And on a minor note, the original kickstand is an absolute joke, it would be nice to try one that actually works.
Just try something like Apex Legends and you'll see how it pretty much looks like you're seeing through an oily film. Even the DLCs for the console darling, Breath of the Wild, can't sustain smooth 30fps gameplay.
People didn't expect better hardware to get 4K. People expected better hardware to make their games playable on internal 720p screen.
let me introduce you /r/nintendo lol. I do see your point. Mid-generation upgrades have been done before and they can work. I still don't think it's necessary. Ultimately developers have to target the old hardware still, so it's not like games will change drastically, and it causes confusion for consumers. That's just my opinion of course.
It's just a money grab selling underperforming AAA ports on switch.
Switch is hardly competitive with modern phone chipsets with its old architecture.
Of course that’s not an argument against improving Specs, but to do that they’d probably launch a new generation.
I pretty much only play Nintendo titles or small indie games and I have never experienced any framerate issues.
Heck, even slow strategy games like XCOM2 don't run well.
It's not even with the DLCs. Korok Forest, as beautiful as it is, is commonly known as "Frame Drop Forest".
It would result in an opposite effect. New SoC, developed in 5nm process or 7nm process would consume way less energy, which would dramatically increase battery life.
Also yes, the original kickstand made me wonder if anyone at Nintendo had actually tried to use it more than once. It's by far my least favorite part of the Switch.
The GB Color is also twice as fast and has more than double the RAM. (Although one can argue if it's an upgrade or a real "separate" console)
The New 3ds has been mentioned, which is more than 8 times faster and has double the ram.
The only handheld generation where Nintendo didn't do this was the GBA, so it's very common.
Though, I would still argue a 4K upgrade is a little far fetched. Nintendo hardware has always been less powerful than that of its 'competitors', who only recently started pushing 4K. (whether or not Nintendo actually competes with Sony and Microsoft is a whole other discussion :P).
Since we're talking things that affect portability/battery life in general: The GBA SP, aside from being their first foldable handheld, was the first with an internal light and a built-in rechargeable battery (instead of taking AA or AAA batteries).