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The Switch 2 is an 8.0 inch 16:9 Proprietary handheld that plays everything up to Switch well, made by Nintendo. It came out in June 2025 at $460. Inside is the Nvidia Tegra T239 with 12 GB of RAM.
Switch 2 videos
What it plays
Plays up to: Switch. Chip: Nvidia Tegra T239.
Scores out of 100. 100 means the system runs at full speed with no known issues on this device. 80 or more plays well (green), 50 to 79 plays partly (yellow).
What owners say
“I have switch 2 and love it. I'm finding the games run great and my old switch library finding new life.”
“I still have my Switch 2 as my primary Switch device, but it's nice to have a smaller alternative.”
“The best uses for my Switch 2 so far have mostly been playing Zelda and Pokemon at good framerates.”
Rating
Original consoles get no RETROPULSE score: it rates handhelds made for emulation.
Good
- Plays everything up to Switch well
- Video out to a TV
- Big 5,220 mAh battery
Not so good
- PS1 games do not run reliably
- LCD screen, not IPS or OLED
- Heavy at 401 g
- High-end price
Specs
| Performance | |
|---|---|
| Chip | Nvidia Tegra T239 |
| CPU | Cortex-A78 |
| Cores | 8 |
| Clock speed | 1.10 GHz - 1.7 GHz |
| GPU | Custom Ampere-based |
| RAM | 12 GB |
| Cooling | Yes |
| Screen | |
| Size | 8.0" |
| Type | LCD |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Pixel density | 275 ppi |
| Aspect ratio | 16:9 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Dual screen | No |
| Controls | |
| D-pad | Separated Buttons, Lower placement |
| Analog sticks | Yes |
| Stick layout | Double, asymetrical |
| L3 / R3 | Yes |
| Shoulder buttons | Stacked |
| Rumble | Yes |
| Gyroscope | Yes |
| Connectivity | |
| Storage | 256 GB UFS 3.1 |
| SD card | Yes |
| Wi-Fi | Yes (6) |
| Bluetooth | Yes (5.2) |
| USB-C | Yes |
| Video out | Yes |
| Headphone jack | Yes |
| Build | |
| Form factor | Horizontal |
| Dimensions | 272 x 116 x 13.9 mm |
| Weight | 401g g |
| Battery | 5220 mAh |
| Shell | Plastic |
| Speakers | Front |
| Software | |
| Operating system | Proprietary |
Questions
Can the Switch 2 play PS2 games?
Not well. PS2 scores 0 out of 100. It plays everything up to Switch well.
Does it have a headphone jack?
Yes.
How big is the battery?
5,220 mAh. The middle Linux and other handheld in our database has 3,000 mAh.
Can it connect to a TV?
Yes, it has video out.
How much does the Switch 2 cost?
It launched at about $460 in Jun 2025. Prices on the used market change, so check current listings.
Price and newer models
$460 at launch
Similar handhelds
Specs and emulation scores from the retrocatalog.com handheld database. The score out of 10 is our own.