Category: Technology

Back in 2017, it felt like handhelds were dying. The PlayStation Vita was suffering from a lack of support and the 3DS was already on its way out. But then the Nintendo Switch arrived and became the hybrid console that launched 1,000 portable rivals. It proved you could make a device that was powerful enough to play games on your TV but also small enough to take with you anywhere. And by the time everything is all said and done, there’s a good chance it will be the highest-selling console of all time.

But making a proper follow-up can be difficult. So for the Switch 2, instead of changing everything up again, Nintendo took the best features from the original, upgraded them and gave us more of what we love. And even though this is just the start, it feels like I’ve been enchanted all over again.

Design

The Switch 2’s design is the most obvious example of Nintendo not straying too far from the original’s template. That said, nearly every component has been tweaked or upgraded in some way. The console’s slightly larger dimensions (10.7 x 4.5 x 0.55 inches and 1.2-pound chassis with Joy-Con) help make way for a bigger 7.9-inch display. In fact, almost everything has been embiggened, including the face buttons, analog sticks and rear kickstand, the latter of which opens even wider than before.

However, the Switch 2’s biggest upgrade is its new Joy-Con. There’s a familiar matte finish with more subtle red and blue accents, but instead of sliding them on and off like before, Nintendo gave them a new magnetic attachment system that comes with a very satisfying thunk. Meanwhile, detaching them is dead simple thanks to a handy button next to each trigger. So not only do the Joy-Con feel more secure, they are a pleasure to clip on and off as the need arises.

Nintendo didn’t stop there though, because hidden in the edge of each Joy-Con is a sensor that allows them to function as mice. I will admit that I thought this feature was a gimmick at first. But in games like Civilization 7 that are traditionally best enjoyed with a mouse, they serve as a very welcome alternative to classic gamepad controls. They also work surprisingly well on the arm of a sofa or even your leg. This is handy because if you’re playing games on your TV, you might not have a table or some other flat surface within reach.

Display

The Switch 2’s 7.9-inch LCD is a significant upgrade over the panel on its predecessor. Not only is it larger (up from 6.2 inches), it’s also higher res (1080p vs. 720p) while boasting a 120Hz refresh rate and support for HDR. With its auto-brightness setting turned off, the screen tops out at around 400 nits, though in titles with HDR, I’ve found that number can hit 450 nits or more. The downside is that the Switch 2’s LCD screen’s black levels aren’t quite as good compared to an OLED Switch. This can make dark backgrounds look closer to gray, especially when viewed in a low-light environment.

When docked, the Switch 2’s visual prowess expands to 4K at 60 fps or 1440p at 120 fps, though it’s important to remember that those settings may not be available for every game. Sadly, the console supports VRR (variable refresh rates), but that only applies to its onboard display. On the bright side, the Switch 2 does seem to have support for auto low latency mode (ALLM), which is good for anyone who plays fast-twitch games like shooters. 

Performance

Judging the performance of a brand-new console is difficult because it often takes developers months or years to figure out how to truly optimize their games for a new platform. The Switch 2 features a chip from NVIDIA with a custom GPU that the company claims offers ten times more graphics power than what we got from the previous model, alongside support for features including DLSS and ray tracing. The console also comes with 12GB of RAM and 256GB of onboard storage, which can be expanded further using microSD Express cards.

First-party titles like Mario Kart World run beautifully, though we’ve sort of come to expect that from major tentpole releases from Nintendo. The only hint of stuttering I’ve seen is when I played four-player local co-op with Game Chat turned on and multiple video streams going at the same time. And even then, it’s hard to tell unless you’re really looking for evidence of slowdown.

What might be the biggest indicator of the Switch 2’s improved performance is the sheer number of AAA third-party ports available at launch. Cyberpunk 2077 looks excellent and without a direct side-by-side comparison with something like the PC version, it’s difficult to spot where any graphical corners have been cut. And while Street Fighter 6 isn’t quite as impressive since some of the flashier effects don’t pop as much as they do on other consoles, it’s still a very enjoyable experience. As someone who often criticized the performance of the original Switch as one of its weak points, I’m thoroughly encouraged by the increased power I’ve seen from the Switch 2 thus far.

