If you are eager to look at what the future is for the Nintendo Switch, you might want to look at the iPad. Six years ago, Apple's famous tablet was weaker than the cheapest PC on the market. It wasn't even capable of handling two apps running at the same time, and even a few web pages would force the device to stop functioning. But over the last few years, the iPad has made a significant turning point. Apple head for worldwide marketing Phil Schiller claimed last fall that the 12.9-inch iPad Pro was faster than roughly 80% of every portable PC out there. As its performance improved and the software became more similar to the PC, it will not be hard to think that the iPad will become good enough to replace a lot more laptops.

Similarities between the iPad and the Switch

There are some similarities between the iPad and the Nintendo Switch, Nintendo's detachable game console set for released in March 2017. Just like the iPad, the Switch will be using an ARM-based processor, the same energy-efficient system that powers the vast majority of smartphones. This lets Nintendo intensify the Switch's computing power inside a portable display, which is then attached to a pair of controllers for handheld gaming. But that portability does come with a trade: The Switch will not be as powerful as Microsoft's Xbox Scorpio and Sony's PlayStation 4 Pro.

All will be worth it in the long run

But despite that, it doesn't mean Nintendo's bet on ARM doesn't prove smarter in the long run. Just as the iPad's performance has slowly caught up to the needs of most PC users, Nintendo could narrow the performance gap among its rivals while at the same time, reaping major advantages from its amazing portability.

What Nintendo really intends

Realism states that people are still using PCs for work, yet still rely on their smartphones for practically everything else. This concept is what Nintendo is looking at. In the gaming world, the risk that the Nintendo Switch is taking is precisely the same. But the rewards are pretty high if they manage to pull it off.