Nintendo Switch 2 just tipped for major power boost to rival Steam Deck
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Nintendo has already confirmed that the next game console it makes will be in the Switch family. Unfortunately, the company hasn't given us much else to work with regarding the Switch 2. Now the leakers have come out in full force to bring little tidbits. The latest leak suggests that Nintendo is pushing the power to the point that the console needs a second cooler and a 60W charger.
The leaker, who posted on the popular Nintendo message board Famiboards, claims to have seen shipping manifests showing the upgraded features of the new console. Of course, these types of things could be faked, but based on the existing leaks regarding the Switch 2's specs, it would make sense for the device to need extra cooling and a bigger power supply.
Interestingly, the rumored extra cooler is reportedly in the dock, not the handheld console itself. That has led fans to speculate that it will provide a bigger bump in graphics and performance than we saw with the original Switch, but that remains to be seen.
Regarding the charger, 60W would allow the device to charge more quickly. The current switch can accept power adapters up to 39W, but it's rated to charge at around 18W, which is relatively slow compared to many modern devices. If this rumor is true, the Steam Deck charges at 45W, which would put the Switch 2 ahead of the popular portable PC in terms of raw charging speed.
So far, we've heard a leak about Switch 2's specs that it will feature an NVIDIA Tegra 239 SoC, combining the Ampere GPU architecture and 12 GB of RAM. The game cards are rumored to be Samsung 5th generation V-NAND with up to 1.4 GB/s read speed. It's expected to support NVIDIA DLSS Super Resolution and Ray Reconstruction, allowing it to pump out substantially sharper visuals than the current Switch.
On the Moore's Law Is Dead Broken Silicon podcast, Matthew Cassells of Alderon Games talked about the Switch 2's power, saying it could be on par with the Steam Deck.
One of the biggest advantages Nintendo has over the Steam Deck, Lenovo Legion Go, or any portable gaming device is its software — people love Nintendo games. They're not available on other platforms. Despite weaker overall visual capability, the Switch has been a massive success for Nintendo. If the company can close the visual gap while maintaining the other aspects of the Switch that gamers love, it could have even greater success.
