Despite being introduced in 2013 and iterated on in the past two years, the Shield Tablet has struggled in sales and relevancy.
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Today is a sad day for gaming tablet users after the highly affordable yet powerful Nvidia Shield tablet has been cancelled. The device was powered by Nvidia’s Tegra 4 system on a chip, and featured a Console Mode that enabled high-resolution TV output. The original version though has been recalled because of some safety concerns. Earlier this year specifications were leaked via an FCC filing that NVIDIA was developing a successor offering 2.4GHz and 5GHz 802.11ac Wi-Fi. Nvidia later reissued the device in 2015 as the Shield Tablet K1, which features identical hardware specs and a lower suggested retail price. The reason for cancellation appears to be something business related judging by the document. Critics also targeted the Shield Tablet’s high price point and the diminished capacity of its battery, which would drain quickly during demanding gaming sessions. The cancellation of the Nvidia Shield 2 tablet comes as a bit off a shock as they had already filed for a grant on the device.
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The last time that a possible SHIELD Tablet K1 successor was heard of or mentioned was back in the middle of July, when an unknown NVIDIA device passed through the FCC. The announcement is just months before Nintendo plans to release their new NX console, which supposedly has hardware similar to the one that was intended for the Shield Tablet.
