Nintendo's upgraded Switch marks the console line's next step forward. The Switch Lite was launched after the original. Now, it's fairly common for most manufacturers, especially phone makers, to release a toned-down version of their flagship devices.
The Switch is obviously no exception to this marketing approach. Next year will be quite different though as Nintendo is rumored to launch the next generation of its Switch gaming console.
PC Master Race vs. Gaming Console Peasants
This PC Master Race vs. Gaming Console Peasants meme is older than most recent gaming gears. On the one side, we have the venerable PC. Its games are mostly not capped at 60fps, and the numerous choices in configuration gives way to fully calling your own machine a gaming PC. You want a large gaming keyboard and the latest gaming mouse? Go ahead. You want Nvidia's latest RTX cards? Go ahead as well.
The choices are almost endless. If you can't afford top-of-the-line parts, no one's stopping you from building a budget gaming PC. After all, gaming is not about having the most expensive parts. It's about enjoying your games with the hardware you currently own, regardless of their prices.
On the other end of the line, we have gaming consoles. You can't often upgrade their parts except, in most cases, their storage drives. However, what they lack in hardware customization, they excel in ease of use. You want to game? Just turn on your PS4 or Switch and start loading the game you'd like to play.
For consoles you don't often need to mess around with a game's hardware settings. You don't need to check for any FPS drops if you set your resolution to 1080p with Ray Tracing turned on. To put it simply, like Apple devices, they just work. No further tweaking required.
Nintendo's upgraded Switch vs. Switch Lite
Well, Nintendo's upgraded Switch vs. Switch Lite is an unfair comparison based on the names alone. For one, the Switch Lite is made for only hand-held gaming. You can't even connect it to your TV. The Joy-Con controllers also don't come off. They come attached to the Switch Lite's chassis. However, for $100 less than the original Switch, its tradeoffs can be quite negligible if you're not into big-screen gaming.
What to expect with Switch 2.0.?
We just called Switch 2.0. but just to clear things, it's not the official name of Nintendo's upcoming gaming console. The original Switch is a hybrid gaming console/tablet with physical controllers. We're expecting next year's version to stick to this design mantra. On top of this, it's rumored that the new Switch will support 4K gaming. This certainly means that it'll have more computing power than its predecessor.
Come to think of it, the original Switch ran on Nvidia's Tegra X1 system-on-chip (SoC), which is already half a decade old. With how things are going in the tech world, five years is quite a long time to improve on many factors-specs-wise and software-wise.
Sony's PS5 is just around the corner and perhaps Microsoft will have its own Xbox One refresh soon. How would Nintendo's upgraded Switch perform compared to these two heavier-spec'd giants? Let's wait until next year if something new will shake not only the console gaming industry but also the PC gaming community.
