Nintendo is planning to release a new version of the Switch

[DanceswithUnix]

Finfets have advantages in lower TDP devices,and I would assume that TSMC 16NM must be relatively low cost by now.

But the mask set is about a million dollars before you can start making them. With such a high setup cost, you would at least go 12nm if not 7 but it sounds like they haven't decided what to do yet so if they start now you are probably looking at a year before working silicon comes back even with no significant design changes to the SoC just a process change.

This isn't a PC, software backwards compatibility is hard on something that nailed down so I would be shocked if X2 ran all the X2 Switch games without issue. Perhaps some OTA software updates for each game would patch them up, but that takes development effort and would people be OK with that? Dunno.

So Some X1 variant is the obvious way forward. At that point I have to wonder if it is worth the cost. Think of what they can do with existing silicon. Consider a Switch XL, slightly bigger 1080p screen would allow a bigger battery and updated controllers. Bigger battery and better cooling would allow the chip to run at full speed when off the dock so the console can tell the game it is still running tethered and existing games would run full-hd when mobile. Possibly new games could run the SoC at higher clocks. Or just reduce the bezel on the existing case to improve the screen size without changing overall form factor.

Nintendo aren't really about the raw CPU.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

But the mask set is about a million dollars before you can start making them. With such a high setup cost, you would at least go 12nm if not 7 but it sounds like they haven't decided what to do yet so if they start now you are probably looking at a year before working silicon comes back even with no significant design changes to the SoC just a process change.

This isn't a PC, software backwards compatibility is hard on something that nailed down so I would be shocked if X2 ran all the X2 Switch games without issue. Perhaps some OTA software updates for each game would patch them up, but that takes development effort and would people be OK with that? Dunno.

So Some X1 variant is the obvious way forward. At that point I have to wonder if it is worth the cost. Think of what they can do with existing silicon. Consider a Switch XL, slightly bigger 1080p screen would allow a bigger battery and updated controllers. Bigger battery and better cooling would allow the chip to run at full speed when off the dock so the console can tell the game it is still running tethered and existing games would run full-hd when mobile. Possibly new games could run the SoC at higher clocks. Or just reduce the bezel on the existing case to improve the screen size without changing overall form factor.

Nintendo aren't really about the raw CPU.

Nintendo is about reducing cost. TSMC 12NM is 16NM finfet though as even TSMC agrees!

Also lower power consumption would mean smaller batteries and less cooling so lower BOM.

It also means a slimmer device. It's no different than Sony and MS doing the same and clockspeeds went up too.

[Bagnaj97]

I suspect it's likely just a smaller, thinner device - think of the original DS -> DS Lite or Gameboy Advance -> Gameboy Advance SP. I doubt there will be any performance increases, but perhaps better battery life.

[DanceswithUnix]

It also means a slimmer device. It's no different than Sony and MS doing the same and clockspeeds went up too.

But Sony and MS are all about performance, so they would.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

But Sony and MS are all about performance, so they would.

Not with the shrinks - the clockspeed went up a few percent which helped,but the biggest difference was the reduction in size and heat,which lead to quieter devices.

[DanceswithUnix]

Not with the shrinks - the clockspeed went up a few percent which helped,but the biggest difference was the reduction in size and heat,which lead to quieter devices.

That's just about cost on what started as a really big die 363mm^2 dropped to 240. I don't know if they can get worthwhile savings on what starts as a 121mm^2 of mobile chip. It might even be pad limited making it hard to scale.

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

That's just about cost on what started as a really big die 363mm^2 dropped to 240. I don't know if they can get worthwhile savings on what starts as a 121mm^2 of mobile chip. It might even be pad limited making it hard to scale.

Unlikely - they do it all the time with phone SOCs even in the budget end where some models are only differed just on the process node used.

But TSMC 20/16/12nm are related anyway as many of the 14/16nm nodes were essentially 20nm class with finfets. I expect cost would be far less to port the chip over to the newer nodes than something like 14/16 which will have declining demand over the next year or two as CPU and GPU makers transition to 7nm.

Lower power would mean a slimmer and smaller device especially as the Tegra X1 has a highish TDP for even a tablet.

This would fit into what Nintendo would probably do.

Edit!!

If you look at the Nintendo 3DS it had some major hardware changes over its lifespan.

Making the existing SOC on a more efficient node which is a modification of TSMC 20nm is nowhere as big a change.

Also why does the Switch have a docked mode? It's because the Tegra X1 is closer to being a 7.5W to 15W chip.

[DanceswithUnix]

Making the existing SOC on a more efficient node which is a modification of TSMC 20nm is nowhere as big a change.

It is a new set of design rules needing a recompile of the hdl into a new set of masks, so potentially everything moves on the SoC. Simulation and testing has to start again from zero. If the A57 & A53 CPUs were bought in from ARM as a hard cell then those needs to be re-purchased on the new node and integrated in. The days of being able to perform something like an optical half node shrink are long gone. It isn't complex in the same way as walking 100 miles isn't complex; there is still a lots of work involved. That is assuming there aren't hand layout bits on the silicon.

[Ttaskmaster]

It also means a slimmer device.

And another reason for me not to buy one...

Controversial opinion, but rather than ruining sales, this might create a push for all the hacker types to buy up the current version before xmas with the NVIDIA chip exploit, as I am almost 100% sure they are doing this to fix that.

That seems to be what happened with previous devices. I believe the 3DS was a pretty effective example of that.

[fail_quail]

I'm actually quite surprised they haven't released a version with more internal storage yet, for you can already max out the internal storage with a single game download...
Doesn't even need a hardware revision, since the internal eMMC chip is on a socketed riser board so it would be trivial to offer a beefed up version.

Though as others have mentioned, i'm sure patching out the hardware exploit is probably 99% of the reason for any new version released

[silk186]

Sounds good to me. I haven't picked one up yet. I'm hoping it will be smaller and lighter with improved battery life.
Hopefully, they will be able to cut production costs and lower the price in a few months as well.