The next Nintendo Switch revision, which has been rumored to be in the works for a while, will feature an upgraded OLED screen and may require a new dock, according to new information shared online.
SciresM, a well-known console hacker and dataminer, discovered a new Nintendo Switch revision codenamed Aula, as reported on the ResetERA forums. This new hardware revision will apparently be using a Mariko SoC. This new model won’t be a docked only one, as Aula does support handheld mode.
Nintendo actually is working on a new model with upgraded display stuff and has been for ~1.5-2 years. I personally believe it’s 4K given the signs I’m seeing in the firmware, but that’s not confirmed yet and could be wrong.
The new hardware is codenamed Aula, it’s using a Mariko SoC. There’s a bunch of references to it in code (atmosphere supports the new display already in theory).
Aula explicitly supports handheld mode. It is not docked only; that’s calcio, which seems like it’s for internal only/never releasing since Calcio has no gamecard slot and no battery.
The new Nintendo Switch revision is going to feature an upgraded OLED screen, but SciresM is not sure about the resolution. The console, however, is going to support 4K resolution in some form, as Aula has firmware support for some Realtek chip that advertises itself as a “4K UHD multimedia SoC”. This chip, SciresM speculates, could be included in a new dock.
The tablet itself definitely has an upgraded display, I don’t know if it’s 4K.
Aula has firmware support some Realtek chip that advertises itself as a “4K UHD multimedia SoC”, too, hence my belief it’s 4K. That chip might be inside a new dock and not inside the tablet, though, there’s no way to tell from the firmware code yet.
Checked my previous discussions with hexkyz, the upgraded tablet display is an OLED screen. Probably not higher resolution on tablet itself, so I guess the 4k realtek chip is more likely to be new dock than I thought it was.
The Mariko SoC, according to the dataminer, will allow for better performance, thanks to better cooling and battery life.
Mariko has *substantially* better cooling and battery life. It’s a bona fide die shrink over the original generation.
My best guess (pure speculation, no firmware indication this is the case) is that if they need extra performance, they’ll push it to higher clock rates across the board.
But yeah, I speculate games will be like “DSi enhanced” games were, or like how some games benefited from PS4 Pro despite working on PS4.
A new Nintendo Switch revision has been rumored for a while, and with this information included in the firmware, it is likely that its reveal is getting closer. We will keep you updated on the matter as soon as more come in on it, so stay tuned for all the latest news.
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