Nintendo Switch 2 hardware hands-on impressions – what I liked most and what I liked least -.

I’m now on a plane about to take off after spending the morning at the Nintendo Switch 2 Premiere event in Paris. In other words, everything I experienced with the new system, its games and peripherals, remains quite fresh, but regular enough to share with you after some reflection. If you want to read about games first, go here for my Metroid Prime 4: Beyond impressions, and here for the Mario Kart World preview, with Donkey Kong Bananza and more to follow shortly thereafter.

So, how does the new console look and feel? With the Switch2Gate leaks galore that Nintendo suffered in December and January, you already knew about most of the features, while the January reveal plus yesterday’s Switch 2 Direct more or less completed the official aspects, specs, release details and more. So this won’t be the place for me to talk about TFLOPS, insanely expensive software or deep game-specific insight. Here I share how I personally felt about the various components, including some interesting findings. And to give it some contrast, let’s talk about both the good and the bad.

I liked it: it feels light!

The Nintendo Switch 2 as a handheld console caressed me as surprisingly light the very first time I picked it up. I’ve been used to my good old OLED model lately, and the Switch 2 actually felt lighter. It’s not, if my numbers are correct, so it’s more of a feeling, maybe it has to do with the balance of weights, or with how the 7.9-inch screen is almost an inch larger than the OLED panel, but trust me, the half-pound felt like something less.

I liked: good non-OLED screen

Coming from the previously mentioned OLED screen, I expected this to be THE downgrade, if the only thing that feels or looks worse compared to the 3.5-year-old update. But it’s not that noticeable, with the extra size, decent brightness for LCD, good blacks, convincing colors, HDR support and refresh rate of 120 Hz, not to mention the increase in pixel count from 720p to Full-HD 1080p, which means great pixel density for the format. Don’t get me wrong, I expect a Switch 2 Premium model with an even shinier and glossier OLED screen in the future, but the few games I played jumped off the screen and filled it with grace. That said, I spent much more time in Docked TV mode for the convenience of video and impressions.

I didn’t like: Minor upgrade to system menu and interface

From what we saw on the Switch 2 Direct and what little was shown at the Premiere event, it looks like the user interface will remain pretty much the same. “If something works, don’t change it,” right? Well yes, but even as I came to appreciate the cleaner, non-clustered start menu of the first Switch as I emerged from the service-filled, smart-tv-like showcases of the PS5 or Xbox series, I was kind of hoping for a reworking here to make it more efficient and fresh to the eye. Of course, we’ll have to wait until the June launch to see.

I loved: The magnetic detachable system for the Joy-Con 2

I wasn’t sure about this when it first leaked out, now I’m sold on this clever solution, even though we’ll have to see how it stands the test of time. It just works comfortably, in a very pleasant way, and for what looks like a firmer, more resistant result. No more wiggling, I hope, but just the gesture itself is so easy to execute that it makes the good ‘ol Switch 1 Joy-Con slide look pretty clunky, frictionless and uncool. Disconnecting the controllers from the Switch 2 console/screen unit or from the Grip adapter is as easy as pressing the now rather large release buttons to release them. But the more pleasant feeling is when you attach them to the system, with some effort or friction, just near the magnets to see them click as if using the Force. A slightly different sound, but still the renewed satisfying trademark Switch 2 gesture. Oh and the extra straps are thankfully much easier to attach and detach, too.

See how the magnetic Joy-Con 2 works in this video:

I loved: The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro controller could be the best gaming controller I’ve ever tried

Simple as that. I had played everything with the two Joy-Con 2 controllers attached to the handheld console, separately standalone, or attached to their included Grip accessory, with the results I will comment on below. But then! When it was Hades 2’s turn, I grabbed the Switch 2 Pro controller and…. oh my God(s). The softness of the larger, incredibly smooth sticks, the clicking feel of both the face buttons and the D-Pad (the only way I will play Street Fighter 6, by the way). The ergonomics, the shape, the design (I personally go for the black and white version). The HD Rumble 2 spread across the device, the added GL and GR buttons you didn’t know you needed until you gave them your middle finger (literally). The stereo minijack. This controller is truly a game changer and already feels better to me than the Switch Pro Controller, the beloved Wii U Controller, as well as the DualSense and the Xbox Controller. BUT – and what a but….

