So, unless you’ve been living under a bush, without any access to the Internet and noise cancelling headphones, you’ll be hyped about the Nintendo Switch.
The Switch has been spotted in the wild on several occasions, but much of what it can, might, or should do has been shrouded in mystery and rumour. However, we’re all aware that it will have a touchscreen, but surely we must know more than that, right? Well, actually maybe not.
Here’s the Nintendo Switch’s debut on the Jimmy Fallon Show!
Here are three features about the Nintendo Switch that you may not know about yet, that we think you should be just as hyped about as the touchscreen.
USB-C
In the past, Nintendo issued proprietary plugs for some of its devices. With the Nintendo Switch, this is not the case. Instead, the connectivity will be for a USB-C cable, which is the universal, standard cable for many other devices.
As one of the Switch’s selling points is the portability, this universal cable is a great idea, as you’ll only need to bring one cable wherever you go — the one you use to charge your phone (assuming it’s USB-C) will work completely fine.
A USB-C is reversible, meaning you don’t have to ensure the cable is plugged in the correct way. It also offers higher power and data transfer speeds. This means the Switch could support fast charging as the cable can cope with a lot of power draw. Data transfers are also extremely fast and you would be able to do this whilst charging the device at the same time, without losing charging speed or data transfer speed.
Dock
With the Nintendo Switch, no additional hardware will be required to run it. When the device is unlocked, it will run at its native 720p, but when docked, this increases the processing power to full 1080p at 60 frames per second, for gameplay at your TV.
The dock also contains a fan to keep the device cool.
Nintendo plan to keep the cost of the dock relatively cheap, as they want to encourage players to own multiple docks, as wherever people have a TV in their home, they can have additional docks. This reiterates the fully portable nature of the Switch.
Infra Red
So, when the Switch is docked, you’d think it would render the beautiful benefits of the undocked touchscreen useless, right? Nope!
Although this is a rumoured feature, it is something that seems extremely probable, owing to the fact that any game that supports touchscreen functionality on the handheld will need to replicate that ability on the TV.
It will work similar to a Wii remote, with two IR lights at the top of the handheld screen, peeking out at the top of the dock. The IR pointer will be located on the right joy-con to emulate the touchscreen experience, as opposed to the Wii turn and aim functionality.
This seems a great idea for the Switch, utilising the very most from this device. Useful to have, as not only can players play fully remotely in the undocked fashion, they have the freedom to move even when the console is docked.
There are so many features to look forward to with the Switch, these are very much just an early taster or expectations. We look forward to the official full reveal of the console on January 12 2017 with much anticipation, hoping it brings everything we can dream of and more.
Let us know in the comments below what features you’re most looking forward to with the Switch.
