Nintendo recently announced it has no plans to launch a new Switch Pro Christmas release. Video game companies have a habit of saying anticipated products aren't coming before announcing them anyway, but Nintendo seems to mean it this time, as a few big factors back up the company's assertion.
While the base Switch model introduced a new, seamless way to experience games on the go, it has several major problems. For one, it's simply not a very powerful machine, leading to significant graphical downgrades in ports like the Switch version of Switch's Joy-Con drift, which causes the joysticks to movement when there is none.
All of these issues have caused many Nintendo fans to wish for a more powerful version of the Switch with better Joy-Cons. Rumors of a Switch Pro model began even before the Nintendo Switch sales, it seems clear an upgrade will come eventually. Nintendo has a very good reason for not releasing a Pro in 2020, though.
2020 is the year of next-gen systems. Come holiday season, Microsoft will be Sony will launch the PlayStation 5. These new systems are bringing huge amounts of power to the console market, and Nintendo simply can't compete. Granted, it's not trying to - the Switch is essentially in a category of its own. That theoretically means releasing a new Switch at the same time as the other console makers wouldn't hurt Nintendo too badly, since they're targeting different types of gamers, but it's safest for them to avoid competition with expensive video game purchases of any kind. Plus, the more casual players probably won't be as interested in a more expensive Switch, anyway, so most Switch Pro buyers would be the same gamers interested in the Xbox and PS5.
Another hint that the Pro really isn't coming in 2020 is that pushing it to next year would establish a regular pattern of Switch model releases every two years, providing regular updates with enough time to develop a quality system: The original launched in 2017, followed by the Lite in 2019, and then the Pro in 2021. Additionally, this extra year (or more) before the Switch Pro release would allow Nintendo to sell more special edition bundles of the original model, like the Animal Crossing: New Horizons Switch. These factors all point to a Pro in 2021 or later, if one is coming at all. Hopefully Nintendo will make the new model worth the wait.
The Nintendo Switch released on March 3, 2017.
