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While Nintendo has, as usual, kept quiet about plans for a Nintendo Switch 2 so far, the rumor mill is churning. The latest hearsay is that Nintendo has plans to introduce performance modes to the Switch 2 that will ensure a greater battery life when the console is used in handheld mode.
According to the tech YouTube channel Moore’s Law Is Dead in their latest podcast, Nintendo’s next handheld will be overclocked — that is, the processor will run faster — when it’s docked and battery life isn’t a concern. When the Switch 2 is played in handheld mode, outside of the dock, its processor will run in an underclocked state to increase battery life.
The undocked underclock mode will reportedly power the device down to 800 Mhz, which would reduce performance but also limit battery drain and likely lead to less overheating. Nintendo will likely have strict policies in place to ensure that games don’t suffer from being played in handheld mode if they do go down this route.
It has also been rumored that when docked, the device could output as much as four teraflops of graphical power – greater than previously anticipated. Teraflops are a measure of operations per second and representative of processing power. Four teraflops would be a huge power increase from the current Switch model, which clocks in at around one teraflop.
What else do we know about the Switch 2?
These rumors align with previous rumors, posted to a Taiwanese Reddit, that suggest suggest the Nintendo Switch’s successor would have “greatly improved battery life.”
Recent rumors have also arisen around the Switch 2’s controllers, with reports that they might utilize a magnetic connection similar to those used by older Apple chargers. Additional rumors have come from peripherals company Mobapad, who suggested that the Switch 2 would have robust backward compatibility with game cartridges for the first iteration.
The gaming world is on tenterhooks waiting for Nintendo to confirm anything about the Switch 2 – when it’s coming out, what its release games will be, and what its exact technical specs will be. Each new rumor stokes the flames of the hype fire – it sounds like Nintendo has really taken into consideration all the issues with the first console in order to make the second one the best it can be. All we can do now is wait for it.
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