Nintendo Switch Official Specs Revealed

[+Warwagon MVC]

Nintendo Switch Official Specs Revealed

 

 

Size

102mm x 239mm x 13.9mm (with Joy-Con attached)
Please note: 28.4mm at the thickest, from the tips of the analog sticks to the ZL/ZR Button protrusions.

Weight

Approx. 297g
(With Joy-Con controllers attached: 398g)

Screen

Capacitive touch screen / 6.2 inch LCD / 1280x720 resolution

CPU/GPU

NVIDIA customized Tegra processor

System Memory

32 GB
Please note: a portion of this internal memory is reserved for use by the system.

Communication features

Wireless LAN (IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac compliant) / Bluetooth 4.1 (TV mode only. A wired LAN connection is possible through the use of a commercially available wired LAN adapter.)

Video Output

Maximum resolution: 1920x1080, 60 fps
Please note: output via HDMI cable in TV mode. In tabletop mode and handheld mode, the maximum resolution is 1280x720, which matches the screen resolution.

Audio Output

Supports linear PCM 5.1ch
Please note: output via HDMI cable in TV mode.

Speakers

Stereo

USB Terminal

USB Type-C terminal
Used for charging or for connecting to the Nintendo Switch dock.

Headphone Mic. Jack

Stereo output

Game card slot

Exclusively for Nintendo Switch game cards.

MicroSD screen slot

Compatible with microSD, microSDHC and microSDXC memory cards.
Please note: an update via an internet connection is required to use microSDXC memory cards.

Sensors

Accelerometer / gyroscope / brightness sensor

Operating environment

Temperature: 5 - 35°C / Humidity: 20 - 80%

Internal Battery

Lithium ion battery / battery capacity 4310mAh
Please note: the internal battery cannot be removed. If the battery needs to be replaced, we plan to offer paid replacement via Nintendo Customer Support.

Battery Life

Battery life can last for more than six hours, but will vary depending on the software and usage conditions.
For example, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild can be played for roughly three hours on a single charge.

Charging time

3 hours approx.
Please note: this is the time taken to charge while the console is in sleep mode.

 

https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Nintendo-Switch/Specifications/Specifications-1176277.html#1

 

 

 

 

[Louisifer]

I came here expecting a picture of a toaster then realised it wasn't in the jokes section.  

 

Lets hope Nintendo can get good 3rd party support, we don't need amazing specs to enjoy a game but we do need decent games.  

[compl3x]

10 hours ago, warwagon said:

A wired LAN connection is possible through the use of a commercially available wired LAN adapter.)

Typical Nintendo, thinks it is kosher to sell people a port that is available on just about every other product.

[compl3x]

10 hours ago, Louisifer said:

Lets hope Nintendo can get good 3rd party support, we don't need amazing specs to enjoy a game but we do need decent games.  

I predict that 3rd parties will treat the Switch the way they treated the Wii U.

[spaceelf]

I actually can't wait for this thing and I thought the Wii and Wii U were a joke.  Will have to make sure the game selection is decent first.  Mario isn't my thing, but I want to get back into Zelda.

[microneppy]

People don't buy a Nintendo console for the 3rd party support anymore, best thing to do is get a PC for the multiplatform, indie and exclusive games and a Nintendo console for the 1st party games they release.

[spaceelf]

10 minutes ago, microneppy said:

People don't buy a Nintendo console for the 3rd party support anymore, best thing to do is get a PC for the multiplatform, indie and exclusive games and a Nintendo console for the 1st party games they release.

Buying a console for one companies games is a ridiculous thought to me.  I wouldn't waste the money.

 

I suspect this will garner more third party support than they have in a long time.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

3 hours ago, compl3x said:

Typical Nintendo, thinks it is kosher to sell people a port that is available on just about every other product.

I really don't understand why they can't just build it into the console. Surely the savings they make are just passed on to manufacturing the accessory in the end.

 

And a step back with the non-replacable battery too No doubt it'll be easy enough to replace at home anyway, which is the only silver lining to the decision.

[spaceelf]

6 hours ago, Andrew said:

I really don't understand why they can't just build it into the console. Surely the savings they make are just passed on to manufacturing the accessory in the end.

