Some eight years since the Nintendo Switch was released, we have finally got an official look at the Nintendo Switch 2. In a rather brief trailer, Nintendo showed off its next-generation gaming console, with a release window of 2025 touted but no pricing or specs revealed.
As we expected, the Nintendo Switch 2 looks very much like a new take on Nintendo’s original hybrid games console. The design is broadly the same, with detachable Joy-Con controllers and the ability to use the console in handheld mode, as a separate display controlled with detached Joy-Cons or external controllers, or in docked mode via a redesigned dock that can be connected to a TV or external display.
As no specs were revealed, we’re left to piece things together based on rumors and leaks as to how the Nintendo Switch 2 might fair in performance terms. We did get a glimpse at a new Mario Kart game – likely the next main entry in the legendary series – which looked rather slick and polished, so we can posit that there’s a good dose of power under the Nintendo Switch 2’s hood.
So that’s the overview, but we’ll dig into more Nintendo Switch 2 details below along with some educated guesswork and predictions on what features the console might have and when we might get to see it for ourselves.
Nintendo Switch 2: cut to the chase
- What is it? The successor to the Nintendo Switch console, officially called the Nintendo Switch 2
- How much will it cost? TBA
- When will it release? Sometime in 2025
- What will its upgrades be? So far, the Nintendo Switch 2 will have a larger display than the original Switch, a tweaked design with a second USB-C port, a new kickstand, new Joy-Cons. No specs have been revealed, but expect more power from what's likely to be an Nvidia chip, potentially longer battery life, more storage.
Nintendo Switch 2: release date speculation
All Nintendo has said regarding the Switch 2’s release date is it will arrive in 2025. But when in this year is unclear. There’s a Nintendo Direct on April 2 where the company will share more details about the Nintendo Switch 2. So from that we know the Nintendo Switch 2 won’t arrive before April.
However, with hands–on sessions at select locations for Nintendo Account holders, we would predict the Switch 2 might arrive in May at the earliest. Other reasonable release windows would be around September time, letting people have the time to pick it up as a gift for the holiday season.
In terms of price, we’re completely in the realms of speculation. The original Switch started at $259.99 / £259.99 / AUD$435, and the Nintendo Switch OLED launched at $349.99 / £309.99 / AU$539.95. With more powerful hardware and the cost of chips having increased since 2017, there’s scope for the Nintendo Switch 2 to be higher than the asking price of its predecessor.
However, we don’t expect to see PS5 to PS5 Pro style leaps in price. Rather, we predict Nintendo may keep the price around $399.99 / £349.99 / AU$699.95 or lower.
Nintendo Switch 2: design
Ultimately, the Nintendo Switch 2 looks a lot like the original Switch, only larger - there’s no word on exact dimensions but it looks like it could have a larger display than the Switch OLED’s 7-inch panel, and a bigger overall footprint.
As a result the Joy-Cons appear to be taller and also more curvaceous. They’ve dropped the prominent blue and red colors of their predecessors, though the left joystick has a blue accent and the right one has an orange accent. The buttons and their layout are the same as before, but there’s now a new square button on the right Joy-Con, though what it does is a mystery.
Rather than slide and lock in place, like the Joy-Con did on the original Switch, the ones for the Switch 2 appear to snap into place via what could be magnets; there are buttons below the Joy-Con triggers that appear to use a piston-like system to push out and release the Joy-Con when they need to be detached.
Speaking of which, when they are detached it they look to have the same overall functionality as the original Joy-Con with SL and SR button, only the video hints at some form of laser sensor and shows Joy-Con moving around with their strap attachment in a mouse-like way, all of which suggest that the controllers could be used as a form of computer mouse.
Going back to the Switch itself, there’s what appears to be a few nips and tucks to the design of the power and volume buttons, and the ventilation grille now has three instead of five vents.
The biggest difference to the top edge of the console is the addition of a USB-C port; what it’s for remains unclear, but we suspect it could offer a means for more peripheral connectivity as well as charging from the top of the console rather than the bottom.
Speaking of that, on the bottom edge of the Switch 2 there are new downward-firing speakers, which should offer an audio boost.