Backwards compatibility

One of the best things about the Switch 2 is that it supports wide backward compatibility with original Switch titles. The vast majority of games work as you’d expect, though there are some outliers, including titles like Ring Fit Adventure, as the Switch 2’s larger Joy-Con don’t fit inside the existing controller straps. Many of the NS1’s accessories are also backwards compatible, so you can still play games like Ring Fit by pairing one of the original Switch’s Joy-Con. The other current high-profile bug is an issue in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate that can cause the game to crash when someone chooses a Mii Fighter. Thankfully, Nintendo is aware and working on a fix.

The real treat is that many older games look and run better on the Switch 2 than they did before. Super Mario Odyssey plays even smoother, while games like Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild are more beautiful than you remember thanks to an $10 upgrade pack (or free with Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack) that adds support for HDR, better graphics and more. However, the games that may have gotten the biggest boost are Pokémon Scarlet and Violet. Due to a free upgrade on the NS2, the game features a higher framerate, higher monster density, a longer draw distance and more. In some ways, it feels like a brand new game, and if it had launched like this back in 2022, Nintendo could have completely avoided one of the biggest knocks against it.

Game Chat

Another major addition to the Switch 2 is the arrival of a built-in chat feature, including a new dedicated button on the console’s controller. Setup requires a handful of identity checks, but once you’ve sorted that out, it’s incredibly easy to use. You can invite people from your friends list to impromptu lobbies or create/join more permanent hangouts. Once you’re in a chat, adjusting your settings is as easy as hitting the C button. From there, you can choose from a handful of screen layouts and background options, along with the ability to share your video, do voice-only or activate speech-to-text (or text-to-speech). And if you have a camera attached, you can put your face in chat too.

Nintendo has generally done a great job of making it easy to jump in and out of chats. With support for up to four video feeds and a total of 12 people per lobby, there’s plenty of room for everyone in your family, no matter if they’re in the next room or on the other side of the planet. The small demerits to Game Chat are that its frame rate and video resolution are relatively low (same goes for camera footage if you have one attached). The option to delete your background (aka green screen) often looks rather pixelated and if you watch closely, you may see video windows stutter unless you pin a specific view to your main feed.

That said, because Game Chat is more about enjoying the company of others instead of producing clips for social media, I’m not that bothered. You don’t even need to be playing the same game (or any game at all, for that matter) to be in a lobby with others. It’s easy to use and the vibes are good, which is what’s really important. However, you will need to pay for Nintendo Switch Online, which costs $20 a year.

The Dock

Like the console itself, Nintendo didn’t stray too far from the design of the original Switch’s dock for its successor. You still get a plastic shell with more rounded corners and a slot that the Switch 2 can fit inside. There area handful of ports in the back (covered by a removable plate) for power (via the included USB-C cable and adapter), HDMI and wired internet. The big upgrade is that now there’s a fan inside to help keep the console cool and provide better sustained performance. Thankfully, it’s relatively quiet, so you won’t have to deal with an annoying hum distracting you from your games.

The awkward thing about the Switch 2’s dock is that it has one less USB port than before. Aside from the single USB-C connection in back for power, there are only two USB-A jacks on the side. This means if you want to connect accessories like the camera, which only comes with an included USB-C cable, you’ll either have to get an adapter or plug it directly into the Switch 2 via its exposed port on top. Unfortunately, that will force you to disconnect the camera every time you undock the console, which is just kind of clunky. I wish Nintendo had made every USB port a Type-C connection, or at the very least included more than one.

Battery Life

The Switch 2 features a 5,220 mAh battery, which according to Nintendo should provide between 2 and 6.5 hours of runtime on a single charge. However, the console’s longevity also greatly depends on the game you’re playing along with other factors such as screen brightness and background downloads.

To help provide a slightly better picture of the Switch 2’s power efficiency, I played a handful of titles starting at 100 percent battery and kept going until the console was dead with the screen set to max brightness (around 400 nits) and auto-brightness disabled. These settings are meant to provide a consistent but also conservative look at the console’s runtime, as it’s very possible to increase longevity by doing things like lowering brightness.

