With reports suggesting that Nintendo will lift the lid on its “Switch Pro” prior to E3, the web has been eagerly waiting for news – and with that in mind, we’ve gotten wind of some more (unofficial) details from Spanish site Vandal.
This information comes from a Chinese accessory maker (those guys have proven to be quite knowledgeable in the past) and Vandal’s track record is decent, but keep in mind all of this is rumour at present.
According to the site, the Switch Pro will be similar in size to the existing Switch, but the OLED screen will be around 7 inches from corner to corner and has almost no bezel around it.
Current Joy-Cons will remain compatible with the new model, but the annoying and flimsy kickstand is gone. In its place there’s apparently a Microsoft Surface-style flap which presumably makes for sturdier tabletop gaming. The Micro SD port sits behind this flap, and is easier to access this time around.
When it comes to the dock, the report claims that it is slightly thicker than the original version, but offers x2 USB 3.0 ports and an ethernet port – the latter will come in very handy for those who demand the lowest amount of latency when playing online. 4K output will be possible using the dock.
Vandal is tentatively claiming that the Switch Pro will arrive in Europe at the end of November in very limited numbers.
“And Ethernet Connectivity”
Why now? Far as I can tell no Nintendo console in history – handheld or home – has ever had an ethernet port. I know the early consoles didn’t need 1 but Wii and Wii U could have used them for the online shops.
Also, if they wanted, Switch dock could have had 1 already, or they could have added 1 to the current dock at any time over the past 4 years, such as when they changed the battery.
Dock could use 1, should have been there from the beginning, but it didn’t. My thought was always b/c they didn’t trust the switching if you were in the middle of an online game when you took the Switch out of the dock, but it did work in practice when I was using an ethernet adaptor so maybe some other reason.
Bezel-less will never happen but it will be a whole lot smaller than the current Switch, that’s a given.
Seems like a good time to ask @damo You guys have one of these in your hands yet? You all but admitted – after the fact -that you were in the room w/ the NX before Nintendo officially announced the Switch.
