The Nintendo website page states that the Switch 2 is powered by a custom Nvidia processor. At a press conference, the company spoke in more detail about the new console, its hardware, and the tools it will offer game developers.
Producer Kouichi Kawamoto, technical director Tetsuya Sasaki and development manager Takuhiro Dohta answered journalists’ questions. “Nintendo doesn’t talk too much about the technical specifications of the hardware. We really want to focus on the value [of the console] that we can provide to our consumers,” Dohta said. However, the company’s representatives answered some questions related to the technical side.
Thanks to an ongoing partnership with Nvidia, Nintendo’s new console has access to DLSS upscaling technology. Dohta confirmed that the Switch 2 supports DLSS, but its actual implementation is up to game developers.
«”As for the hardware, it can output 4K to a TV. The software developer can choose whether to use that natively or implement it through scaling. I think that opens up a lot of possibilities for developers,” Dohta said, adding that the Switch 2 chip supports ray tracing. However, once again, it will be up to the developers to implement that technology in games.
Nintendo’s official specs claim that the Switch 2’s 5,220mAh battery lasts between 2 and 6.5 hours on a single charge, based on “rough estimates.” The developers did not provide a more precise figure. Sasaki noted that battery life varies greatly depending on the game and the system’s usage conditions. Dohta added that with features like GameChat, there are far more capabilities on the system side than the original Switch, making the battery life spread even wider and making it difficult to even compare to its predecessor.
The new Joy-Con controllers connect to the Switch 2 via Bluetooth 3.0. When asked about the difficulty of connecting multiple Bluetooth devices, including controllers and headsets, to the original Switch, Sasaki simply said, “Yeah, we’ve improved that.” He added that the larger system size and larger antennas will have a “big impact” and provide a better connection. The Switch 2 also has more antennas and “many” additional changes.
The Switch 2 features a 7.9-inch LCD display with HDR support. The premium version of the original Switch, by comparison, features an OLED display. Some journalists have said that the switch from OLED back to LCD may seem like a performance downgrade. However, Sasaki says that significant advances have been made in the LCD segment during the development of the Switch 2. Kawamoto added that the OLED version of the original Switch does not support HDR, while the new console with an LCD display does.
Switch 2 developers also reported that only the lower USB-C port on Switch 2 supports video transmission. Journalists asked whether it is possible to connect external devices to the console that can serve as a second display, such as Xreal augmented reality glasses. “As for the question about glasses. This is not an official product from Nintendo, so it’s hard to say,” Kawamoto answered.
During the Switch 2 reveal, the top USB-C port was used to connect a new webcam. It can also be used for charging when the console is in tabletop mode.