Alleged Switch 2 leaks have only intensified as Nintendo stays silent heading into 2025. We’ve had rumors about the timing of the reveal and elaborate mockups of what the console purportedly looks like floating around online, plus endless images of accessory manufacturers claiming to have cases, screen protectors, and kickstands all built to spec for the upcoming hardware. Now a Redditor has claimed to have actually come into contact with a genuine Switch 2, and the newest potential info all lines up with what we’ve been hearing for months now: the Switch 2 is a bigger, better version of the console that fans already love.
Posting on the NintendoSwitch2 subreddit under the name “NextHandheld,” one user claimed to have actual contact with Nintendo’s next device and revealed to The Verge that the new Joy-Con will have Hall effect joysticks to prevent drift, use a dock with significantly more power consumption, and be called the “Nintendo Switch 2.”
Instead of a rail for clipping onto the sides of the screen, the Joy-Con, NextHandheld claims, use magnetic strips as previously reported. They also say that the dock is rated for 60W and the Switch 2 itself is rated for 45W, both much higher than the model that launched back in 2017. And finally, the dock has two USB-A ports and one for USB-C, presumably the one that powers it, which is the same as the current model.
“I spoke with [NextHandheld], and I’ve now heard and seen enough to think they might be legit,” wrote The Verge’s Seaon Hollister.
Whether it ends up being 100 percent accurate or not, everything shared by the latest alleged Reddit leaker continues to line up with the rest of what we’ve been hearing, as well as with alleged CAD mockups of what the Switch 2 looks like which circulated back in the fall. Basically, the Switch 2 will look a lot like the current Switch, just slightly bigger, with a more rounded profile and a number of spec upgrades and design tweaks to improve handling and quality of life.
That’s not surprising in the context of the rest of the gaming hardware market. The Xbox Series X/S were not a major departure from the Xbox One. The PlayStation 5 is basically just a much more powerful PS4 with two ugly white fins. No one expects the Steam Deck 2 to look dramatically different than the existing one, and most PC gaming handhelds at this point all basically look the same: like a thick tablet with controllers on the sides.
But it is surprising given Nintendo’s own history of constantly trying to innovate in spaces where no one else is working. The company clung to cartridges longer than anyone and now uses SD cards. The Wii chased motion controls instead of HD graphics. The Wii U prioritized a second screen instead of beefier specs. And the Switch used smartphone specs to take gaming on the go. The notion of the company just iterating on the existing Switch, already the second most popular gaming console ever and fast closing in on the number one PS2, both made a ton of sense and seemed like it might still be too un-Nintendo to be real.
As we approach an eventual reveal of the Switch 2, every new potential leak points to Nintendo surprising fans by not doing the unexpected and instead doubling down on what already works. The only official thing we know about the upcoming hardware—that it will be backwards compatible with existing Switch games—only reinforces that seeming inevitability.
I’m sure the company might still have a few tricks and surprises up its sleeve. We’ll find out for sure whenever Nintendo actually announces the dang thing. It’s promised to do so before April 2025.
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