Spain - gamebastion.com

A pair of recent reports have suggested that Nintendo’s successor to the Switch console — which we, along with everyone else, are calling Switch 2 for now — will have Joy-Con controllers that attach to the body of the device using strong, electronically-controlled magnets, rather than the sliding rail system used by the Switch.

The news was first broken by Vandal, a Spanish site with a fairly good track record on leaks. Oddly, it was then confirmed in a blog post by Mobapad, a third-party manufacturer of Switch peripherals and controllers. Vandal’s sources were also manufacturers of peripherals and accessories.

Mobapad’s surprisingly detailed report says the new Joy-Cons use “magnetic suction” to attach to the console, “through electromagnetic suction technology, controlled by electric current.” This sounds like electropermanent magnets, which have a strong magnetic field that can be switched on or off by a pulse of electric current. Presumably, the user would click a button to attach or detach the controllers.

Mobapad says the new Joy-Cons are larger and feature additional buttons: new buttons on the left and right sides (perhaps to control the magnets), plus a new function button below the Home button on the right Joy-Con. The SL and SR buttons (the buttons which serve as L and R when the Joy-Con is detached and being used as a solo controller) are now made from metal, apparently. Mobapad also confirmed that HD rumble is still enabled through ALPS dual-axis linear motors.

Mobapad says the console is fully backward-compatible, including with physical game cartridges for Switch as well as digital games. The existing Pro Controller and Joy-Cons are supported by the new machine — although, presumably, Switch 1 Joy-Cons can’t be attached to the console due to the new magnetic system.

Mobapad says the Switch 2’s dock will use the same USB-C connection as the existing dock, support 4K display resolution, and feature “minor changes” in appearance. Confusingly, the company