In Mario Kart World, the Switch 2 lasted two hours and 23 minutes, which is on the lower end of Nintendo’s official estimate. Meanwhile, in the NS2 edition of Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, the console fared a bit better with a time of 2:56. That said, the game with the best battery life I’ve tested so far is Puyo Puyo Tetris 2S at four hours and 15 minutes, which shouldn’t be a big surprise as it’s a port of a decade-old 2D title.

For some folks, these numbers might be disappointing. I certainly would love an extra 30 to 60 minutes of battery life, but these stats are generally in line or slightly better than what we get from rivals like the Steam Deck and ROG Ally X. And remember, when compared to practically all of its PC-based competition, the Switch 2 remains a much sleeker device.

Another helpful battery-related improvement is the addition of a charging limit, which allows the Switch 2 to automatically stop at a certain percentage to help maintain the power pack’s longevity. But my favorite little detail is now the Switch 2 will display a small battery icon when you drop it in the dock because the screen peeks out a bit, so you always know for sure when it’s charging.

Cost considerations

At $450 for the console alone or $500 for the bundle with Mario Kart World, the Switch 2 is priced significantly higher than the original, which cost $300 at launch (though that increase is closer to $50 when adjusted for inflation). However, when you include the price of accessories and games, the total adoption cost for a Switch 2 can be substantially higher. I purchased a standalone console along with physical versions of Mario Kart World and Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (NS2 Edition) and one Pro Controller for $745.75. But after you tack on another $50 for one year of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion, my grand total was just shy of $800.

Everyone has different opinions on what they consider disposable income, but that’s still a lot of money to spend on a new console and two games. Here’s hoping this breakdown helps people think about how the Switch 2 will impact their budget.

Important notes

The Switch 2 requires a day one patch in order to go online or even play some games. You’ll normally get this automatically by following the setup guide when you first turn on the system. However, if you skip the section where it asks you to connect to Wi-Fi, you may need to manually download the patch later by hitting the check for updates button in system settings the next time you connect to the internet.

The Switch 2 only supports microSD Express cards, which are not interchangeable with standard microSD or microSD XC cards. When buying a microSD Express card, you’ll want to make sure it has an EX or EXPRESS label printed on the card itself.

In addition to Joy-Con, a Joy-Con Grip, two Joy-Con straps and the console itself, the Switch 2 comes with an HDMI cable and a 60-watt power adapter with a detachable USB-C cord.

Some units may suffer from an inaccurate charging indicator, which can be addressed with these instructions from Nintendo.

Parents can monitor and approve the people your kids can talk to when using Game Chat via Nintendo’s Parental Controls app.

Nintendo says the Switch 2’s Joy-Con use an all-new module for its analog sticks. As they aren’t Hall effect modules, it’s too early to tell how well they will resist drifting.

Only the Switch 2’s bottom USB-C port supports video out.

Wrap-up

The old adage goes ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ But for the Switch 2, Nintendo did something even smarter. It maintained the console’s hybrid design and just made everything better. Its screen is bigger and brighter. Buttons are larger and the magnetic Joy-Con are so much easier to snap on and off. Even features such as the kickstand and expandable storage feel like they’ve gotten substantial upgrades thanks to a wider range of motion and support for faster microSD Express cards. I also really appreciate the addition of a second USB-C port.

The Switch 2 has everything that made the original so great, but now there’s more of it to enjoy. Granted, Nintendo’s latest console commands a higher price, but as the successor to the iconic system that revived handheld gaming, this thing is worth it.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/nintendo/nintendo-switch-2-review-more-of-what-you-love-120048430.html?src=rss 

On Tuesday, Razer launched its first keyboard for the DIY set. As its name implies, the BlackWidow V4 75% Barebones is the popular mechanical keyboard, only without keys and keycaps. It could be a solid option if you like Razer’s design and Chroma RGB but want to bring your own keys.

