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Sacramento-based Zennify, a tech consulting firm for financial service companies, has acquired Terazo, a digital engineering firm based in Richmond, Virginia.

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When we think of Canadian animals, the moose or beaver probably come to mind first — but according to a new study, the most distinct animals in Canada are creatures like the spiny softshell turtle and the mudpuppy, which both embody more than 150 million years of evolution.

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As the world turns, so do the console generations. The Nintendo Switch is over seven years old, so it’s due for a refresh. Nintendo Switch 2 rumors have been swirling for years, but now they are really heating up. A sequel to Nintendo's most successful home console ever is coming and it’s likely coming sooner rather than later.

Will it be a straight up sequel to the Switch with updated specs while retaining the same hybrid functionality or will Nintendo get weird with it? Will it even be called the Switch 2, or will the company go with something like the Super Switch or even the New Nintendo Switch? You can never tell with Nintendo. Heck, maybe it’ll call the thing the Switch U.

In any event, recent weeks have brought feverish speculation regarding all aspects of the forthcoming gaming console. It’s important to note, however, that very little information has been confirmed by Nintendo. The company operates on its own timetable. With that said, here are all of the rumors that are most likely to come true, given industry analysis.

When will the Nintendo Switch 2 be announced?

As previously mentioned, Nintendo marches to the beat of its own drum. We don’t exactly know when it’ll hold an event to reveal the console. It likely won't be in 2024, as the tech year is winding down and it's rare to get announcements of new harder in late November and December. 

Even Nintendo has trouble keeping the lid on a major console release, so we could learn something before the official reveal. There are parts that have to be sourced and shipments that have to be made. A senior analyst at MST Financial noted a spike in production equipment spending by Nintendo assembler Hosiden.

When will the Nintendo Switch 2 come out?

Once again, this is more or less a mystery. We aren’t totally in the dark, but it’s mostly rumor and speculation. One thing we know for sure is that Nintendo will announce the Nintendo Switch 2 (or whatever it chooses to call it) by March 2025, as the company confirmed back in May. Some are saying there will be a March release date, which makes sense given the OG Switch came out on March 17, 2017. However, other reports put the console’s release window later in 2025.

We can infer a lot from the announcement date. If the console is announced this year, March would be a safe bet, given that the original Switch was officially confirmed in October of 2016. However, the console likely won't be announced until next year, at this point, so expect a late 2025 release. 

Will it even be a proper Switch sequel?

Nintendo has a weird track record here. The baffling Wii U followed the massive success of the Wii. The Wii itself followed the more traditional GameCube. In other words, it’s possible it’ll be something out of left field and not exactly a true sequel to the Switch. However, this is unlikely this time around. As much as I would love to see wacky VR glasses or a completely bonkers console concept, all points indicate a more traditional approach.

Developers have already seen the hardware, though in a much earlier form, and it seems to be a regular old console. While Nintendo hasn't confirmed hybrid functionality, it’d be a weird omission given the absolute financial firestorm of the Switch. We’ve also heard rumors of a Mini-LED display, which would track for a hybrid console. It’s highly likely this will be a straight-up Switch 2, or something like it, calling to mind the Super Nintendo.

To that end, recent rumors suggest a design that recalls the original Switch. According to reporting by VGC, photos of the console have appeared online and they show an 8-inch screen and magnetic Joy-Con controllers. There looks to be SL/SR buttons and front-facing player LEDs on these controllers. 

Is the Nintendo Switch 2 backwards compatible?

If it’s a sequel to the Switch, the next question has to be about backwards compatibility. The Switch’s library is absolutely massive, and continues to grow, so gamers would be rightfully peeved if they couldn’t play Tears of the Kingdom on their new next-gen console. There’s good news on this front.

The company has officially announced in a recent earnings report that the console will be fully backwards compatible. It will also feature access to Nintendo Online, so users will be able to play all of those old retro titles. 

What about specs?

The rumors regarding specs are all over the place, so it’s tough to pin down. We know one thing for sure: It’ll be more powerful than the ancient Switch hardware, which was already antiquated back in 2017. One analyst allegedly got a hold of a spec sheet from the Korean United Daily News that said the Switch 2 would boast an eight-core Cortex-A78AE processor, 8GB of RAM, and 64GB of internal eMMC storage. This tracks for me, as these specs are about as underpowered in 2024 as the original Switch was in 2017. However, some reports do indicate that the console would include 12GB of RAM. 

Another source suggests that the eight-core CPU will be packaged inside an NVIDIA-produced Tegra239 SoC (system on a chip). Given the current Switch runs on an NVIDIA chip, that makes a lot of sense. The CPU will be more powerful, but it's the Switch 2's new GPU that will be a major differentiator. It's all-but-confirmed that the Switch 2 will support DLSS, NVIDIA's "deep learning supersampling" upscaling tech, which would allow the console to render games at a low resolution internally while outputting a high-resolution image. (Fun fact: We actually wrote about how perfect DLSS was for the Nintendo Switch 2 when the technology was announced alongside the RTX 20 series back in 2018.)

