Is that this the Nintendo Swap 2?

Nintendo isn’t formally at CES, however it might need stolen the present anyway: accessories-maker Genki introduced a 3D-printed mockup of what it says is Nintendo’s Swap successor, and we bought to carry it and take some high-resolution footage.

Based mostly on the mockup of what we’ll name the Swap 2, Nintendo’s subsequent console seems to be wider than the unique, with barely bigger Pleasure-Con controllers that appear like they’ll be extra snug to carry. In comparison with a Steam Deck OLED, the Swap 2 mockup nonetheless feels noticeably smaller, partly as a result of the Pleasure-Cons will not be as pronounced and ergonomic because the Deck’s grips. However the mockup nonetheless feels nearer in dimension to Valve’s handheld than the unique Swap.

As earlier rumors have indicated, the Swap 2’s Pleasure-Cons will connect to the console by way of magnets as a substitute of a sliding rail, Genki cofounder and CEO Eddie Tsai tells The Verge. To detach a Pleasure-Con from the Swap 2, you press a giant button on the prime of the bottom of every controller, Tsai says, and that button apparently pushes out a pin that nudges towards the chassis of the console, disconnecting the magnets.

You’ll be able to take away the Pleasure-Cons with brute pressure in case you actually needed to, in response to Tsai, however he says, total, they really feel safe for normal use and that the massive launch button detaches the Pleasure-Cons with ease. Tsai declined to share the place he’d realized particulars of the brand new console.

Tsai additionally tells The Verge that housed inside the mounting channel of the Pleasure-Cons is an optical sensor, and through the use of one other attachment the brand new Pleasure-Cons might provide mouse-like performance. It sounds a bit like what Lenovo does with its Legion Go handheld.

Nintendo has promised that it’s going to announce the Swap’s successor earlier than April 2025, and as that deadline creeps nearer, there have been waves of leaks and rumors concerning the new {hardware}. In December, YouTube channel SwitchUp posted a video exhibiting a 3D-printed, non-functional Swap 2 mockup offered by a Chinese language case producer. That mockup principally regarded like the present Swap however larger, and it revealed a couple of different potential modifications like a brand new USB-C port on the highest of the system and a mysterious new sq. button below the House button on the precise Pleasure-Con.

Days later, accessories-maker Dbrand introduced its “Killswitch 2” case, and CEO Adam Ijaz advised The Verge that it was designed based mostly on “precise dimensions” based mostly on a “3D scan of the true {hardware}.” Ijaz additionally mentioned that it was his “understanding” that the console’s Pleasure-Cons are magnetically connected. And Dbrand’s imagery confirmed that the brand new sq. button had a “C” printed on it, although Ijaz didn’t know what it was. Days after that, our colleague Sean Hollister spoke with a Redditor who shared obvious pictures of the Swap 2’s dock and the inside of what seems to be a Swap 2 Pleasure-Con.

With that April 2025 deadline inching nearer on daily basis, it looks as if it received’t be lengthy till Nintendo formally, lastly reveals the Swap 2. However till that occurs, at the least we’ve got these footage to take a look at.

Images by Antonio G. Di Benedetto / The Verge