Nintendo Patent May Hint at Switch Dock Improvements

gamerant.com:

Nintendo has filed a new patent that seeks to improve upon the Switch's original dock. The new patent was recently discovered and hints at the company's potential plans to redesign the Nintendo Switch's dock, something that the company calls «troublesome» in the new filings.

The Nintendo Switch first debuted in 2017 and has since become one of the world's top-selling video game consoles, but fans have been clamoring for an upgraded model of Nintendo's handheld console for quite some time. A refreshed OLED model was released back in 2021, equipped with a better screen, but the demand for a proper «Switch 2» is undeniable.

Now, Nintendo is attempting to address a common issue for Switch users. According to Nintendo Life, this new patent revolves around the Nintendo Switch's dock, something that has been a possible pain point for fans since its release. The Switch's dock is quite limited, especially when examining the ports located inside the plastic shell. The AC Adapter, LAN, and HDMI ports all face toward the left, which can prove to be quite annoying for players trying to properly position the Nintendo Switch with their TV. As a result, hundreds of third-party Nintendo Switch docks have been released, offering players customizable options when it comes to using the Switch in docked mode.

This issue may soon be a thing of the past, however, thanks to the new patent. The patent, which was filed on April 2, 2024, shows blueprints for a new rotating input and output panel. This new design is intended to allow players to position the Switch's dock ports on both the left and right sides. This would completely eliminate any problems players have when it comes to hooking up a Nintendo Switch to the TV. Nintendo itself states that it is theoretically possible to streamline the connection of cables to the TV, a problem the company has labeled as potentially «troublesome» for players.

The patent includes a «swivel block» which rotates 180 degrees, allowing ports to swap from