NVIDIA is best known for making chips, but the company has also dabbled in first-party hardware over the years including the NVIDIA Shield TV and the now-discontinued NVIDIA Shield portable and Shield Tablet K1.

So what’s next? I don’t know… but it sure looks like the company is at least preparing for the possibility of a new tablet… or 2-in-1 laptop… or something.

Xda-developers received a tip that there’s code in the latest NVIDIA Shield Experience software that strongly suggests an unreleased device code-named “mystique” would support both tablet and desktop modes, as well as some sort of “hybrid” mode.

There’s no word on if or when mystique will be released. If NVIDIA decides to scrap the project before it’s ever announced, well… it wouldn’t be the first time that’s happened.

NVIDIA Shield Tablet K1 (2015)

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9 replies on “Lilbits 362: Is a new NVIDIA Shield 2-in-1 on the way?”

  1. Honestly, it sounds like they are gearing up for an Nvidia Shield branded Chromebook. Basically the power of an Nvidia Shield TV inside a Chromebook with the ability to flip between Android TV interface and Chrome desktop.

  2. A more powerful portable would have been great but how much would it cost 499 USD or maybe even slot more how do you mainstream something that expensive. But I agree with you for the hardcore gamer or techie it would be fantastic but you need the addition of main stream revenue to be very competative

      1. I have low hopes from Nintendo. They missed their opportunity to using a better 14nm node, better Cortex A72 microarchitecture, and a faster GPU with the first Switch console. They could’ve surpassed the Base PS4 performance when docked, and remain competitive for this generation, thus inheriting a bevy of third-party ports.

        So now in 2019/2020, Nintendo can do 7nm/6nm, with the Cortex A76/A78 and Cortex A55/A58, and a much much faster GPU for the Nintendo Switch Pro. Though I suspect they will instead resort to 14nm/10nm instead, with just the Cortex A73/A75 and Cortex A53/A55, and a regular fast GPU.

        So I suspect the Switch Pro, when docked, could be faster than the Xbox One X, but instead it’ll be slower than the PS4 Pro. And as much as I love Nintendo’s first-party titles, they definitely need the performance to stay attractive and get third-party titles on their team, it’s been their weakpoint since the Wii. The majority of money in the industry goes to single-console households.

        1. They went for lower cost, like they always do. I recently watched some “history of the gameboy” type videos for their 30th anniversary and it seems like a recipe for success for them, and it’s working for the switch. They’ll probably end up upgrading to the chip that could surpass the PS4 -once the PS5 comes out. It’s their style.

          1. Actually, Nintendo have favoured performance above lower price.
            The original NES, SNES, Gameboy/Color/Advance, were pretty darn powerful for their times. Not to mention the Nintendo64 and the GameCube which were very competitive performance-wise in the industry.

            Where things took a turn was with the Nintendo DS/i/3, Wii, Wii U, and Switch.
            Sure its allowed them to survive, and even made profits. However, its put them in a position of obscurity now. And its allowed a new competitor to fill in the void; the Xbox.

            I agree, the new “Switch Pro” would be everso slightly faster than the Base-PS4/Slim but it won’t come until, what 2021, meaning the third-party industry has started to move away from the Xbox One S/PS4 Slim/PS4 Pro…. and developers would instead focus on the Xbox One X, Xbox V, and PS5. That means history will repeat itself with the first 1-2 years of the “Switch Pro” getting some decent attention from third-party developers, like the Switch, until it all but vanishes. That makes developers think the Nintendo platform isn’t profitable, which hurts future projects, then makes the Nintendo owners game-dry/jealous, which hurts Nintendo’s profit margins and reputation, and leaves less competition in the market.

            I don’t want that. I want Nintendo to make better systems, that add to the competitive market, and it brings confidence to developers, consumers and their reputation.

        2. Nintendo usually earns money selling consoles (unlike Sony or M$). Powerwise Nintendo systems are garbage, but I feel it’s one of the reasons Nintendo games are more creative than titles on other consoles – they have to compensate the lack of raw power with a gameplay focus.

    2. That’s where my mind went too. Although, if Nvidia wanted to snuff this Google console nonsense, & make a stronger claim into the changing video game landscape, they could seize a large market & not be subjected to the demand for high performance video cards…which that demand seems to resemble a heart attack on an EKG readout…

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