For the third day in a row, there is a Switch 2 rumor to report on. This one, however, isn't necessarily a new one. The origin of this Switch 2 rumor, a Reddit user, has been fueling fan speculation for at least a week now. What has changed things is that The Verge has given attention. In fact, they say in the article that "I've now heard and seen enough to think they might be legit".
The Reddit user, known as "NextHandheld", has been claiming to have seen and touched a final retail unit of the Switch 2. They also have photos of it, and The Verge was allowed to see "two photos of a possible Switch 2 dock, and one photo of the inside of a possible Switch 2 controller rail, covered in certification logos and with copper contacts exposed, which also shows its metal kickstand hinge open at an angle. Notably, the dock was not included in the 3D scan that's circulating among case manufacturers".
The Verge continued with sharing more details they heard from NextHandheld. To start, there's a possibility that Nintendo Switch 2 may actually be the name of the console, and that Nintendo will reveal it in January. The console will launch in dark gray, followed by a white version and a themed Switch 2 based on a Nintendo game that hasn't gotten a themed Switch model yet. The Verge also specifically mentions a picture of the dock, but the dock has "the same logo as as the original Nintendo Switch, only with a 2 attached". Assuming NextHandheld is right, the Switch 2 dock also has two USB-A, one HDMI, one ethernet, and one USB-C port. There is also a second USB-C port on the top.
Next, The Verge relayed what they saw and heard about the Switch 2's Joy-Con controllers. The Verge specifically mentions that "the photo I saw of a joystick rail region contains no rail: it's just a long, rounded, hollow area, with a 13-pin connector that sticks out so it can slot into the Joy-Con". They also heard from NextHandheld that the Joy-Cons have a physical magnetic click when you attach them, and releasing them will require pressing a much larger button on the controller. The button is physically connected to a magnet. The Joy-Cons, according to what NextHandheld told them, also magnetic Hall effect joysticks. This means that they can be recalibrated easily, and the materials that were to blame for the Switch's Joy-Con drift are no longer present.
Believe it or not, that's still not all. The Verge was even able to share details on the kickstand. The Switch 2 will have, according to The Verge, "a U-shaped rail of a kickstand, according to a photo that NextHandheld shared with me". The Verge also shared details of a photo they saw of the dock having "big feet around back, ones positioned so it can lie down horizontally without blocking a set of vents". This, combined with info from NextHandheld alleging that the Switch 2's dock has a 60W rating and the console itself has a 45W rating, suggests that, if true, the Switch 2 will be more powerful when docked, just like its predecessor.
It is worth keeping in mind that, despite The Verge giving some credibility to the rumor, it is still a rumor from a Reddit user. NextHandheld has also been clear that, because they never got to turn the console on and play and games, they don't know absolutely everything about the console. Nevertheless, with Nintendo intending on revealing the Switch 2 within the next few months, it won't be long before we find out whether this rumor is true or not.
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