INDY

INDY (also known as the Switch, its planned final name - also referred to in some documents by the name of its SoC, Mont Blanc/MTB) was the codename for a cancelled Nintendo handheld which was in development from around 2012-2014. It was originally conceived as a successor to the 3DS, but in 2014 was reoriented to a more hybrid console-like design and given the Switch name. Around this time, Nintendo began to evaluate a proposal from Nvidia for a Tegra-based console, which ultimately won out over the INDY, resulting in its cancellation around December 2014/January 2015 and replacement with the "NX" project, which was ultimately released as the final Nintendo Switch.

It was powered by a custom "Mont Blanc" SoC developed in collaboration with STMicroelectronics. This SoC notably included a cut-down version of the Wii U's GPU, along with extensive DRM features including anti-glitching protection.

Early INDY (2012-Early 2014)

The early INDY was a direct successor to the 3DS, with features including:

• 480p screens

• Face tracking 3D (moved up to the New 3DS)
• Cellular
• GPS
• Wireless game "casting" to a TV

Late INDY (Mid-Late 2014)

Later on, the INDY was redesigned into an oval-shaped console. Around this time, its CPU was upgraded from Cortex-A15 to Cortex-A53.

Late INDY hardware

• 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores (the Nvidia Tegra X1 SoC used in the final Switch also has 4 ARM Cortex-A53 cores, however they are disabled and unused due to a silicon defect; instead, 4 ARM Cortex-A57 cores are used by applications)
• Graphics core ("Decaf Latte"; a version of the Wii U's graphics core)
• 1GB of LPDDR3 RAM (the final Switch uses 4GB of LPDDR4)
• 1 3D touchscreen display with a resolution equivalent to that of the Wii U GamePad (other screen configurations were proposed, including a single 800p screen and 120hz screens)
• 1 front camera, 2 rear cameras
• Built-in NFC interface (implying that detachable controllers were not used)
• Accelerometer & gyroscope
• GPS
• PCIe expansion interface for a "Toronto" SoC by Sharp which would have provided 3DS compatibility
• Game cartridge slot using the "Lotus2" DRM chip, which evolved into the final Switch's "Lotus3"

Software

It's not clear how much, or what, software was developed for the INDY. STMicro used a Linux environment for prototyping, but Nintendo planned to use their own custom OS for games. This OS may have evolved into the Horizon OS rewrite used by the final Switch.

Early versions of Horizon OS have strings referencing the A15, however the A53 would be more expected from the late INDY, so this could be from unrelated prototyping activity on A15 boards.

The final Switch's SDK, NintendoSDK, has changelogs going back to version 0.5.0 in February 2015, a month prior to the NX announcement. Earlier changelogs were removed or never created, but versions as old as 0.2.0 are known to have existed. This likely stretched into 2014, which would make it coincide with the late INDY era. It's known that early NintendoSDK had Wii U support, but it's possible that it was planned to have INDY support as well. This is potentially supported by NintendoSDK supporting the A15 and A53 CPUs; although this could again be from unrelated prototyping activity, as A7 and A9 are also supported.