Otherwise, the Barebones BlackWidow is identical to the fully assembled variant. It still supports 3-pin or 5-pin mechanical switches and custom keycaps. It offers a polling rate of up to 8,000Hz with Razer’s HyperPolling tech.

Other details include factory-lubricated stabilizers for smoother keystrokes and dual-layer dampening foam. It even has pre-applied tape to soften higher frequencies. For a full rundown of the keyboard’s feature set, Engadget’s Igor Bonifacic reviewed it for IGN in 2023.

At $140, the black barebones version is $60 cheaper than the pre-assembled version. The white variant is slightly less thrifty at $150. (Unfortunately, you can’t get a barebones one in phantom green.) You can order the BlackWidow V4 75% Barebones today on Razer’s website.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/razer-launches-its-first-barebones-mechanical-keyboard-205043334.html?src=rss 

Welcome to Video Games Weekly on Engadget. Expect a new story every Monday, broken into two parts. The first is a space for short essays and ramblings about video game trends and related topics from me, Jess Conditt, a reporter who’s covered the industry for more than 13 years. The second contains the video game stories from the past week that you need to know about, including some headlines from outside of Engadget.

Please enjoy — and I’ll see you next week.

Summer Game Fest 2025 will be remembered as the one that happened while the Waymos burned.

The SGF Play Days event space, where games media and influencers meet up with developers over a long weekend, is in the fashion district in Los Angeles, and this year it was a few miles from the heart of sprawling protests against ICE. After months of inhumane and legally dubious deportations of LA residents by masked federal agents — emboldened by President Donald Trump’s far-right extremism and equipped with weapons built for war — the bubble of resistance popped. Protestors hit the streets after ICE officers swept up dozens of people across LA in another round of coordinated raids on Friday, June 6. The protests grew over the weekend and Trump called in the National Guard, followed by the Marines. Militarized LAPD officers attacked people with horses and batons, and they fired rubber bullets into crowds and directly at one journalist. On Sunday evening, protestors lit a line of unoccupied Waymos on fire.

The thick, black smoke was visible from the Play Days lot. I saw it as I was leaving the media lounge, heading toward the food trucks, and it stopped me in my tracks just in front of the Capcom booth. The low buzz of helicopters and the cries of police sirens had been a constant companion that weekend, but the smoke was new. I stopped and took a photo as upbeat reggae music pumped out of the speaker beside me. Around the corner, an actor dressed as a Fortnite banana in a suit was enticing passersby to play Ddakji as part of a cross-promotional effort with Squid Game. The dissonance made my head spin.

The sickly pallor of encroaching authoritarianism has hung over every video game convention in the past six months — because it’s shadowed literally everything in the United States this year. I’ve spent a significant amount of this time actively shutting down thoughts about Project 2025, government-sponsored human trafficking, neo-Nazis and all manner of hateful, bigoted policies targeting the United States’ most vulnerable people, because if I didn’t, the stress of these realities would consume me. I think most of us are doing something similar nowadays. We have to deprioritize specific thoughts at certain times, in order to get work done, maintain relationships and make it through the day. Having to ignore these monumental things in favor of, at least in my case, video games is a mindfuck.

The smoke from the burning Waymos, visible from the main alleyway at SGF, felt like a physical manifestation of this constant internal tension. Video games are a vehicle for connection and expression, and they’re deeply valuable to society — but, as with anything else, their importance is a matter of perspective.

The news

Everything — like, everything — announced at Summer Game Fest 2025

Our SGF 2025 roundup post is a comprehensive rundown of all the news from the show, from Day of the Devs to the big Xbox showcase. We’ll be adding our hands-ons and interviews as they’re published over the coming week right at the top of this article, so feel free to keep checking back. Or, Engadget’s Gaming hub will keep you covered.

Resident Evil Requiem is a thing

Arguably the biggest bit of news out of SGF 2025, Resident Evil Requiem is due out on February 27, 2026. It’s a mainline Resident Evil title starring FBI agent Grace Ashcroft, and it features familiar locations from the series, including Raccoon City’s demolished police department.

