NVIDIA SHIELD 2-in-1 Tablet Powered By Tegra Xavier SoC Reportedly In Development
It seems like ages ago when NVIDIA launched the SHIELD K1 tablet, but it looks as though the company may be looking to make a successor to that discontinued device. Although we don't have any insight what this potential device could look like, references to a new tablet have been uncovered in newest version of NVIDIA's SHIELD Experience software.
First spotted by XDA Developers, there are references in the code to a deice codenamed "Mystique." Although the SHIELD K1 tablet and the SHIELD TV both run the SHIELD Experience software, an update for the former hasn’t been released since March 2018. However, references in this latest code make point to a feature called "NvDtExp," which is likely in reference to a new NVIDIA Desktop Experience. Such a feature wouldn't be necessary for an Android TV based device (i.e. SHIELD TV).
This alleged SHIELD Desktop Experience features three UI modes including Tablet, Desktop and Dynamic. "Tablet mode is likely a standard Android tablet interface, desktop mode is likely a new interface with a bottom taskbar and freeform multi-window support, and dynamic mode is likely some sort of hybrid between tablet and desktop mode," writes the publication.
Other features that point towards a new SHIELD tablet include the ability to set the UI mode when you first boot up machine, as well as the system automatically showing the Desktop mode if a keyboard is attached.
Mystique is thought to feature a rather large 13.5-inch 3000x2000 display, putting it on par with Windows 10-based devices like the Microsoft Surface Book. It's said to be a 2-in-1 device, which would explain its multiple UI modes. Although XDA Developers isn't confident in its assessment on the hardware inside, it's probable that the device would be powered by NVIDIA's Tegra Xavier SoC, rather than the Tegra X1 which currently serves duty in the Nintendo Switch. Although Xavier has a maximum power draw of 30W, it's possible that it could operate a lower 10W profile to make it suitable for mobile devices.
With that being said, a lot of this is speculation based on a few lines of code found in NVIDIA software, but it would be nice to see a larger, compelling 2-in-1 Android tablet with some serious firepower under at users' disposal.
