There have been rumblings for some time now about a successor to the Nintendo Switch, something that’s clearly past due as new Switch titles increasingly struggle to squeeze adequate performance out of the slim hybrid console. While speculation has run rampant, rumors about the silicon that will power the new Switch have remained relatively stable for years, but we may have a bit of an update.

Korean insider @OreXda, who has delivered accurate leaks in the past (mainly pertaining to the mobile industry) claims the next Nintendo console will be powered by a new NVIDIA Tegra chip, which will be built using Samsung’s 5nm 5LPP (5nm Low Power Plus) process technology.

So, why is this significant? Well, previously, it was rumored that the Switch Pro/2 (or whatever it ends up being called) was going to be powered by a new NVIDIA Tegra chip based on the Ampere architecture, and of course, Ampere uses TSMC 7nm or Samsung 8nm process tech. Here’s what the Switch’s new Tegra chip was previously rumored to be bringing to the table…

“The NVIDIA Tegra Orin chip is considerably more powerful than the current Nintendo Switch chip. The Orin Chip is based on the Ampere architecture and it features a GPU sporting 2.048 CUDA Cores and a CPU sporting 12x ARM Cortex-A78AE cores. As the yet-to-be-announced console is apparently going to use a customized version of the chip, we should expect the specs to be different.”

While we really don’t know anything about the Switch successor’s SoC at this point, if they have moved to 5nm tech, that would mean the new Tegra chip will be more modern, more power efficient, and almost certainly more powerful, than the previously rumored chip.

The move to 5nm tech would make sense given some other rumors we’ve heard. There were recent reports that Nintendo canceled a mid-generation Switch Pro, instead opting to focus on a true next-generation console. If that’s indeed the case, they’d obviously want to further boost the capabilities of the silicon powering the machine.

Of course, take this all with a grain of salt until Nintendo actually announces something. The company works in mysterious ways, with Nintendo of America’s recently saying the current Switch still has “a few years left.” So, who knows, maybe you’ll still be playing the latest Nintendo games on your launch Switch in 2025 or 2026 (although I hope not).

What do you think about these latest Switch successor rumors? Do they seem likely? What might this mean for the Switch successor’s power if they’re true?