The Outer Worlds 2 release date

Obsidian’s sci-fi RPG The Outer Worlds 2 is heading to PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S on October 29 — just in time for everyone to understand your fancy-man moon-head Halloween costume.

There’s an official Xbox handheld, but it isn’t made by Xbox

After months of rumors about Microsoft and ASUS teaming up to make an Xbox-branded handheld gaming device, we finally have relief. The ROG Xbox Ally and ROG Xbox Ally X are due out this holiday season, capable of playing Xbox games natively via the cloud or a remote console connection, and with support for other popular PC storefronts like Steam, GOG and Battle.net. There’s no word on price or an exact release date yet, but the Xbox handhelds are definitely, finally coming.

Relooted looks like the kind of fun we need right now

If you only have time to read about one game from SGF 2025, acquaint yourself with Relooted from South African indie studio Nyamakop. It’s a heist game about rescuing African artifacts from the Western colonizers who stole them, and it’s filled with puzzles, action and Afrofuturism. This is one to keep an eye on.

Enter the world of Mat Smith writeups

Engadget’s UK Bureau Chief Mat Smith was on the ground at SGF 2025 and he’s already published a trio of stories directly from the show, each one more delightful than the last. There’s a look at Lumines Arise, complete with input from director Takashi Ishihara; a preview of Patapon spiritual successor Ratatan; and Mat’s thoughts on Supermassive’s sci-fi romp Directive 8020. There’s more coming from Mat, too, so keep that Engadget Gaming tab open.

Sword of the Sea is a return to form for the artist behind Journey

I had a lovely little chat at SGF with Matt Nava, the artist responsible for Journey, Abzû, The Pathless, and the upcoming sand-surfing game, Sword of the Sea. Nava has spent the past decade or so running from his own shadow, but with Sword of the Sea, he’s finally following his intuition again. This story includes impressions of the game — spoiler: it’s fabulous — and development insight from Nava.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/video-games-weekly-the-one-that-happened-while-the-waymos-burned-192959322.html?src=rss 

It’s hard to look at Apple’s new “Liquid Glass” aesthetic and not think about Windows Vista, Microsoft‘s much-maligned OS which also touted transparencies and glass-like effects as a bold new vision for computing. You can see the similarities between Apple‘s UI and Vista’s “Windows Aero” design language everywhere, from the glassified app icons in iOS 26 and macOS Tahoe 26 which look a lot like VIsta’s glossy icons, to the transparent backgrounds used in drop down menus, which hearken back to VIsta’s transparent window borders. The key difference is that Apple is just doing it all better. (Sorry, not sorry, Windows fans.)

While Microsoft started off with an intriguing idea, it failed to execute the Windows Aero UI well in Vista. Mostly, that’s because Vista itself was a huge mess — it was far slower than Windows XP, it was notoriously buggy and it handled drivers poorly. And if you actually wanted to partake in the glory of Aero transparency bars, you needed a computer with a powerful GPU. That was far more rare in 2007 than it is today, when even integrated graphics can run basic 3D and fancy UI elements well. With its homegrown chips, Apple also provides decent graphics capabilities in its devices that support iOS 26, iPadOS 26 and other new software releases with Liquid Glass.

It also helps that Liquid Glass isn’t really a huge change for Apple, unlike the jump from Windows XP to Vista. Apple has been creeping towards a flashier UI and more widespread use of transparencies ever since iOS 7 was released in 2013, which dropped the archaic skeuomorphic design trend in favor of a flatter and more stylish aesthetic. So sure, your icons and menus may have a bit more shine to them in iOS 26, but they mostly work the way you remember. (You could also argue Apple itself kickstarted the move towards transparencies in desktop operating systems with the original Mac OS X in 2001, which gave its iconic dock a glossy background.)

