Nintendo leaker reveals new info on Switch Pro and possible release date

A notable Nintendo insider has leaked new information about the long-rumored Switch Pro model, including its potential release date.

For quite some time now, rumors have been circulating that Nintendo has been working on a new, advanced version of the Switch with 4K capabilities. So far, however, the Japanese gaming juggernaut has yet to comment.

Things got especially interesting when a new Bloomberg report claimed Nintendo was planning a new Switch model with a bigger Samsung OLED display. However, according to leaker NateDrake, this isn’t all Nintendo has in store.

“I amended expectations to be open to the idea that Aula could be the Bloomberg model; but remain 100% confident that the new SoC + DLSS equipped Switch is coming,” he wrote on the Resetera forums.

The Aula is a codename for a currently unreleased, yet datamined piece of Nintendo hardware.

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As Dexerto previously reported, dataminer SciresM, who discovered the Aula within Switch firmware remarked that the model “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,” he added.

According to NateDrake, the Switch pro model’s DLSS will be based on hardware and not the dock, which implies this would be an extremely powerful handheld.

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Unfortunately, he also believes that we will have quite the wait to get our hands on the new console.

“I do believe it’ll be announced the coming FY. The plan was to release this year, but I suspect it’ll be delayed into 2022,” he wrote.

It will be interesting to see exactly what Nintendo’s plans are, especially with development proceeding on the sequel to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild 2, which could be a major launch title.

Just like how the original BOTW ushered in the Nintendo Switch era, the same could happen with this more advanced version.

“Delays can, and will, continue to be an every changing variable in figuring out when we’ll hear about it and see it,” NateDrake added.