New Nintendo console leaks point to Switch successor being more powerful than expected

With confirmation that the successor to the Nintendo Switch is rapidly approaching, hardware leaks have fans more excited than ever for the new hybrid console—as it might be more powerful than many players were expecting. 

Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa announced on May 7 that the Nintendo Switch’s “successor” will be shared within this fiscal year, meaning before March 31, 2025. In the following earnings call, he also noted that the proper way to refer to Nintendo’s upcoming console is “Switch next model,” showing that it should be something similar with multiple layers of improvements that will be announced soon. Until then, however, we have more hardware leaks showing the Switch successor might actually turn into a Super Switch, with specs rivaling lower-end hardware in the current console generation. 

We have known for close to two years that the next Switch would likely be using a version of Nvidia’s T239 processor and use tools like deep learning super sampling (DLSS) or image upscaling technology to offer higher frame rates and resolutions while not taxing the hardware as much. Early reports, however, put Nintendo’s next console at being closer in power to the previous generation of consoles. Now, it looks like some updated specs place it closer to an Xbox Series S. 

Based on multiple users pooling investigations on Famiboards, more potential parts for the next Switch have been uncovered, showing that it might have 12GB of RAM for memory, an internal storage of 256GB UFS 3.1, and be somewhere between the Switch OLED and Steam Deck in overall size. 

For reference, the original Switch had 4GM of RAM, the PS4 featured 8GM of RAM, and the Series S has 10GB of RAM and still runs most current-gen games at respectable performance, though only eight GB are actually usable and has caused some backlash for “development limitations.” If the new Nintendo console does feature 12GB like the data shows, and multiple sources like YouTuber Moore’s Law Is Dead mentioned in the past, it would put the new Switch on the cusp of current-gen competition and allow it to smoothly run modern titles, fixing many of the problems Nintendo’s current hardware is facing as it ages. 

Universo Nintendo editor-in-chief and Switch hardware aficionado Felipe “Necro” also noted that the system will perform at levels ranging between the PS4 Pro and Xbox Series S before taking into account any “dark magic” from Nvidia—likely referring to DLSS and other extra tools this new hardware will have access to. One source from Moore’s Law Is Dead even confirmed that Digital Foundry’s overview on the T239 is “almost entirely correct” for what the Switch 2 will be capable of on the processor front. 

And for anyone worried about the 256GB UFS 3.1 or Universal Flash Storage being used instead of an SSD option, UFS 3.1 is used in smaller devices like phones and tablets and has comparable speeds to NVME SSDs used in most modern consoles like the PS5. As Giant Bomb host and reporter Jeff Grubb put it: “UFS 3.1 is like diet NVME. I’ll take it.”

Other recent “leaks” also corroborated previously reported information that the Switch successor will target a March 2025 release, be fully backward compatible with the original Switch, and have more information shared later this year. 

Nintendo hasn’t confirmed any of this information, so it should be taken lightly until we get official details. We likely won’t hear about it until the company is ready to start showing off its new console, though breakdowns from channels like Nintendo Prime give solid overviews of what we could end up seeing from this new hardware.