A new Nvidia Shield handheld console could be coming

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...but it seems unlikely.

Nvidia announced a new upgrade to its Nvidia Shield set-top box at CES this year, which adds Google Assistant, Amazon Prime Video, and makes the box a fair amount smaller than last year's edition. The company made no mention of an Nvidia Shield portable gaming console, which is in fact what the device began as back in 2013.

However, an FCC filing spotted by Reddit user k2kevin (thanks TechRadar), makes it seem as though a new version of the Nvidia Shield handheld is in development. It's rumored the new model will use a Tegra X1 processor, and the screen size will be increased to 5.66-inches with a 1440x810 resolution. There are even some images of what we assume is a prototype device next to a ruler so we can get a sense of how big it is.

The fact that the filing was submitted last year, and Nvidia didn't spend any time talking about such a device at a massive show like CES, where it held its own press conference, suggests we probably won't be getting much more information about it soon. 

Still, an upgraded screen and the same internals which power the current Shield box and which will be found in the Nintendo Switch in some form or another could make for an interesting product. We'll just have to wait and see if Nvidia is planning to announce a Shield Portable 2, or whether it was simply some internal testing and prototyping that will never see the light of day.

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