Tech
My day one Nintendo Switch 2 review: Its here, and its awesome
Folks, we’re finally here. The Nintendo Switch 2 is finally showing up on people’s doorsteps, while others braved the lengthy lines at midnight launch events that spanned the globe.
Because I have a cool job, I actually got the console a day early. And after spending about 24 hours with my new Switch 2, I’ve got plenty of early thoughts to share. I know some gamers are on the fence about spending $450 on a new Nintendo console (and $80 for the new Mario Kart World), especially in tough economic times. My full Switch 2 review will come later, but for now, let’s dive into my first day of gaming.
And because you've waited long enough, here's my early verdict: It's awesome, though not without its setup quirks.
My Nintendo Switch 2 first impressions
Remember: This is definitely not a full review of the console, as again, I’ve only had it for a little over 24 hours at the time of writing. My impressions and reviews of games like Mario Kart World and Rune Factory will also have to wait. These are my unfiltered thoughts on the hardware and user experience so far. You can also check out my first impressions of the new Game Chat features.
Setup is easy enough but not perfect
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Let's start with good news: Getting the console up and running on the initial startup is quite simple. You turn it on, log into your Nintendo account if you have one (you should probably have one), connect to the internet, and then you’re more or less good to go. I mean, you won’t be able to play any games right away unless you have physical copies because downloading games takes time, but all things considered, I found this process pretty painless.
The only caveat I’d add to all of that? There’s a (by all accounts) lengthy and involved data transfer process if you want to transfer over everything from your Switch 1 to your Switch 2. This is obviously useful if you have a bunch of old Switch games you’re currently in the middle of playing, or if you want to grab your save data the old-fashioned way. Nintendo Switch Online members have access to cloud saves, and for almost every game, downloading them takes just a few seconds on the home screen the first time you boot the game up.
Attaching and detaching the magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers feels so good the first time you do it. Just trust me.
I should note that I didn’t try the data transfer because I didn’t have my Switch on me at the time and I needed to start playing games ASAP, but everything I’m hearing from other gamers makes it sound like kind of a mess. Former Mashable superstar Adam Rosenberg went through his experience in a thread on Bluesky, in which he said the process took two hours. His Switch 2 tried to transfer everything instead of giving him an easy way to decide what to bring over and what to leave behind.
He’s not the only person I know who expressed frustration with the Switch 2 transfer process. To be honest, I recommend skipping the initial data transfer and just manually installing the games you want to keep playing. You've waited long enough for the Switch 2, after all, and you'll want to start playing ASAP.
The hardware itself is an immediate and profound step up
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Strange setup quirks aside, the Switch 2 is so, so much better than the first console once it’s actually in your hands.
The new 7.9-inch, 1080p display has a 120Hz refresh rate and is a colossal improvement over the 6.2-inch, 720p, 60Hz original. There’s one more caveat here, though; it’s an LCD display, meaning it is, in one specific way, inferior to the Switch OLED. I was never a Switch OLED owner, so I can’t say authoritatively that the lack of OLED is a huge problem on the Switch 2. The new display looks pretty darn good to me, though I suppose it could be a bit more vibrant in certain spots. That said, your mileage may vary if you’re used to looking at an OLED display.
Beyond that, the new Joy-Con 2 controllers are substantially bigger than before, making them much better suited to adult-sized hands. The new analog sticks have a bit more travel to them and feel a little more responsive overall, though it remains to be seen if stick drift will be a big problem on Switch 2, given the lack of Hall Effect sensors.
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
I’d also like to shout out the new magnetic attachment mechanism for the Joy-Con controllers. On the first Switch console, the Joy-Cons slid on and off via a vertical rail. This was fine for 2017, but over time, it became clear that a better solution was needed. Switch 1 Joy-Con controllers have a bit of wiggle to them, even when attached. That’s been entirely eliminated on Switch 2, based on my experiences so far. Attaching a Joy-Con 2 to the unit is as easy as slapping it into the open slot and letting magnets take over from there. Thankfully, there’s a release lever you have to pull to detach them, making it functionally impossible to detach them accidentally. (At least, that's been my experience so far.)
Attaching and detaching the magnetic Joy-Con 2 controllers feels so good the first time you do it. Just trust me.
