Nintendo says the Switch 2 Joy-Con controllers don't have Hall effect thumbsticks
However, since last Wednesday's blockbuster Direct, Nintendo has touched on some new Switch 2 details in interviews with the press. For one thing, Nate Bihldorff, Senior Vice President of Product Development & Publishing at Nintendo of America, told Nintendo Life that the console's Joy-Con 2 controllers do not use Hall effect tech. "The Joy-Con 2's controllers have been designed from the ground up," Bihldorff said. "They're not Hall effect sticks, but they feel really good."
Switch 2 producer Kouichi Kawamoto separately said that the Joy-Con 2 joysticks "are quieter and don't make noise, even when they're moved quickly to the edge." The company is referring to them as "smooth-gliding sticks."
Engadget has asked Nintendo why the company opted not to use Hall effect tech in the Joy-Con 2. We've also asked whether the Switch 2 Pro Controller foregoes Hall effect sensors as well.
This technology is becoming increasingly common in the thumbsticks of third-party gamepads, but Nintendo has yet to implement it in its own joysticks (nor have Sony or Microsoft, for that matter). The idea behind Hall effect sensors is that they reduce the likelihood of stick drift. This problem was so pervasive on the original Switch's Joy-Cons that Nintendo offered free, unlimited repairs for stick drift in Europe. So it's not clear why Nintendo would opt out of having Hall effect sensors in the Joy-Con 2 to help mitigate such problems.
Meanwhile, Nintendo has confirmed US pricing for a few Switch 2 experiences. The company told IGN that the upgrades for two The Legend of Zelda games — Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom — cost $10 each for those who already own either game. However, Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack subscribers get access to the upgrades at no extra cost.
The Switch 2 upgrades include visual fidelity and framerate enhancements, along with the inclusion of HDR support and faster loading times. You'll also be able to use the Switch mobile app as a Sheikah Slate of sorts, helping you to find hidden items with voiced directions.
In addition, Nintendo has revealed that Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour, which seems like a tech demo that will take you through all the features of the console, will cost $10. As for why Nintendo is charging 10 bucks for this as opposed to offering it for free (like Valve did with the fun Steam Deck tech demo, Aperture Desk Job, or Sony did with Astro's Playroom on PS5), Nintendo of America's Vice President of Product and Player Experience Bill Trinen had this to say to IGN:
For some people, I think there are people who are particularly interested in the tech and the specs of the system and things like that, for them I think it's going to be a great product. It's really for people that want more information about the system rather than necessarily a quick intro to everything it does. And for that reason and just the amount of care and work that the team put into it, I think it was decided that, 'Yeah, this feels like $9.99 is not an exorbitant price. It feels like a good value for what you're getting out of the product.'
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In fact, before I knew it, I had collected several Cat Shines, which serve as stand-ins for the stars Mario usually gets when completing levels or challenges, and I was even closer than I had been to stopping Fury Bowser for good. Once fully charged, the Viture Pro Mobile Dock is able to power the Switch 2 just like if you had placed it in Nintendo's official dock. With the original Switch, you can play for up to eight hours on a single charge. However, on Switch 2, which uses more power while docked, you'll likely get about half this time. On the top of the Pro Mobile Dock, there are four orange indicator lights, which let you know how much battery power you have left. They stay lit but become dimmed one by one once you start depleting the dock's internal battery. This is a nice visual touch that means you don't have to look at yet another battery percentage meter. Plus, the lights are easy to see with AR glasses on. So why would you want to play video games or watch movies in AR glasses to begin with? Well, doing so gives you much more screen space than you'd get with your average TV. The Viture Pro XR glasses I'm wearing here can project a 135-inch image right in front of your eyes. At the same time, they also have a refresh rate of 120Hz which the Switch 2 can take advantage of at the glasses' native 1080p resolution. The other big benefit to using AR glasses this way is that instead of craning your neck down to look at your Switch 2 in handheld mode, you can sit upright or lean back with good posture. You can also lie down and play this way without being worried that you might accidentally drop your Switch 2 on your face. The Viture Pro Mobile Dock works seamlessly with the company's AR glasses. However, as I also have a pair of Xreal One glasses on hand, I decided to try it with them when I got home. They worked and I could see the Switch 2's home screen as soon as I plugged them into the dock. There was just one problem though: everything was red. I could read text and see the games installed on my Switch 2 but instead of the black background you get with dark mode enabled, I saw a red one instead. Granted, I haven't updated my Xreal One glasses yet, so doing that could potentially fix this problem. After playing my Switch 2 in AR over the course of several days during my vacation, it was time to head home. While it was fantastic having a big screen experience with the Switch 2 using this setup when I was away from home, it's just as convenient when you're not traveling. Getting everything set up only takes a few minutes or so and then, you can play Mario Kart World and other Switch 2 games on a massive screen with the added benefit that what you're playing is completely private. Nobody can look over your shoulder or walk into the living room and see what game you're currently playing on your TV. I definitely need (and want) to play my Switch 2 in AR a bit more but for now, I really enjoyed the experience of using Viture's Pro Mobile Dock with its glasses. I would have been over the moon if Nintendo had included video out over USB-C without a dock on the Switch 2 but until the Switch 2 Pro or the Switch 3 comes along, this portable, battery-powered AR setup more than does the trick.
