[Exclusive] Nintendo Switch 2 design revealed via renders: bigger screen, bigger controllers

Everyone seems to be excited about the Nintendo Switch 2. Well, almost everyone. Nintendo is yet to make any announcement or even drop a teaser about its upcoming handheld. Thankfully, while the gaming giant might be tight-lipped about its upcoming console, the leaks are already giving us a good idea as to what one can expect. This time around, 91mobiles has partnered with OnLeaks to present you with your first look at the Nintendo Switch 2 via high-quality renders and a 360-degree video.

According to OnLeaks, the new Switch 2 console will be a lot bigger than the current offerings, namely the Switch OLED and the standard Switch. The new console is expected to feature a larger 8.4-inch panel. However, while it wasn’t mentioned which panel would be used, it will most likely be an OLED panel.

The table below should give you an idea of how the new console stacks up to the current generation in terms of size. Note that the sizes mentioned are with the Joy-Cons attached to the console. Without them, the new console is tipped to measure 200.5 x 116.4 x 14mm.

The renders shared by OnLeaks also reveal a lot more than just size. On top of the console, we can see the power and volume rocker on the right, while on the left is the game card slot. This suggests that the new console would be backwards compatible with the current Switch titles.

Further, we can also see a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top, which is great news for users who might want to use their old wired headset with the new console. The most interesting thing, though, is the USB Type-C port next to it. This will most likely be used to charge the device when in handheld or table-top mode as the current design makes it very cumbersome to charge in handheld and impossible to charge on table-top. Aside from this, there also seems to be a sensor of sorts. This might be an ambient light sensor or something else.

The bottom is pretty straightforward, with a central dock flanked by two guide pins. We can also see two openings towards the sides, and this will most likely be the speakers.

At the back, we can see a ‘U’ shaped kickstand that is to be used when playing the console on table-top mode. This kickstand seems to be a design improvement over the one used on the Switch OLED, which itself was a major improvement over the flimsy one used by the original Switch.

The Joy-Cons seem pretty straightforward and look almost exactly the same, albeit a little larger. We still get the same ‘+’ and ‘-‘ buttons, D-Pad, and sticks in the same layout. However, the right Joy-Con seems to feature a new button located just above the ‘Home’ button. Currently, we can only speculate as to its use. At the back, we can see new ‘trigger’ buttons next to the ‘ZL’ and ‘ZR’ buttons. These will most likely be used to detach the magnetic Joy-Cons from the Switch 2. This placement seems a little too close if you ask me, and hopefully, gamers won’t accidentally press them when playing handheld.

Nintendo had revealed the original Switch back in 2016, and it was nothing short of revolutionary. It managed to combine the simplicity of a standard console with the versatility of a portable handheld. As was the case with the motion controllers of the Nintendo Wii, competition soon caught up.

Online streaming and the rise of handheld Windows game consoles have chipped away at its uniqueness. And it’s not like Nintendo doesn’t know this. Back in October, Nintendo announced that it will soon reveal new hardware. While everyone was expecting the Switch 2, the company went ahead and announced a new alarm clock called Alarmo. So Nintendo, just go ahead and make the announcement already, even a teaser will do. Pretty please!