Nintendo Switch Pro specs: an SSD could be essential


It's been a very hectic week in terms of tech reveals with both Microsoft and PlayStation showing off the insides of their new consoles. There's a lot to pick about both the PS5 and Xbox Series X, but the thing that seems most prevalent in the upcoming generation of consoles is the might SSD. This begs the questions, will Nintendo pay attention to this, or should they even worry about it? Well, Nintendo is going to do whatever they want, but in this one case, they really should consider copying someone else's homework.

Now, you might not know about the differences between an SSD and an HDD, and that's understandable. So, let's go over that first. An HDD is the standard way of storing data at the moment, or at least it was up until very recently. It contains a disc inside it that stores all of the data you need. The disc itself spins, which allows the read-write arm within the drive to read or write data onto it as it spins around. The speed of the disc itself affects the performance, which can often affect load times and things like that.

An SSD, on the other hand, has no moving parts. It uses Negative-AND flash memory instead. This means that there are no moving parts which makes them both sturdier and smaller. It also means that, despite being a little more expensive now, they can also have similar memory capacities thanks to how quickly technology moves. This means that an SSD could theoretically work within the Nintendo Switch Pro, and it's definitely something that could make it more powerful.

While power is rarely the aim of a Nintendo console, it's also important to remember the times when they were notably behind Microsoft and Sony. While the Switch may be less powerful than the PS4 and Xbox One, it's not that big a deal. What was noticeable, however, was the fact that the Wii didn't have HD graphics.

Again, people don't tend to go to Nintendo for the latest tech, but if loading times and processing power are both going to improve dramatically in this upcoming generation of consoles, then Nintendo needs to keep pace, or at least not get left in the dust. It's not like they need to match the custom hardware within the Xbox Series X or the PlayStation 5, that would be a little absurd in a portable console, but it would be nice to see a similar leap in power in the next version of the Nintendo Switch.

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