I can argue for the overall wisdom of Apple’s Liquid Glass, at least compared to Windows Vista, and personally I also think it gives iOS a much-needed dose of personality. But I can’t really convince you otherwise if you think it looks ugly, as many of my Engadget colleagues do. Senior News Editor Avery Ellis calls it “busy and obnoxious,” and Editor-in-Chief Aaron Souppouris noted that “it truly feels like Aero, rooted in the mid ’00s…. I don’t need light refracting around my pause button.” Fair complaints! And as usual, you can also reduce transparency effects and motion elements in Apple’s Accessibility Settings, if these elements truly bother you.

But after spending a bit of time with the first iOS 26 developer beta, I’m more intrigued by Liquid Glass than anything else. It makes app icons look like tiny jewels that I just want to touch, and I dig the transparency effects throughout the OS — they almost seem like a preview for a future where we’re using holographic Apple devices. (That’s also something I felt while using visionOS on the Vision Pro, which served as the launchpad for Liquid Glass.) I also genuinely love iOS 26’s revamped Safari, which lets you browse completely in full screen. As you scroll down, the location bar at the bottom of your screen shrinks and gets out of the way. But if you scroll up or tap into the location bar, it pops back up to give you the sharing and navigation options you’re used to.

It could also be that I’m a sucker for novelty. Back in my Windows XP days, I used to use apps like WindowBlinds to customize the OS and add transparent effects. And there are signs that Apple may be going a bit too far with transparencies, like with the iOS 26’s Control Center (above). It looks fine if you’re swiping it down while inside an app, but if you’re on the home screen, it’s just one of many levels of glass-like windows. I could see that being a bit overbearing for some users.

It’s also worth noting that interface redesigns are often rejected at first glance, especially since you’re seeing them abstracted through screenshots and videos. Even Apple’s slick marketing magic doesn’t replicate the experience of using Liquid Design. In my experience, iOS 26 really isn’t that different from everything that came before. Once you get over the initial shock of a new interface, you may see it with new eyes.

There’s also still plenty of time until Apple’s new operating systems arrive this fall though, and the company is often quick to tweak major design changes if beta users complain about them. I could see Apple toning down the Control Center’s transparent background, or even better, giving users more control over the amount of Liquid Glass elements on your screen. Personally, I don’t mind it when companies stretch their interface ideals a bit too far – there’s always room to move back. That’s far better than being too conservative and never really pushing your aesthetic vision forward.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/apples-liquid-glass-is-windows-vista-done-well-181954910.html?src=rss 

Google has released Android 16 to the masses, as it’s now available for compatible handsets. The company says new devices will come preloaded with the OS in “the coming months.”

The update includes several notable features. The biggest one might be live updates in notifications. This means that stuff like ride-shares and food deliveries will get a progress bar directly in the notification, so folks won’t have to constantly open and close the app to wonder why a burrito seems to be stuck four blocks away.

Also, notifications from the same app will now be automatically grouped together to reduce clutter and pings. There’s now support for LE audio hearing aids, with a native control option. Users can also switch to the phone’s microphone when using one of these hearing devices for clearer audio in noisy places.

Google has tied all of its security features together, so users can now be protected from “online attacks, harmful apps, unsafe websites, scam calls and more in just a tap.” This includes new scam detection features that were previewed back in May.

Shutterbugs are getting a fairly robust suite of new features, including automatic night mode scene detection, hybrid auto exposure and more precise color temperature adjustments. UltraHDR images have been improved, with support for HEIC encoding, and Android 16 offers integration with the high-end Advanced Professional Video (APV) codec.

The company is finally bringing desktop windowing to Android, but it’s not ready just yet. That feature will be available to general users later in the year, but Android 16 QPR 3 Beta 2 is currently previewing the feature.

There’s also a neat Android ecosystem update with some nifty features. This includes upgraded RCS group chats, with custom icons and the ability to mute threads. Google Photos now offers an AI-enhanced image editor that will recommend suggested edits. Emoji Kitchen is receiving new sticker combinations and Wear OS devices can now pay for transit fares without having to open a dedicated app.

Finally, Google has offered details on the Pixel Drop for June. New features include a Pixel VIPs widget that displays information on preferred contacts and more expressive captions on videos.

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/mobile/android-16-is-out-complete-with-live-notification-updates-and-new-camera-features-170006072.html?src=rss