Rumors first began circulating in late 2018, starting with a Wall Street Journal report.
Nintendo is expected to release a new iteration of the Nintendo Switch in 2019, according to a Wall Street Journal report from October 2018.
The report cites "suppliers and others with direct knowledge" of Nintendo's plans. Nintendo didn't comment on the report at the time, nor has it directly acknowledged work on a new version of the Switch.
It also noted that the specifics of that new version of the Switch were still in flux at the time — in so many words, it wasn't clear what the new version of the Switch would be. Perhaps it would have a larger battery, or a better screen, or attached Joy-Con controllers, or all three! Or none!
That remains unclear.
Analyst Serkan Toto predicted in January that the release of the new version of Switch, which he also expects to arrive this year, will lower the price of the existing Switch — or maybe even a "lite" version of the Switch will arrive alongside the new version. "I also think Nintendo will offer a 'Switch Lite' (or just keep the current version at a lower price) to cover the lower end of the spectrum and offset sinking 3DS sales," he told GamesIndustry.biz.
Various Xbox services, including Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass, are rumored to arrive on the Nintendo Switch.
Though it's not dependent on new hardware from Nintendo, it looks like Microsoft's Xbox Live and Xbox Game Pass services are headed to the Nintendo Switch.
The former was confirmed by Microsoft itself, which let slip the news in a description of a panel at the upcoming Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. The latter is still a rumor, though multiple sources have reported as much.
Each service would offer its own benefits to Nintendo Switch owners.
Xbox Live brings all the benefits of Microsoft's rich online service: Matchmaking, friends lists, messages, and more. There's already a form of Xbox Live on the Nintendo Switch: cross-play gaming.
Xbox Game Pass is a Netflix-style game library that includes everything Microsoft publishes and a variety of third-party content. The long and short is this: Xbox Game Pass would bring Xbox One games to the Nintendo Switch, likely via Microsoft's Project xCloud game streaming service (the Nintendo Switch can't power Xbox One games itself).
What we expect from Nintendo Switch 2.0:
Why would Nintendo make a new version of the Switch? Because Nintendo is in the business of making money, and a new version of the Switch would likely cost less to make while being sold for the same $300 (or more!) than the current Switch costs to buy.
It's why Nintendo released so many versions of its Nintendo DS and 3DS consoles, and why Microsoft and Sony do the same thing with their Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
At the same time, new hardware re-ignites excitement — though, admittedly, the Nintendo Switch already has plenty of momentum.
It's also an opportunity to smooth out the jagged edges.
The Switch could use a stronger battery, and a better screen. The Joy-Con wireless gamepads could have a more secure connection, or simply be permanently attached to the console. It could have better support for new WiFi standards, and come with more internal storage.
In short, there are plenty of changes Nintendo could make to the Switch to make it a better console.