The new dock, which looks and works similarly, is also worthy of some praise. The new dock can output at up to 4K resolution and has a new built-in fan for heat dissipation. Crucially, it also has a built-in ethernet port now. Please, please wire up your dock if you can. Your experience will be so much better.
Virtual game cards are weird
The Switch 2 introduces “virtual game cards,” a new feature Nintendo has added to both Switch consoles. This essentially turns any games you’ve purchased digitally into a commodity that can only live on one console at a time. At any time, you can scroll to the new virtual game card section in the main system menu and load any games you own digitally onto the console. In fact, you have to do this to bring over any Switch 1 games you plan on playing. Once that’s done, you can’t play it on any other Switch console unless you boot that machine up and do the same thing over there.
For a single and childless person like me, this is only mildly inconvenient. I’m not going to complain too much about having to press an extra button to tell the Switch 2 to download a Switch 1 game I own. However, I can imagine this being nightmarish for multi-Switch households. Users have the ability to “loan” virtual game cards to other users for up to two weeks, but as I understand it, that means the loaner loses the ability to play that game while it’s in the hands of the loanee.
While some games now support “GameShare” (a new feature that allows users to play multiplayer games with only one copy of a game), that’s not universally supported. There are definitely good use cases for loaning digital games to other people, to be sure, but this is also a lot of extra management that’s foisted upon every Switch 2 owner. I can imagine it’s going to create entirely new ways for siblings to fight with each other, too.
Storage is going to be an issue in the long term
Credit: Joe Maldonado/Mashable
Obviously, I’ll do a deeper dive into the console once I’ve had more time with it, but the final first impression I’ll share is that the Switch 2’s internal storage capacity of 256GB might not be enough for serious gamers.
When it was first announced, I thought it was fine. I mistakenly made the assumption that game file sizes wouldn’t balloon too much from the OG Switch, but I was wrong. In fairness, first-party Nintendo stuff has been fine so far; Mario Kart World is a manageable 22GB, and the only other thing I saw that crossed the 20GB threshold from Nintendo itself is the Switch 2 version of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
Third-party games are a different story, however. Hitman: World of Assassination is 58GB, or roughly 22 percent of the internal storage capacity. That at least makes sense, as that’s three entire games in one package, and frankly, it’s a lot bigger on other platforms. Street Fighter 6 is 48GB, which is pretty big, but again, that’s a big game on other platforms, too.
The most confusing one I’ve seen is Yakuza 0: Director’s Cut. On a PlayStation 4, Yakuza 0 is 24GB. On a Switch 2, it’s a staggering 45GB. Granted, there’s some new content, like additional cutscenes, a multiplayer mode, and new English voice acting, but nearly doubling the file size is a bit much.
Credit: Sega/Nintendo
To make life more difficult, the Switch 2 only has one option for external storage expansion — microSD Express cards. This is a new type of memory card with substantially faster data read speeds than a regular microSD card. Nintendo going to this new standard is a good thing overall because games load way faster than before, but it also means everyone has to buy a new memory card, and they’re pretty expensive and hard to find right now. That won’t be a problem forever, so hopefully people can hold out until there are some good Black Friday sales or something like that.
I feel like I’ve spent most of this piece complaining about some relatively minor quirks with Switch 2, so I want to make something very clear: I think it’s awesome. Most of the games I’ve played have been impressive in one way or another, and the hardware is a clear improvement over the first Switch. It’s not perfect, but nothing is.
Look out for a full review in the near future. In the meantime, I'll be perfecting my grinding skills in Mario Kart World.
Where to buy the Switch 2
As of this writing, the Switch 2 is still sold out at all major retailers, though price gougers are having a good day over at eBay. You can try placing an order through the My Nintendo Store or check the retailers listed below.
Opens in a new window
-
Buy the Switch 2 at Nintendo
-
Buy the Switch 2 at Walmart
-
Buy the Switch 2 at GameStop
-
Buy the Switch 2 at Best Buy
-
But the Switch 2 at Costco
-
Buy the Switch 2 at Target (available online June 6)
Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier is suing several porn companies, according to a press release on Tuesday.
