Inside the Switch 2: What 17 Months Have Taught Us About the Hardware

When the original Switch launched in 2017, its Joy-Con clicked onto rails on the side of the screen. On the Switch 2, they snap on with magnets. It is a small detail, but it sums up the console: the same idea as before, rebuilt almost everywhere.

The Switch 2 was revealed on January 16, 2025, detailed in a Direct on April 2, and launched on June 5, 2025. It sold 3.5 million units in its first four days, the fastest start for any Nintendo console, and it had reached 26.35 million by the end of September 2026. Seventeen months in, here is a plain-language guide to the hardware, including a revision that is rolling out in Europe now.

The screen and the chip

The handheld screen is a 7.9-inch 1080p LCD with HDR and refresh rates up to 120 Hz. Nintendo chose LCD rather than the OLED panel of the last Switch model, which means blacks are less deep but brightness is consistent. Docked on a TV, the console can output 4K at 60 frames per second or 1440p at 120.

Inside is a custom Nvidia chip known as the Tegra T239, with an eight-core Arm CPU and a GPU built on Nvidia's Ampere architecture with 1,536 CUDA cores. That is a big step up from the original Switch, but the more important feature is DLSS, Nvidia's AI upscaling. Like PlayStation's PSSR, it lets games render at a lower resolution and rebuild a sharper image. Resident Evil Requiem, for example, renders at about 540p docked and uses DLSS to reach 1080p.

The console has 12 GB of LPDDR5X memory and 256 GB of storage, eight times the original Switch. You can expand it with microSD Express cards up to 2 TB, but only the new Express type: older microSD cards work for screenshots and videos only.

Joy-Con 2: magnets, mice and a C button

The Joy-Con 2 controllers are larger, attach magnetically and release with a button on the back. Each one can also be turned on its side and slid across a table to work as a computer mouse, a feature designed for games that benefit from precise pointing, such as strategy and shooter titles.

The right Joy-Con adds a C button, which opens GameChat, Nintendo's voice and video chat system. With the optional Switch 2 Camera, a 1080p webcam with a privacy cover, friends can see each other's faces while they play. Some third-party USB-C cameras work too.

Battery, dock and the European revision

The battery is 5,220 mAh, good for roughly 2 to 6.5 hours depending on the game. The whole console weighs about 534 g with Joy-Con attached. The new dock adds a built-in Ethernet port and a cooling fan, which cools the dock rather than the console itself.

The biggest hardware news of 2026 is a revision. On July 6, 2026, Nintendo confirmed it is switching to user-replaceable batteries in Europe to meet the EU's new battery rules, which take effect in mid-February 2027. The revised Switch 2 is about 14 g heavier with controllers attached, has about 1% less battery capacity, and has "no difference in functionality". New Joy-Con 2 and a new Pro Controller follow in winter. The change covers much of Europe plus the UK, Switzerland, Norway, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, and buyers cannot choose which version they get.

Why it matters

The Switch 2 is less of a reinvention than the original, and that was the point: a bigger, sharper, much more powerful Switch that also plays most of your old games, physical and digital. What sets it apart from the PS5 and Xbox is DLSS, which lets a handheld run modern big-budget ports such as Resident Evil Requiem and Elden Ring.

WGC's take: the hardware has held up well, though stick drift worries remain because Nintendo said the Joy-Con 2 do not use Hall-effect sensors. The price has moved the other way, rising to $499.99 in the US from September 2026. For the games, read our look at the Switch 2's first-party year one.