AMD will reportedly be coming out with a new step-up card for its RX 4X series. However, its next-gen specs may be a disadvantage, and instead of a late 2016 release, the upcoming RX 490 may launch next year instead.

Industry followers previously believed that a new addition to the AMD RX family will roll out later this year. The upcoming RX 490's specs and supposed features are also being leaked online, further fueling the rumors of its imminent launch. However, new reports mention that the new step-up GPU will have next-gen specs and features, and as an advanced card, the RX 490 may have a delayed launch, debuting sometime next year instead.

According to iSportsTimes, the new RX 490 will be the first AMD GPU to feature the new Vega 10 architecture. This makes the new GPU one of AMD's next-generation lineups since its uses the new setup since the previous iterations of the RX family feature the current-gen Polaris architecture. Should the RX 490 switch to the Vega architecture, this spells a new release date for the graphics card.

According to PCGamesN, AMD has yet to make Vega-based GPUs — and the architecture itself — official. The industry follower then predicted that, given the total length of the process in GPU assembly, Vega-based cards will not be released until the first half of 2017 at the earliest. This means that if AMD decides to switch to a new follow-up setup for the RX 490, it will have a deferred 2017 release. However, the observer also noted that if the upcoming RX GPU sticks with a Polaris setup, it is likely that Vega-based cards will start with the newer RX 5XX lineup, and a 2017 release would be right on AMD's schedule.

Meanwhile, prior to the architecture switch, supposed leaks on the specs of the RX 490 paint another monster graphics card. Supposedly, the new RX 4XX addition may involve dual-GPU setup, and this will serve as AMD's answer to the upper-tier GTX lineup from the company fiercest competitor, Nvidia.