Topic: NS2 Pocket (Nintendo Switch 2 Lite)

Love my NS2 but it's too large to carry around, so I mainly leave it at home. I'm sure a "Lite" ver. is on the way in a few years. My guess is that it won't be the same size as the NS1 and could likely be the same size as the NS1 Lite or slightly smaller.

If they decide to make it even more portable and pocket friendly, the NS2 Pocket would have the same feats as the NS1 Lite but smaller and can ONLY play digital games. If u hate hate owning digital, you'd hate this model but I think the "NS2 Pocket" would be cool to see, and it could be really popular with kids.

I'd definitely love a smaller version of the NS2, but the screen and button layout were too small for my big boy hands, and the screen made some text unreadable.

But ever so slightly smaller would already be a huge win for me.

Agree. I love it, but I do think it is too big as a handheld.

Would give serious consideration to selling if a 'lite' version came out. Though, I can't see them making it digital only. It would not save much space at all and it would irritate those who had droves of Switch 1 and 2 carts already. They would know that. Too risky.

I'd think that it's pretty much an inevitability that they'd do one at some point. If nothing else, $450 is a bit steep if you've got kids who want something to play Pokemon on.

The Switch 2 is using Samsung's 8nm process at the moment, which isn't exactly renowned for its power efficiency, so they'll be able to similarly benefit from a die shrink as they did with the Switch Lite. So, smaller cheaper screen, smaller battery, integrated controls, no dock support, etc. and maybe the price comes down to around the $300 mark.

I'd be surprised if it was download-only. As a pure handheld, it's probably getting used a lot outside the range of fast internet, and it's not like there's a lot to be saved in terms of weight and cost by eliminating the cartridge slot. Again, so long as the Pokemon games still come in that format, there's a good case for keeping it.

I'd like to see TV output on such a device. It was missing on the original Switch lite but there was no reason for it to be missing it would have cost nothing to enable it even if it meant you would only get portable quality graphics on the big screen because the smaller form factor couldn't cool the chipset at full speed. There is a kit for the original Switch Lite where you replace the screen with a OLED screen and that has TV output I believe. It's not going to look as good on a big display as a normal Switch 2 which will have higher resolutions but its still going to be desirable to have for the occasional big screen gaming and means you can take it around a friends house and play on their TV. Of course you also need additional controllers but some controllers are very small.

The only way I can get a bigger screen on my original Switch lite is to use one of those magnifier lenses meant for smartphones. It cost the grand sum of about £1.40 and the switch lite doesn't sit as well as a mobile phone but it gives me about a 10" display of reduced quality for occasional use. I've played a fair bit of mario kart using it. I bought it with skyrim in mind though as I find that difficult to play on the lite's small screen.

There will certainly be a Switch Lite 2, and I'm hoping it's clamshell style this time. About DS sized.

@judaspete I miss the folding days haha

@Mana_Knight the marketing might not be targeted to adults though. Kids these days are all about digital. I work in a youth program and you wouldn't believe how many of them tell me just to get it digital.

Switch 2 Lite is coming next year, 2026.

That seems too soon to me. A Switch 2 Lite will like have an improved fabrication process. It's currently 8/10Nm and the whole chipset will need re-engineering to take it to something like 6Nm or 4Nm but by doing this they can give the Switch 2 a smaller form factor like a lite model needing less power and less cooling. If the Switch 2 sells badly at Christmas because many parents simply can't afford it for their children then I guess this will hasten a cheaper model.

@BonzoBanana I believe the Switch 2 and the Lite model were developed concurrently and that the Lite was always planned to release the next year

The Switch 2 was developed mainly back in 2020/2021 as the pro model but the original Switch was doing so well and this new model would be expensive to manufacture they paused its launch. The chipset is actually dated 2021 in the Switch 2. I doubt if the Switch 2 launched back then it would have had 12GB of memory and 256GB of storage. I would have guessed 8GB and 128GB storage. If you look around the internet there are quite a few interesting stories about it. The Samsung process the current Switch 2 is using is a fabrication process from 2020 which is why it is mainly 10Nm despite Samsung calling it 8Nm.

So I personally don't think it will be developed concurrently as most of the Switch 2 development took place many years ago at Nvidia. I certainly think a Lite model is on the agenda but it will be costly to develop. I don't personally think they can create a Lite model based on the current 10/8Nm chipset because it will have a smaller capacity battery and battery runtime would be quite low. I'm happy to be proved wrong though. Maybe a Lite model that is more the size of the original Switch model which to the Switch 2 would be a lite model in size. Maybe a 6,2" screen but less of a border and maybe 720p resolution rather than 1080p.

@BonzoBanana I’m unconvinced about the Switch pro narrative. I very much doubt Nintendo would plan out an incremental upgrade for Switch but not Switch Lite. Most likely they planned for both as a hardware range, if it’s going to happen at all.

@DaGoldenBoo
The next Lite is definitely coming, yea, that’s a safe bet. But next year is too early. That would be a little bonkers, actually, especially if they would fix a couple issues with the screen while the original model had to stay with the old screen. It would just be way too soon.

@rallydefault it would be sooner than expected. I just think they want to have it out for as much of the Switch 2 lifetime as possible

@BonzoBanana I think Pokemon Gen 10 is the main factor for when Switch 2 Lite comes out. See how Switch Lite released 2 months before Pokemon Sword/Shield (the first new Pokemon gen on Switch) and 2DS released same day as Pokemon X/Y (the first new Pokemon gen on 3DS) for example.

So if Gen 10 is coming out in 2026, it seems very likely that Switch 2 Lite also releases in 2026.

My theory:
Switch 2 Lite in 2026 alongside Pokémon Gen 10 like @Grumblevolcano suggests, or coming out about two years later like what happened the first time around: Switch 1: 2017 - Switch 1 Lite: 2019. If this is the case, Switch 2 Lite: 2027. I do believe it is coming in the next year or two.

@DaGoldenBoo
Yea, just seems weird they wouldn't even give the Switch 2 a full year to breathe on its own. Maybe like Holiday 2026 is the earliest I could see it happening, personally.

The SoC on the Switch 2 does have a 2021 date stamped on it. So they were finishing up the silicon at that point. I think at this point it's fairly obvious that the Switch Pro narrative was early work on Switch 2 hardware/software being conflated with the ramp up for OLED. It was real, it was just more than one thing

They probably could have, if they wanted, released Switch 2 around 2023. I would say they main reason they didn't was continued decent sales of Switch meant they could let the software for Switch 2 cook for a bit longer

@skywake that makes sense. I can definitely believe a generational refresh (as opposed to a Sony-style extension/enthusiast model) happening sooner. However I think working with Nvidia gives Nintendo some added flexibility as to how and when new hardware happens. Nintendo may have decided at the early stage of Switch that the hardware would be at least a 12 year project. Roughly 2 typical generations with numerous options as to how and when they market the string of upgrades including Switch 2