I could be wrong but I don't think Nintendo will boost clocks in the future until maybe a revised model comes out with a lower power requirements. Normally Nintendo set the clocks very low and keep them low to ensure reasonable battery runtime. I think the original Switch in portable mode is actually around 30-140 gflops for games but in theory can go higher and probably does for very short bursts but the theoretical maximum gflops for portable mode is much higher but as the Switch 1 is hacked/modded we can see real performance figures. Of course such modded Switches do massively increase the stock frequencies to perform better, i.e. Gamecube emulation and games like Zelda BOTW being at 60fps etc. There are utils that give them control of maximum frequencies. Typically I think from memory a 100% CPU boost and 50% GPU boost but only for Mariko Switches. The original Switch cannot be upclocked anywhere near the same level as its on a older more power hungry fabrication process and simply can't disappate that level of heat well. Also battery runtime would be ridiculously low perhaps 45 minutes or even 30 minutes or less if you could clock it as high as a Mariko Switch.

I actually think the 12GB of memory on the Switch 2 is super generous and a big upgrade on the Xbox Series S which has 10GB with 8GB dedicated to graphics and 2GB of slower memory dedicated more towards the CPU. Nintendo could so easily have gone cheap with only 8GB but I think they kept it the same as the development Switch 2 consoles which I think also have 12GB. 

So I can see more performance being released when the operating system can fit completely in 1 CPU core but I don't think we will see any movement on clocks for many years when a more advanced Switch 2 console is produced and uses less power. 

However lets not forget development software will improve over time and the Switch 2 will naturally perform better as developers learn how to optimise their games even more. The Switch 2 is relatively simple architecture so its not like PS3 levels of optimisation for the later games but still it should be a noticable improvement but I still think the lack of CPU resources will be a big issue for many games. It's at PS4 CPU performance level in 2025, that has to be a problem surely for many games going forward. I wanted to quote crowd density being already low on Switch 2 for Cyberpunk but I really don't know the situation as reading online some are saying low levels of crowd density and others are saying its more like a medium setting on PC. Maybe the later expansion pack (I forget the name) lowers crowd density to keep the frame rate up but the original game is at medium. It feels like the Switch 2 is already a problem for developers when it comes to CPU performance. However of course every Switch 2 exclusive game will be built from the ground up to perform as well as possible on the hardware. The issue is more about multi-platform games coming to Switch 2 from systems with far greater CPU resources. Those games don't typically sell well on Nintendo hardware and to be honest I feel are less important to Switch 2 anyway. Yes some people will buy those multi-platform games on Switch 2 but dare I say it those people will be a minority of Switch 2 owners. I feel like the huge upgrade in CPU performance from the original Switch to Switch 2 which is in the nature of 3-4x as much power will give Nintendo huge freedom to create fantastic exclusive games over the next few years. 

Bottom line is Nintendo made a terrific piece of hardware with fantastic performance for the price range that will be able to handle a lot of PS5 tier games reasonably well if a developer is willing to put a bit of effort in.

Can't ask for any better of a result than this given it's a freaking portable platform that's way thinner and smaller (remember the Joycons don't have any actual processing hardware inside of them, so to engineer this, Nintendo needed to make a much smaller and thinner system) than things like Steam Deck or ROG Ally even let alone a wired to the wall console.

A-tier franchises like Final Fantasy VII and Resident Evil and Madden NFL returning to the Nintendo ecosystem says it all.

For $450 in 2025, you're not getting any better than this, the only main complaint I have is I wish this system could have been out last year (2024), but they obviously would have been short on games as Mario Kart and Donkey Kong probably wouldn't have been ready in time.

And yes I do think there will be a Switch 2 Pro model this time around because they inevitably are likely to fall behind the Switch 1's sales pace as that system had a monster surge with COVID, and to keep pace with that they'll need more aggressive model revisions. This is a different Nintendo president with a completely different (and younger) hardware team, I said this many time but basing everything on "well but this is what happened in the past" is not really relevant to the present or future. 

There is a lot of overhead unused on those existing CPU cores too, like if Nintendo really wanted to they probably could clock them higher. 

Having now spent around 10 hours with Star Wars Outlaws, I am more excited than ever to see what devs can squeeze out of Switch 2 over the course of its life.

If a launch window game already looks this good, we're in for some great looking software in the years to come, especially once the more technically ambitious first party teams start building games from the ground up for it.

Alright… it’s been a few months. I think it’s time to start talking about Switch 3. My prediction is that it’ll be on par with the PS5 Pro (docked) and Base PS5 (handheld). There will be a hyperrealistic Mario at launch to showcase the graphical prowess of this system, alongside a $15 Welcome Tour game that features every 3D models of all Nintendo’s biggest mascots which look as though they come straight from our corporeal realm.

Too soon to tell - my bet would be on foldable screen, like some of current high end phones/tablets, to make it both "classic" Switch, or clamshell like DS/3DS, but the thing is there's still visible crease in them - and that's in addition to them being very expensive, so not sure if they will go down enough in price in 7 years for them to be viable option for Nintendo.

Or maybe Switch³, as in Switch Cube...cube with SoC and all other processing that plugs into either handheld, TV dock or VR set, so you can pick and choose combination you actually want - though I think this is too far fetched for Nintendo.

Come on, it's like 5 years too early to start speculating about next gen, let's just focus on what we've got right in front of us instead of constantly looking for the next big thing.

SW3 (and all consoles in the early 2030's) are almost certainly going to go heavily into neural-rendering. That will be for that generation what RT is for this one, what 3D was for the fifth generation, and what "HD" was for the 7th.

Form factor can be pretty much anything. 

Switch 3 will be in the shape of a 3 (like Mario’s mustache). Maybe they’ll implement something in the Mario games with this 3-shaped device? The dock might be a Mario thing where you pin the Switch 3 on Mario’s face where his mustache is

Think the "Nintendo will cheap out on the hardware!!!! Cuz I'm an expert and remember the Nintendo Weeeee! " crowd will be a lot more quiet for Switch 3 speculation, lol.

Mate, have you considered getting your head checked? Say, by a Jumbo Jet? It won't be easy. But nothing is, no.


On a more serious note, Nintendo kinda did cheap out - not on SoC, but on battery (with some folks already installing higher capacity inside it) and on screen. Lets not talk about dock which again doesn't have cooling for main unit.