switch hardware every 3 years and 2-tier hardware approach. Meaning one Switch model that occupies a cheaper price point ($200-$250) and one that occupies a more profitable higher price point ($350) and as years pass, the higher end model becomes the cheaper one and a new higher end model takes the $350 slot. Sony/MS have already discovered this, and Nintendo is already doing this too in a way with the 3DS and Switch being both sold. I think they will want to keep that setup. 

It's simply smarter business. There won't be a "Switch 2" so much as there is a "Switch Model 1, Switch Model 2, Switch Model 3, Switch Model 4" etc. etc. etc. and Nintendo won't make as big of a fuss about every hardware iteration, it'll just be "oh another Switch model" all under one ecosystem, branding, account system, etc. That's my prediction anyway, just like Switch has completely change the rules for the handheld/console delineation in hardware terms, Switch will also break the traditional Nintendo hardware lifecycle formula and embrace a more Apple like one. 

People have been inducted to believe that they need a smartphone, that they are a necessity. Consoles aren't. To think that you can successfully apply the same business model of smartphones to consoles is wishful thinking. Plus, consoles are designed to last for years, until the next gen comes out, while smartphones can last three or four years, and that's if the battery doesn't die before than that.

If the PS4 Pro and XboxOneX have taught us something, is that console revisions increase sales, but don't move as many units as completely new machines, and the reason is simple, most people don't buy a new machine to play the same games that they do on their actual machines. Sooner or later, you need to break the cycle and launch a new machine with games that can't be played on the older model(s).

Lastly, if you're afraid of what could happen to Nintendo when launching a new machine, they can simply do what most third parties have done this gen: launch cross-gen games. With a strong line up of exclusive games like a new Zelda or proper Mario, paired with smaller titles for both machines, Nintendo can minimize that danger and keep the income high until the install base is high enough to sustain the business by itself.

You're wrong from the premise, and we have multiple cases.
GBA > GBA SP
DS > DS Lite

Both showed cases of people upgrading and also a market expansion.
I think you're underestimating the market of people who will pay money to upgrade their hardware and those more likely to pay money to buy it in the first place if it reaches levels of satisfaction. It is all about making the successor compelling, and a simple "half gen upgrade for 4K TVs" isn't as compelling a sell as a Switch gen 2, Switch gen 3, etc... Especially when Switch 2 and 3 are serving an obvious demand with more power, longer battery life, and/or different sized screen; meanwhile there wasn't much interest for the "more power for 4K TV Xbone or PS" product. Additionally, a hard reset on the product means those "half gen" consoles are halfway through the lifespan. Meanwhile, for the iOS model that platform has no end date, just upgrades to the hardware and software versions. A Switch iterative generation means you're buying the first or second most up to date hardware for a platform that isn't going to die in a few years.