I didn’t like: True. Are. My. Analog. Triggers. Nintendo?

It was one of the things I naively hoped they would fix with the new console. Maybe they were too fragile for the Wii U, or the Switch given kids abuse, or too nonsensical for the split Wiimote-Nunchuck controls, but why abandon the standard altogether! And this hurt even more the moment I picked up the NSO Gamecube controller (which now has C, Home and Capture buttons on the top edge) to play some of my beloved F-Zero GX. The irony! Nintendo had the longest traveling analog triggers, and now they are nowhere to be found, negating the gradual precision required by some games and genres. And now I’m an it, although I like those customizable GL and GR buttons in both the Pro Controller 2 and the Joy-Con 2 Grip, why not add them to the Joy-Con 2 while you’re at it? This way you prevent them from becoming a system feature, damned thing occasionally.

I liked: The more ergonomic Joy-Con 2 controllers

They don’t compare to my new love above, but they’re pretty close to a regular controller, whether attached to the machine, to the Grip, or standalone. They got the message that we needed bigger sticks and knobs, more resting space for the fingers, as well as larger ZL, ZR, SL, and SR. And as a bonus, both the newer HD Rumble 2 and improved gyro sensors are more accurate and nuanced. Along with the mouse capabilities and range of motion-controlled actions, they are impressive upgrades. Over time, we’ll have to check if it goes with drifting, a problem Nintendo cannot afford to repeat.

I didn’t like it: Mouse control when you need complex actions

See my previously linked Metroid Prime 4: Beyond impressions for more information, but TL;DR, I don’t think I’ll be playing mouse mode for long sessions, less so when it comes to pressing both ZR/R (as they would be your normal mouse buttons) and any of the ABXY face buttons (as would be for traditional mouse side buttons). It felt better when I later tried Drag X Drive and Nintendo Switch 2: Welcome Tour, rather than Samus’ more hardcore experience, but it’s clear that the shape of the Joy-Con 2 controllers can only work for a limited number of applications. They work quite well as vertical controllers click or move, they work much better than before in NES sideways mode, and they may work for a while in this third invention, but it’s a bit far-fetched to be honest. How can a single shape do well for such a left-handed approach?

I liked: Faster load times

Yeah, I didn’t measure the load times, but I saw several games load, and you could tell they were using memory much faster this time. It happened with both Switch 2 Edition games like Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Kirby and the Forgotten Land or Mario Party Jamboree, as well as new games like Mario Kart World (remember how long it took the Wii U songs to load?) and Donkey Kong Bananza. It was a much-needed, much-needed improvement, and I can’t wait to try to download, install and run much more software to confirm what could be a leap forward in terms of UX for those coming off the original Switch.

I have no idea: the Nintendo Switch 2 Dock and what it adds

As I said, this is only based on my experience. On paper, I appreciate what the Dock 2 says it does. The 4K output, the fancy buzzwords that Nintendo is not used to, like alternative 1440p (2K) and VRR, the fan to cool all this down…. But the point is that I couldn’t mess with the new Dock 2 itself, because they were untouchable, waiting to be held behind a protective glass along with the rest of the hardware components and peripherals. Are the cables more manageable now? Does it get too hot? Are the various ports easily accessible? Is it kinder to the Switch 2 unit when you land it or lift it out of the dock, preventing scratches? I guess I’ll have to check out for my full Nintendo Switch 2 review….

I’ll update this if anything else comes up by reviewing my practical comments on the various games, or if you ask questions in the comments below, but for now this is how I feel about the Switch 2 hardware. And a takeaway: this is one of those cases where something completely changes personally, up close, usually for the better. Videos and photos don’t do justice to many of the things discussed here, so if you’re interested, give it a try before you decide to purchase.