Report: A smaller, cheaper Nintendo Switch will be out this year

Back in January, reports began to surface suggesting Nintendo would be releasing a smaller, cheaper version of its best-selling Switch console.

Now the same source – Japanese news site Nikkei – has offered some more insights as to when. The report states that a dinkier version of the Switch will be here this fall – or autumn to our British readers.

The report reiterates what we’ve already heard – that the new version of the Switch will be smaller and more portable – but adds an interesting new detail: that it will still connect to TVs for big-screen gaming.

Related: Best Nintendo Switch games

That’s an important new detail – one theory doing the rounds previously was that the new version wouldn’t have detachable Joy-Cons, making it more like a traditional handheld console. That may still be the case, but if it is, then it suggests that you’ll be able to connect other wireless and wired pads to the machine when it’s on the TV.

Unfortunately, that’s about as far as the report goes to discussing the new version of the Switch. Although it mentions a seperate more powerful redesign, it’s clearly not believed to be imminent, and the main focus of the article is on the changing culture at Nintendo.    

Related: Best upcoming Switch games

One unrelated but interesting insight: it seems that Nintendo’s “Quality of Life” business is no more. Originally announced back in 2014, it’s been on the backburner since the death of its main champion – former company president Satoru Iwata – in 2015. Now it’s officially over, with a source suggesting to Nikkei that the health-themed division has been abandoned because the company can’t find a way to give it a Nintendo-tinged spin.

What would a smaller, cheaper version of the Switch look like? Let us know your theories on Twitter: @TrustedReviews.