Uthmeier states that these porn sites aren't complying with Florida's age-verification law, which went into effect on Jan. 1. The law, HB 3, requires sites that publish a "substantial portion" of material that is "harmful to minors" to use a method to prove that visitors are over 18. HB 3 requires this method to keep personal information anonymous and be conducted by a nongovernmental, independent third party.
Florida's version of age verification is similar to that in other states, but some are more specific in that they require scanning a face or a government ID. These laws started to sprout up in states in 2022, beginning with Louisiana, and since then, free speech advocates and adult industry workers have told Mashable that the laws won't work for their intended purpose. A preliminary study out of NYU also suggests that age-verification laws don't work.
One reason is that they can be circumvented with software like VPNs, so visitors can pretend to be elsewhere. Another is that not every single website will comply.
Now, Uthmeier is suing companies that operate out of the Czech Republic, including the parent companies of XVideos and XNXX:
-
Webgroup Czech Republic (which operates XVideos)
-
NKL Associates (XNXX)
-
Sonesta Technologies, Inc. (BangBros)
-
Traffic F (an advertising network)
The AG is also suing GGW Group and GTFlix TV, distributors of GirlsGoneWild. The latter apparently also operates out of the Czech Republic.
The press release states that Uthmeier wrote two letters to two of the companies in April, demanding that they comply or face legal action.
"Multiple porn companies are flagrantly breaking Florida's age verification law by exposing children to harmful, explicit content. As a father of young children, and as Attorney General, this is completely unacceptable," Uthmeier stated in the press release. "We are taking legal action against these online pornographers who are willfully preying on the innocence of children for their financial gain."
When SCOTUS upheld Texas's age-verification law in June, experts told Mashable that it was a blow to free speech, as such laws quell adults' free speech, while also not actually stopping minors from accessing porn. Yet, these laws have also extended outside the U.S., as the UK has enacted age verification just last month. Already, internet users have found a way to bypass the law: using a photo of a video game character.
According to leaked documents, Apple may be gearing up to unveil its iPhone 17 lineup — including the iPhone 17, 17 Air, and 17 Pro — on Sept. 9.
The rumor originates from iPhone-Ticker, a German blog, and was picked up by 9to5Mac, which reports that a local wireless carrier leaked internal documents pointing to an early September reveal.
While still unconfirmed, the date tracks with Apple’s usual playbook. The tech giant typically holds its iPhone launch events in the second week of September, excluding 2020, which was disrupted by COVID. The company also favors Tuesday announcements, though last year’s reveal was pushed due to the presidential debate.
If the leak holds true, we could be just weeks away from Apple’s next big drop.
This year, the spotlight is on the iPhone 17 Air, Apple’s rumored ultra-thin flagship measuring just 5.65mm thick. As Mashable’s Alex Perry put it, "that’s even thinner than a pencil."
Meanwhile, if you’ve been paying even casual attention to Apple leaks, most of the iPhone 17 and 17 Pro details are already out in the wild. One of the most eye-catching leaks is the new orange finish for the Pro models, which, to some (mostly me), is similar to the color scheme for the Charlotte Bobcats.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
Aside from that, 9to5Mac notes that if the rumored Sept. 9 reveal date holds, Apple will likely stick to its usual rollout pattern—meaning pre-orders could open that Friday, Sept. 12, with the official launch landing a week later on Sept. 19.
Artificial intelligence may soon play a bigger role in your air travel fares.
Airlines are reportedly working with AI companies to deliver "personalized" prices to customers by using AI tools to analyze their personal information and data.
Delta Air Lines is currently using AI technology from the Israeli startup Fetcherr for some domestic flights, said President Glen Hauenstein in an earnings call last month. Hauenstein said the technology is still being tested, but told shareholders that Delta intends to expand its use of AI by the end of this year. As of now, the airline uses AI for only 3 percent of its domestic flight fares, but wants to increase this to 20 percent, according to ABC News.
However, in a recent letter to members of Congress, the company denied using AI tools to price-gouge customers, as Reuters reported last week.
Fetcherr is one of the prominent suppliers of AI-powered dynamic pricing, and it already works with several airlines, including Delta, Azul, Virgin Atlantic, WestJet, and Royal Air Maroc, according to Aviation Week. Delta has said it doesn't share personal customer data with Fetcherr.
