June has passed, but Nintendo hasn't unveiled its Nintendo Switch Pro. However, even the first rumors suggested that the big N could mean a change, and that seems to be the case.
The company has decided to delay the release of the Switch Pro until the end of this year. However, the existence of the device seems to be an indisputable fact given all the reports and evidence. Nintendo is apparently ordering large OLED displays from Samsung, which will likely go to the Pro. Now, new details have emerged regarding the chip that will power the "Pro" variant.
According to a leak courtesy of kopite7kimi on Reddit, the Nintendo Switch Pro will feature a chipset codenamed "Dane". This may sound like a contradiction to the previous report that revealed the SoC codenamed "Black Knight".
It turns out that both details are correct. Apparently, "Dane" and "Black Knight" are the same thing. NVIDIA has been known to code-name its chips after Marvel Comics characters. Interestingly, "Dane" is the real name of a Marvel character called "The Dark Knight".
The character is set to appear in the upcoming Marvel's Eternals and will be played by Kit Harington, best known for his role as Jon Snow in Game of Thrones. Back to the point, it seems that NVIDIA is using both the real name and the alias of the Marvel character to name this chip.
The Switch Pro chip will bring many improvements in terms of performance and efficiency
The "Dane" was also reported to be an 8nm chip. It's a huge upgrade over the original Nintendo Switch.
The original console, for those not in the know, was released back in 2016 and features a 20nm chip. It's almost prehistoric today when we have 5nm and 7nm chips firmly established. It's even better than the 2019 console upgrade with a 16nm chip. The advantage of an 8nm chip is that smaller size means better power efficiency and performance.
This will increase the battery life of the future console compared to the first generation model.
According to some rumors, the Nintendo Switch Pro will not be released this year. Apparently, Nintendo may move it directly to 2022. This is probably due to the lack of chips on the market.