 

And a step back with the non-replacable battery too No doubt it'll be easy enough to replace at home anyway, which is the only silver lining to the decision.

What's even the point anymore?  I haven't seen any real need for ethernet since 802.11n (though that certainly has range issues.)  If there's nothing to be gained from including it, why should they?  Especially if it means they'll be able to use a higher quality wireless part.

[NeoWind]

After all the speculation and revealed they didn't really discuss what's the specification when the Nintendo Switch is connected to the dock. 

[JustGeorge]

After noticing the glaring omission of a D-Pad and seeing how cramped the joycons are when used horizontally, I have no interest in one.

After noticing the glaring omission of a D-Pad and seeing how cramped the joycons are when used horizontally, I have no interest in one.

[compl3x]

7 hours ago, LostCat said:

What's even the point anymore?  I haven't seen any real need for ethernet since 802.11n (though that certainly has range issues.)  If there's nothing to be gained from including it, why should they?  Especially if it means they'll be able to use a higher quality wireless part.

 

It's kind of funny because you could probably buy a switch and cabling to connect your console to your router for the price Nintendo is going to charge for a USB to Ethernet adaptor. I doubt the money saved on including an Ethernet port would cover the cost of a more expensive wireless chip or antennas.

 

We'd have to wait for a teardown to see which chip they are using. Regardles, I don't think it is difficult to include a port which has been a standard on hardware for decades. Neither Sony nor Microsoft have abandoned it for their consoles.

[spaceelf]

 

36 minutes ago, compl3x said:

 

It's kind of funny because you could probably buy a switch and cabling to connect your console to your router for the price Nintendo is going to charge for a USB to Ethernet adaptor. I doubt the money saved on including an Ethernet port would cover the cost of a more expensive wireless chip or antennas.

 

We'd have to wait for a teardown to see which chip they are using. Regardles, I don't think it is difficult to include a port which has been a standard on hardware for decades. Neither Sony nor Microsoft have abandoned it for their consoles.

It's not just a port though, it's an extra chip which needs its own space and bandwidth, and wouldn't be available at all except when docked.

 

If tablet mode wasn't a thing I'm sure they'd have included it.

 

Also last I checked X1 and PS4 both used 802.11N rather than AC, so their wireless is comparatively lacking.

[+Asmodai MVC]

On 1/29/2017 at 4:43 AM, microneppy said:

People don't buy a Nintendo console for the 3rd party support anymore, best thing to do is get a PC for the multiplatform, indie and exclusive games and a Nintendo console for the 1st party games they release.

People largely don't buy a Nintendo console anymore.  There was a lot of excitement around the Switch prior to the specs being released (leaked) because people thought Nintendo might actually be trying to get 3rd party support back.  The Switch will fail just like the Wii U if it doesn't get 3rd party support.  Sure there are people that will buy a Nintendo console just for the Nintendo exclusives... those are the people that bought the Wii U and it's a very small number relative to the other consoles.  I actually think Nintendo has the best first party titles but that's just not enough to drive high sales.  People don't buy Xbox or PlayStation ONLY for the 1st party games either.  The top selling games are multiplatform (Madden, CoD, GTA, etc.) and if your console is excluded from them then that's a huge sales problem.  If you can't get them then you should at least come in cheap enough to be a "second" console.  At $300 though the Switch is more expensive than the Xbox One S and the same as the non-Pro PS4 so it's not priced as a "second" console.

[Draconian Guppy]

On 29/1/2017 at 3:00 AM, compl3x said:

I predict that 3rd parties will treat the Switch the way they treated the Wii U.

x1000

 

Nintendo went downhill for me since the cube

[+Asmodai MVC]

On 1/29/2017 at 4:00 AM, compl3x said:

I predict that 3rd parties will treat the Switch the way they treated the Wii U.

I suspect you're right but here's my crazy contrarian idea of how they may just get 3rd party support.

