The next iteration of Nintendo’s Switch hardware will include an updated Nvidia chip and support the chip maker’s Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS) technology, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. This feature will allow the updated Nintendo Switch to produce 4K visuals when docked and connected to a TV, the report says.
The new switch, which was not officially announced by Nintendo, will include a 7-inch OLED screen with 720p resolution and could cost more than $ 399.99, analysts told Bloomberg. The current version of the Nintendo Switch is sold for the original launch price of $ 299.99, while the Switch Lite (pictured above) sells for $ 199.99.
The addition of DLSS would be a boon for new games and developers. Nvidia’s technology uses AI to accelerate graphics rendering by reconstructing the image, maintaining high image quality while offering improved frame rates. Simply put, it allows a video card to render a game at a lower internal resolution – reducing the load on the GPU – as it uses Nvidia’s AI algorithm to generate a reconstructed image that looks just as good (or, in some cases, better) that) the game rendered in native resolution.
Previously, developers had to work directly with Nvidia to support DLSS in their games, leading to limited feature support. But a recent change to Epic Games’ widely used Unreal Engine added support for the technology as a plug-in to the game development toolkit.
The new Nintendo Switch revision will be released later this year, in time for the holidays.