Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch comes with two controllers collectively called Joy-Con, individually called the "Joy-Con L" and "Joy-Con R".[100] The controllers are attached to the Switch Console via side rails using a locking mechanism, with a small release button on their rear face to allow them to be detached. When detached, they can be used as a pair by a single player, attached to a grip that emulates a gamepad form factor, or used as separate controllers by two individual players. A single Switch console can support up to eight Joy-Con connections.[113] Straps can be attached to the sides of Joy-Con when they are detached.[100][103] A charging grip is available for the Joy-Con, which provides a means to attach a USB-C cable for power.[114] Alongside that, Nintendo released a charging strap that allows players to charge an individual Joy-Con via embedded AA batteries on June 16, 2017.[115]

Pro Controller

The Switch also supports a wireless controller, called Nintendo Switch Pro Controller, which has a more traditional design reminiscent of the Wii Classic Controller Pro and Wii U Pro Controller. The Pro Controller connects to the Switch via wireless Bluetooth communication, and is charged through a standard USB-C port on the controller.[98][116][117]

Standard Switch controllers

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  The gray Joy-Con L and Joy-Con R controllers. The inside rails slot onto the side of the main Switch console or grip controller
  

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  Red and blue Joy-Con slotted onto the charging grip, giving the general portions of a standard controller
  

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  The top of the charging grip showing the USB-C port.
  

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  The optional and more conventional Pro Controller
  

Other

The Nintendo Switch supports a wide array of additional accessories, according to Kimishima. Kimishima suggested that the Switch is part of a large ecosystem of devices, though the Switch unit remains the core console element.[118] Takahashi suggested the possibility of other units besides the Joy-Con that could attach and/or connect to the Console to serve as alternate input devices and change how the Switch can be used.[22]

Nintendo offers a Joy-Con Wheel, a small steering wheel-like unit that a Joy-Con can slot into, allowing it to be used for racing games such as Mario Kart 8 Deluxe.[49] Standalone Docks are available, which include a power adapter and HDMI cable.[49] Third parties also support the Switch with additional accessories, such as carrying cases and screen protectors.[119] The 4.0.0 system update enabled support for GameCube controllers attached via USB with the GameCube adapter that was available for the Wii U as well as the upcoming adapter for the Switch, allowing the user to play games with a GameCube controller with most games compatible with the Switch's Pro controller such as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.[120][121][122][123] USB computer keyboards have also been supported for certain tasks, such as text entry. Special Joy-Con controllers based on the design of both the NES and SNES controllers were available to those that subscribed to the Nintendo Switch Online service as to play the NES and SNES libraries.

In January 2018, Nintendo announced Nintendo Labo, a child-oriented platform that combines games coupled with do-it-yourself cardboard projects that attach or wrap around the Switch Console and Joy-Con, effectively creating toys around the Switch hardware to interact with games. These cardboard units, which may also include string, rubber bands, and other pieces, are referred to as Toy-Con. The game software provides instructions for the Toy-Con construction and provides the interface to control the Toy-Con. Such examples given include a remote-controlled "car", where the two Joy-Con attach to the car and their vibration feedback provide the motion for the car, controlled from the Switch, a fishing rod where the Joy-Con are part of the reel and handle of the rod and their motion controls used to simulate the act of fishing in the mini-game, and a small toy piano.[124]

Nintendo released Ring Fit Adventure in October 2019, which includes a Leg Strap to mount a Joy-Con to a leg, and the Ring-Con, a flexible hard plastic ring with Joy-Con mounting. The player interacts with the game, fashioned after a console role-playing game, by doing various exercises, such as running in place, squatting, and squeezing the ring, to perform in-game actions of running, jumping, and attacking and defending, respectively.[125] Such features are part of Nintendo's "quality of life" goals to incorporate physical activity alongside the Switch, similar to past titles like Wii Fit.[126]

In February 2017, Nintendo president Tatsumi Kimishima stated that it had been "studying" virtual reality solutions, but felt that comfort was a main concern. Nintendo of America president and COO Reggie Fils-Aimé also cited that existing VR solutions were not "fun" or "social".[127] Nintendo ultimately unveiled a new Labo VR kit in March 2019, using a cardboard headset and viewer placed in front of the console's screen, in combination with attached accessories.[128][129]

Stands and alternate docks have also been created for the Switch to overcome the limitations of the device's own kickstand for tabletop play, including an official "Adjustable Charging Stand" that can be connected to the device's AC adapter.[130][131]

