Last week, a new Nintendo Switch firmware update has been released, introducing some new features as well as fixes and more. The new firmware also included a reference to a new SoC, hinting at a new model, but it seems like a hardware refresh may not be limited to the new chip.
In the past few days, Mike Heskin has been taking a good look at the 5.0 Nintendo Switch firmware upgrade and has discovered strong evidence that the hardware refresh featuring the new T214 chip may also come with a whole new PCB and 8GB RAM, instead of the current 4GB.
5.0.0 included hw bringup for a new SoC called Mariko. nvidia calls it t214 (it's a fork of tegra X1), it has a custom nintendo bootrom, new key material, new pmic (and new pcb!). however it will probably look identical from outside
As an interesting fact, Mike Heskin also noted how all Tegra systems are code-named after Marvel characters. The T214 code-name Mariko comes from Mariko Yashida, Wolverine's lover.
Interesting fact: Tegra systems are code-named after Marvel characters. TK1 was "Logan", TX1 was "Erista" and now T214 SoC's name "Mariko" comes from Mariko Yashida, Wolverine's lover. Whether this symbolizes Nvidia and Nintendo's scorching "romance" remains to be seen.
The Nintendo Switch has only been released last year, so it will be interesting to see if and when Nintendo releases this hardware refresh. We will keep you updated on the matter as soon as more come in on it, so stay tuned for all the latest news.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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