There’s also a new kickstand, that like the one on the Switch OLED runs the length of the console but is hollow rather than a single panel. It looks to be more solid than the puny slither-like kickstand of the original Switch, and it looks like it could lock into several positions.
There’s a new more rounded dock for the Switch 2, but other than its external design, there’s no hint on any bigger changes below the surface.
For people who want to game when in docked mode, there’s a rather similar peripheral that takes the Joy-Con and turns them into a single controller; this wasn't a highlight of the original Switch and we can’t say it looks much improved for the Switch 2.
Nintendo Switch 2: display
Nintendo hasn’t revealed any details about the Switch 2’s display, but the video shows it’s bigger than that of the original Switch and has much slimmer bezels. It's hard to tell if the display’s size will be bigger than the Switch OLED’s, but we reckon there's a good chance it could come in at around 7.4 inches like Valve’s Steam Deck.
There’s no word on the panel the Switch 2’s display will use. In the video it’s hard to tell if it’s an LCD or OLED display; we’re hoping for the latter, as the colors and contrast of an OLED panel as much more punchy, though overall the Switch’s LCD display is far from bad.
We’d also like to see a bump in resolution from 720p to 1080p for the display, but Nintendo hasn’t shed any light on that. A jump to a Full HD resolution would make games a good bit sharper, and with a modern chipset might not be asking for large chunks of performance in return.
There has been some speculation on a higher refresh rate, but for games that may end up targeting 60 frames per second, the need for a display that refreshed at, say 120Hz, might not make a lot of sense.
Nintendo Switch 2: specs speculation
As mentioned, Nintendo hasn’t mentioned any official specs for the Switch 2. Being a second-generation machine, we can assume a decent uptick in raw processing power and graphics rendering, and we’d be surprised if Nintendo didn't use an Nvidia system-on-a-chip for its processor and graphics.
Rumors and a report from our sibling publication Tom’s Hardware notes the Switch 2 could run a chipset with an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal eMMC storage.
There has been plenty of speculation and rumors around the Switch 2 having hardware to support artificial-intelligence powered upscaling, potentially via Nvidia's deep-learning supersampling (DLSS) tech. Such upscaling could apply to games in handheld more or work in tandem with more power being piped to the Switch 2 when it’s docked to provide upscaling on the like of the best 4K TVs.
Supporting DLSS would likely need custom hardware from Nvidia, but given the vast popularity of the Switch, Nintendo certainly has the scope to work with Nvidia on a Switch 2-specific chipset rather than an ‘off-the-shelf’ component.
Ideally, we’d like to see the Switch 2’s dock support the latest HDMI standards and be compatible with TVs that can support variable refresh rates, so that the latest TVs can get the most out of the Switch 2.
Should you wait for the Nintendo Switch 2?
Whether or not the Nintendo Switch 2 is worth waiting for really depends on you and what exactly you want from a new gaming console.
If you have never owned an original Nintendo Switch before, then now could still be a good time to buy one. They are available in fantastic value bundles, which often include a few games or accessories with your purchase. You can even find them discounted, especially if you buy second hand.
Games have also become much more affordable in the last few years. Even some big Nintendo releases like Bayonetta 3 are available physically for around the $20 / £20 mark.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is most likely going to be more expensive than the Nintendo Switch, so could be a worse option if you're on a tight budget.
Picking up an original Switch and a handful of games for cheap will still give you loads of value in 2025. It should easily keep you entertained for at least a few years, allowing you to then pick up the Nintendo Switch 2 later when it might be a bit cheaper.
If you already own a Nintendo Switch, then grabbing the Nintendo Switch 2 on day one is going to be much more tempting. It will still play most of your existing games, so you don't even need to worry about losing access to your favorites.
There will also be some Nintendo Switch 2 exclusive games, perhaps a new Mario Kart, which could justify the price of admission alone.
More Nintendo Switch 2 coverage
- I've analyzed every frame of the new Nintendo Switch 2 Mario Kart game footage, here's everything I found
- You can be among the first to try out the Nintendo Switch 2 by signing up for the console's hands-on experiences starting in April, here's how to apply
- These are the backwards compatible games that I want to play first on Nintendo Switch 2
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