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(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Price: Newer Means More Expensive
Whether it's the price of technology or tariffs, the Switch 2 is Nintendo's most expensive system yet, at $449.99. That's a big ask, and it's going to become even bigger in September, when the price increases to $499.99 due to "market conditions" (likely including the sudden spike in RAM prices driven by AI investment and speculation over the last year). That'll put its price close to the Xbox Series X, or how much the PlayStation 5 cost before Sony bumped up its own prices, again due to "continued pressures in the global economic landscape."
The standard Switch ($339.99) and Switch OLED ($399.99) have already increased in price by $40 and $50, respectively, and even the handheld-only Switch Lite is now $229.99, up from $199.99. However, Nintendo hasn't announced plans to raise the prices of those consoles in the future.
Game prices are also moving upward, too. Mario Kart World is $79.99. That's higher than the current $69.99 "normal" price of many console games, after decades of the market settling around $59.99 for major releases. Accessories, such as the Switch 2 Pro Controller ($89.99) and Joy-Con 2 ($99.99 per pair), are also approximately $10 more expensive than their Switch counterparts.
Winner: Switch
Design: Part-Handheld, Part-Console, All-Genius
The Switch 2 is the first Nintendo console to take its predecessor's name and simply add a "2" to it. So, as you might expect, it isn't all that fundamentally different. Both systems are tablets with detachable controllers and a dock that lets you play the device as a handheld or as a home console connected to a TV. It's a great concept because you can play anywhere. I'm glad that Nintendo didn't reinvent the wheel.
In terms of size and weight, the Switch 2 is slightly larger and heavier than its predecessor, measuring half an inch in height, just under an inch in width, and four ounces in weight (with the Joy-Cons attached). However, it doesn't feel much bulkier or more cumbersome in my hands.
Winner: Tie
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Controllers: Now With Mouse Controls!
The Switch 2's Joy-Con 2 controllers feel similar to the originals and have almost identical designs. They have an analog stick, four face buttons, two triggers, and two menu/capture/home buttons. They're arranged so you can use a single Joy-Con sideways as a mini-gamepad or two for dual-analog gameplay. The Joy-Con 2 controllers have slightly larger analog sticks, which is nice. However, the Joy-Con 2s have much more interesting tech.
Optical sensors on the connection rails of each Joy-Con 2 mean the controllers double as mice. This lets you play games like Fortnite and Metroid Prime 4: Beyond with a mouse-like aim, as you would in a PC game. It's very accurate, but it makes my wrist sore after a while. That might not be an issue for everyone, and I might be able to mitigate the pressure by adjusting how I hold it. Either way, it's a cool feature that the original Joy-Con controllers lack.
Winner: Switch 2
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Screen: Going Bigger, Brighter, and Sharper
The Switch 2 has a bigger and better screen in almost every way. It's 7.9 inches and features 1080p resolution, which means it has twice as many pixels. It's larger by 2.5 to 0.9 inches, depending on the Switch 1 model you're comparing it with, and has double the refresh rate (120Hz). It looks great in person.
It's an LCD, so the OLED Switch actually has an edge in contrast and color. OLED screens can display incredibly dark blacks and usually offer a wider color gamut than LCDs. That said, the Switch 2's LCD is significantly brighter and more vibrant than the first Switch's screen. Although its colors aren't quite as vivid as the OLED Switch's when viewed side-by-side, it's within swinging distance and doesn't look remotely undersaturated. Even with a slightly narrower color range, the bigger size, higher resolution, and faster refresh rate make the Switch 2's screen the superior one.
Winner: Switch 2
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Processing Power: Making the Jump to 4K
Historically, processing power hasn't been a big priority for Nintendo—the original Switch showed its age pretty quickly compared with competing consoles. It was limited to 1080p60, a best-case scenario in docked mode.
The Switch 2 can output 4K60 (or 1080p120 graphics while docked), depending on the game and settings. That means it's the first Nintendo system capable of 4K resolution or frame rates greater than 60 frames per second. It won't necessarily hit those numbers consistently, especially in games with very detailed graphics, long draw distances, or many objects on-screen at once. Even with those caveats, the Switch 2 has much sharper, smoother graphics than the previous system by every measure.
Winner: Switch 2
Battery Life: Growing Pains for Faster Hardware
This is the Switch 2's one weakness. Depending on the games you play, it can last between 2 and 6.5 hours on a charge. That's slightly worse than the original Switch at launch (2.5 to 6.5 hours) and much worse than both the currently available LCD Switch with its improved battery and the OLED Switch (4.5 to 9 hours).
Winner: Switch
Storage: Space Matters
You won't immediately need to pick up a microSD Express card to expand the Switch 2's storage. The console has 256GB of internal storage, which can go a long way with Switch titles. The Switch 1 only has 32GB of storage, while the Switch OLED has 64GB.
Winner: Switch 2
Voice Chat: Adding a Mic to the Mix
The Switch 2 has voice chat; the Switch doesn't. The right-hand Joy-Con 2 features a new C button that enables GameChat, the built-in communication system. After pressing it, you can speak to in-game friends using the console's integrated mic. It's an obvious feature Microsoft and Sony figured out some time ago, but it's new for Nintendo, and it's better than the strange smartphone app the company offered with the original Switch.
Winner: Switch 2
(Credit: Nintendo)Accessibility: New Features on the New System
The Switch 2's new Accessibility menu lets you enable various features to help you use the system if you have visual, auditory, or verbal difficulties. You can tweak the size of system text, toggle a screen zoom, invert colors or set them to grayscale, use a speech-to-text screen reader, and make other adjustments based on your needs. The Switch has a button remapping menu, but that's about it.
Winner: Switch 2
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Playing Switch 1 and Classic Games: Backwards Compatibility Benefits
The Switch 2 runs almost all Switch 1 games. Some games aren't compatible, but that's an extremely short list that's becoming shorter by the day as patches are released for the few games with compatibility hiccups. Switch 2 supports Switch game cards and eShop downloads, too.
Switch games won't necessarily look or play better on the Switch 2 unless they're updated to take advantage of the extra power and higher resolution. Some will simply get minor performance patches for free, but you'll need to spend money for more comprehensive upgrades in "Switch 2 Edition" games. Breath of the Wild, Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Metroid Prime 4: Beyond, Pokémon Legends: Z-A, Super Mario Party Jamboree, and Tears of the Kingdom will have Switch 2 Editions with benefits like 4K60 or 1080p120 video modes and new control schemes. In some cases, you'll enjoy new content.
If you already have the original Switch versions, you'll probably pay an upgrade fee of around $10, though some Switch 2 Edition upgrades will be included as part of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pass.
The Switch 2 lets you play every classic game collection available through NSO with Expansion Pass, with one big bonus: GameCube games. If you subscribe to the Expansion Pass, you can access GameCube games on the Switch 2, like F-Zero GX, Soulcalibur II, and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. Those titles won't be on the Switch 1 at all.
Winner: Switch 2
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Playing New Games: Switch 1 is Now Last-Gen
A new console generation means new exclusives, and Nintendo has already announced that some Switch 2 titles won't appear on the Switch 1. You can play the cross-generation Metroid Prime 4: Beyond and Pokémon Legends: Z-A on the original Switch, but you must upgrade to the Switch 2 for Donkey Kong Bananza or Mario Kart World. It's safe to say that many third-party Switch 2 games, such as Cyberpunk 2077 and Grand Theft Auto VI, won't appear on the original Switch.
Winner: Switch 2