 

Despite what their marketing is saying stop thinking of it as a non-portable console.  It's NOT a competitor to the Xbox One or PS4 and so it won't get 3rd party ports of those games.  As a portable though it will get all the third parties that previously made games for the 3DS so that's a fair amount of 3rd party support.  Furthermore they'll EXPAND beyond the 3DS third parties by using a mobile-like architecture.  So they may well get slightly upgraded ports of mobile games from 3rd parties.  So instead of Xbox One/PS4/PC/Switch multiplatform games as people were hoping for you'll get Android/iOS/Switch multiplatform games in addition to previous 3DS 3rd parties and Nintendo's first parties.

 

So if that happens then yes they'll have 3rd party support... just not in the way people expected.

[spaceelf]

Am I the only one who finds it kind of hilarious 'official specs' don't even bother with basic processor, GPU, RAM details?  'It's a custom Tegra' doesn't really tell me much.

[+Asmodai MVC]

5 minutes ago, LostCat said:

Am I the only one who finds it kind of hilarious 'official specs' don't even bother with basic processor, GPU, RAM details?  'It's a custom Tegra' doesn't really tell me much.

No, you're not. There are stories all over the internet mentioning how they don't specify the GPU/CPU.  It's pretty well known that it's the Tegra X1 though... I'm not sure there is really anythign "custom" about it beyond the fact they severely underclock it.  We'll know for sure when it launches though as iFixIt and such sites will do "tear-downs" and open it up to see what's inside.

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

Yay:

 

Nintendo Switch batteries can be replaced, Switch-branded microSD cards also coming in Japan

 

It really was an unprecedented move for them to stop users replacing batteries, so I'm glad it will be possible

 

While I'm here, good news from JP on pre-orders:

 

Nintendo Switch pre-orders already account for 80% of the console's shipment in Japan

 

Not surprising  really considering the gaming trends over there, but good news nonetheless.

[LimeMaster]

2 minutes ago, Andrew said:

Yay:

 

Nintendo Switch batteries can be replaced, Switch-branded microSD cards also coming in Japan

Eh?

Quote

The 4,310mAh lithium ion battery won't be able to be removed by the user like a traditional tablet or smartphone

 

[DrunknMunky Veteran]

1 minute ago, LimeMaster said:

Eh?

 

Never mind, hopes re-dashed

 

[astropheed Veteran]

I'll buy it used in 4 or 5 years much like the Wii U for a much reduced price and a far greater library.

 

If I see plenty of third party support I'll buy it much sooner.

[Vandalsquad]

On 1/30/2017 at 5:28 AM, LostCat said:

What's even the point anymore?  I haven't seen any real need for ethernet since 802.11n (though that certainly has range issues.)  If there's nothing to be gained from including it, why should they?  Especially if it means they'll be able to use a higher quality wireless part.

Ethernet > Wifi. Every single time.

 

On 1/30/2017 at 1:51 PM, LostCat said:

 

It's not just a port though, it's an extra chip which needs its own space and bandwidth, and wouldn't be available at all except when docked.

 

If tablet mode wasn't a thing I'm sure they'd have included it.

 

Also last I checked X1 and PS4 both used 802.11N rather than AC, so their wireless is comparatively lacking.

The xbox one S does use AC since its more widely adopted now, Not sure about the Pro/Slim, I'm sure they have updated it also to AC. I know the PS4 had terrible wifi, even no 5ghz range, had to hardwire a few of my friends houses over the weekends for free  

[spaceelf]

7 hours ago, Vandalsquad said:

Ethernet > Wifi. Every single time.

Before AC I might've agreed with you.  These days the nanoseconds you save...sure, I still use ethernet, but only for my main PC.

 

I only really see the point if you've just got iffy networking equipment you can't/won't replace.

[+E.Worm Jimmy Subscriber¹]

9 hours ago, Vandalsquad said:

Ethernet > Wifi. Every single time.

 

The xbox one S does use AC since its more widely adopted now, Not sure about the Pro/Slim, I'm sure they have updated it also to AC. I know the PS4 had terrible wifi, even no 5ghz range, had to hardwire a few of my friends houses over the weekends for free  

I notice no difference at all with AC.  i am never going back to cable.   why?   my internet is fast enough for my PC.     maybe in future I will have a super PC?  but by then the wireless would have improved too. 

 

for HOME use, cable is out, imho.