But the airline has come under scrutiny for its rhetoric around using AI to optimize some fare prices. US lawmakers, including Democratic Arizona Senator Ruben Gallego, have accused Delta of "telling their investors one thing, and then turning around and telling the public another," said Gallego, who also said he believes Delta is engaging in "predatory pricing."
In a letter to Delta CEO Ed Bastian, Senators Gallego, Mark Warner, and Richard Blumenthal cited a comment made during an investor conference last December by Hauenstein, who said the company's AI price-setting technology sets fares by predicting "the amount people are willing to pay for the premium products related to the base fares."
"Consumers have no way of knowing what data and personal information your company and Fetcherr plan to collect or how the AI algorithm will be trained," reads the lawmakers' letter. The senators asked Delta to explain what data it collects and uses for its fares. Delta hasn't specified what data it relies on to set these individualized prices.
In response, the airline assured US Democratic senators that their ticket pricing "never takes into account personal data" but also spoke of the merits of using AI to set prices.
"Given the tens of millions of fares and hundreds of thousands of routes for sale at any given time, the use of new technology like AI promises to streamline the process by which we analyze existing data and the speed and scale at which we can respond to changing market dynamics," read Delta's letter to lawmakers.
While Delta insisted to US lawmakers that it’s not fixing prices with AI, recent revelations about Fetcherr raise serious questions about its technology.
Bloomberg reported this week on an alarming white paper by Fetcherr co-founder and chief AI officer Uri Yerushalmi. In the paper, Yerushalmi describes working with an unnamed airline to use artificial intelligence to create a pricing structure so complicated that it would “go beyond human cognitive limits,” according to Bloomberg.
So, even if AI isn’t used to “fix prices” in the traditional sense, it could still be used to make fare pricing so complex that consumers inadvertently end up paying more.
Rival airlines have also expressed concern. American Airlines CEO Robert Isom said using AI to set individualized fares could have an impact on consumer trust. He also said the strategy is not something AA would do.
Dynamic pricing has long been a part of the airline industry's strategy, but the use of AI has the potential to drastically change travel bookings. As airlines look to maximize revenue by harnessing AI, many policy experts fear consumers could face much higher prices, as expressed to The Lever. Another looming concern is that AI-powered pricing schemes can lead to price collusion between companies. Some, like Scott Keyes of Scott’s Cheap Flights, believe prices could actually be lowered, as he wrote in Time.
Last week, Democratic lawmakers Greg Casar and Rashida Tlaib introduced the Stop AI Price Gouging and Wage Fixing Act, a piece of legislation that would ban companies from using AI to fix prices or wages based on Americans' personal data. The lawmakers cited Delta's plans to increase their use of AI to set prices.
This Tweet is currently unavailable. It might be loading or has been removed.
"Giant corporations should not be allowed to jack up your prices or lower your wages using data they got spying on you," said Congressman Casar in a statement. "Whether you know it or not, you may already be getting ripped off by corporations using your personal data to charge you more. This problem is only going to get worse, and Congress should act before this becomes a full blown crisis."
Multiple porn sites sued by Florida attorney general
Myke Towers & Quevedo Set Charts Ablaze With ‘Soleao’
RFK Jr. Drops a Mega Bombshell on mRNA Vaccine Technology (VIDEO)
New Kid and Family Movies in 2025: Calendar of Release Dates (Updating)
The best sexting apps in 2025
Every potential TikTok buyer we know about
-
Entertainment5 months agoNew Kid and Family Movies in 2025: Calendar of Release Dates (Updating)
-
Tech5 months ago
The best sexting apps in 2025
-
Tech5 months agoEvery potential TikTok buyer we know about
-
Tech5 months ago
iOS 18.4 developer beta released — heres what you can expect
-
Politics5 months agoDOGE-ing toward the best Department of Defense ever
-
Tech6 months agoAre You an RSSMasher?
-
Politics6 months agoToxic RINO Susan Collins Is a “NO” on Kash Patel, Trashes Him Ahead of Confirmation Vote
-
Politics6 months agoAfter Targeting Chuck Schumer, Acting DC US Attorney Ed Martin Expands ‘Operation Whirlwind’ to Investigate Democrat Rep. Robert Garcia for Calling for “Actual Weapons” Against Elon Musk