Technical specifications

The Switch uses a system-on-chip from the Tegra family of products, developed in partnership with Nvidia.[96][132] No specific details were revealed beyond that it is a "custom" Tegra chip "based on the same architecture as the world's top-performing GeForce gaming graphics cards" that are common in personal computers, and has a custom API known as "NVN", which is designed to "bring lightweight, fast gaming to the masses".[39][133] Takeda described the Nvidia chipset as being critical for delivering gamers a level of performance similar to that which they experience on personal computers, helping to achieve "high performance but low power consumption" for the Switch.[134] Pre-release reports, unconfirmed by either Nintendo or Nvidia, stated that the SoC would be an Nvidia Tegra X1 SoC with 4 ARM Cortex-A57 CPU cores and 4 ARM Cortex-A53 CPU cores along with 256 Maxwell based CUDA GPU cores.[135][136] This was later corroborated by an analysis on the console done by Tech Insights in March 2017.[137][138] The CPU cores are clocked at 1.020 GHz, as revealed by DigitalFoundry. The GPU cores vary between 768 MHz and 307.2 MHz depending upon whether the device is docked; however, they can be boosted to 921 MHz and 420 MHz, respectively.[139][140] A later iFixIt teardown of the final product confirmed 4GB of LPDDR4.[141]

The Switch offers dual-band 802.11ac wireless connectivity and is compliant with 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac modes.[132] Up to eight Switch consoles can be connected in a wireless ad hoc network for local multiplayer games, and multiple players can play on each of the connected Switch consoles.[142][39][143] In the case of at least one game, Splatoon 2, ten Switch consoles can connect in the ad hoc network, though only eight can play directly while the other two can watch as spectators.[144] The Switch uses Bluetooth 4.1 for wireless communication between the console and its controllers.[100][132] Users can purchase a third-party USB LAN adapter for wired connectivity when the Console is docked for TV mode.[132] Nintendo's Wii LAN adapter accessory is also compatible with the Switch via USB ports on the Switch dock.[145]

The Switch is primarily powered in portable mode by a non-removable 4310 mAh, 3.7 V Lithium-ion rechargeable battery.[99][146][147] The battery life is estimated to be between 2.5 and 6.5 hours, depending on the software being used. Nintendo gives the example of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild supporting approximately three hours of battery life.[96] The battery can be charged either while in the Dock, or through a standard USB-C connector on the Console.[47] The estimated recharge time while the unit is in sleep mode is about 3 hours.[110] Nintendo offers the means for replacing batteries through its customer support.[132] Each Joy-Con has its own non-removable 525 mAh, 3.7 V Lithium-ion battery separate from the Console, with an estimated twenty-hour lifespan.[100] These batteries are automatically charged if they are attached to the Console while it is charging itself. Additional accessories have other means to charge the Joy-Con.[114] While the basic Joy-Con Grip that ships with the Switch does not offer charging capabilities, a separate premium Joy-Con Grip includes a USB-C connector port that can be used to charge the Joy-Con batteries while they are connected to this Grip.[148]

The Switch includes 32 GB of internal storage,[96][132] 25.9 GB of which is user-accessible.[149] This can be expanded up to 2 TB using a microSD, a microSDHC or a microSDXC card.[150][132] A microSD card slot is located under the Switch's kickstand, where a microSD card can be inserted.[151] If the microSD card is used, the Switch will only store game save data on the internal memory, leaving data that can be re-acquired on the microSD card.[152] Save data will always be stored on the console, regardless if the source is a physical Game Card or a digital download copy. At launch, there was no way to transfer save files from the internal memory to the microSD card or another Switch console,[153][154] though save game and profile transfers between Switch consoles were added in the 4.0.0 system update in October 2017.[155] MicroSD and microSDHC were supported initially, and microSDXC card support was later added to the Switch's software via a system update.[110][132] SD cards and miniSD cards do not fit the Switch.[156] The Switch did not support external storage units at launch, but Nintendo stated that they were looking into adding this feature in the future.[152]

The Switch console has a 3.5 mm headphone jack. It does not support Bluetooth wireless headphones, though they can be connected if a Bluetooth adaptor is connected to the headphone jack.[157][158] A system update in October 2017 enabled support for wireless USB headphones when the receiver is connected to the USB port on the console when docked.[159][160]