There are still questions about the Switch 2 and DLSS: Will the system support newer DLSS features like frame generation? Will existing games be automatically tidied up by NVIDIA's algorithm? Regardless of the exact implementation, DLSS upscaling will be a huge leap over the rudimentary techniques available to Nintendo Switch developers.

As for the display, there are many conflicting rumors. Early reports from solid sources suggested the Switch 2 would have an 8-inch display LCD display, but there have also been rumors about an 7-inch display with a 120Hz refresh rate. Some analysts have suggested this would be an OLED screen, while others have said it would be a Mini-LED display. A Mini-LED display is basically an LCD display that has a backlight made of (surprise!) mini-LEDs rather than edge lighting. This allows for local dimming, making the blacks more black. I’m hedging my bets here. I think it’ll be a standard LCD, to cut costs, with an OLED or Mini-LED model coming later down the line. However, Mini-LED screens are slightly cheaper than OLED displays, so that’s certainly a possibility at launch.

As for resolution, recent reporting suggests that the console will output 1080p in handheld and 4K when docked. That's much better than the OG Switch. 

How much will the Nintendo Switch 2 cost?

We don't have too much information regarding price but we do have plenty of history to work with. The original Nintendo Switch launched at $300, which is pretty much the "magic number" when it comes to Nintendo console releases in recent years. The Wii U also came in at $300. 

However, there are plenty of rumors circulating that Nintendo could be upping the asking price for the Switch 2. Numerous outlets have reported it'll be $400, or potentially even more expensive. However, the same analysts who say the console will be $400 were also fairly certain it would be out by the end of 2024 and, well, it looks like that ain't happening. 

Dipping back into history, there is some precedence for a price uptick. The GameCube was $200 and the Wii was $250. The Wii U and Switch increased to $300 and, well, numbers like to go up. A $400 price tag would make it nearly as expensive as a PS5 and Xbox Series X. That would also put it at the same price as the 256GB LCD Steam Deck. 

Do we know about any launch games?

Nope! But it’s certainly been a long time since we’ve gotten a proper 3D Mario adventure, right? That would be one heck of a system seller. Other than that, your guess is as good as mine. Past as prologue, we can expect something from Ubisoft and an off-the-wall title like 1-2-Switch. 

If there’s a gimmick or hook involved with the console, we’ll also get a game that takes advantage of that. A dual release of Metroid Prime 4, just like Breath of the Wild and Twilight Princess before that, is also a possibility.

That's everything we know about the Nintendo Switch 2 today. We'll update this article with rumors we trust and with information we gather directly from sources. Any changes made to the article after its initial publishing will be listed below.

Update, November 11, 2024, 9:00 AM ET: This story has been updated with details about the Switch 2's backwards compatibility as well as more details about the current expected announcement and release timeline.

It's no secret that most technology nowadays isn't exactly built to last forever, with new product models regularly on sale on replace malfunctioning items. However, Apple, which famously announces new products each September, is taking new steps to let people repair their own devices. Apple has launched parts and tools for the iPhone 16, including the Plus, Pro and Pro Max. 

Now, if you have an iPhone 16 model that's acting up, you can go to Apple's self service repair store and — possibly — get what you need to fix it. Choose the product type and model then pick from the iPhone 16's choices of back glass, battery, camera, top speaker, TrueDepth camera, SIM tray and more. Apple's iPhone 16 should be easier to fix than its predecessor, receiving a 7/10 on the iFixit repairability scale, compared to a 4/10 for the iPhone 15. 

You can either get kits or just the necessary part with prices varying based on your phone model. For example, a battery and screw kit for the iPhone 16 Pro Max is $119, but its $99 for the regular iPhone 16. You can get quite a lot of money back on the kit prices if you return the replaced piece afterward. The iPhone 16 Pro Max, for instance, goes down to $61.88 after you send back the old battery. 

Apple created its self-service program in 2022, giving its customers access to actual Apple parts when something in their device failed. However, Apple states that the service "is intended for individuals with the knowledge and experience to repair electronic devices. If you are experienced with the complexities of repairing electronic devices." So, repairs might not be as accessible if you or someone you know isn't savvy in making the swaps. 

The popular Shin Megami Tensei video game series is getting a physical board game. A Japanese company called Icrea is behind the effort and is launching a Kickstarter on November 12 to raise funds for the project.

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI THE BOARD GAME (the company asked us to use all caps) is a “full-scale board game project” complete with 72 “high quality and detailed demon figures.” Collecting demons and adding them to your party is a major part of the game, so these figurines should help with immersion. It’ll also help with getting random demon figurines lost in the couch.

There’s a board with various locations from the franchise and plenty of series-specific cards to rifle through. The company says a game should take anywhere from three to four hours. The title has already generated a fair amount of excitement at both Gen Con and the most recent Tokyo Game Show.

We don’t know exactly when this will be available for purchase. You know how Kickstarter timelines work. There are going to be a bunch of stretch goals, however, should the company reach the initial financial threshold. It’s a Shin Megami Tensei board game with dozens of cool-looking demon figurines. It shouldn’t have any trouble finding financial backers.

For the uninitiated, Shin Megami Tensei first came out in 1992 for the Super Famicom in Japan. There have been plenty of sequels throughout the years. Shin Megami Tensei V came out back in 2021, but has since received a full-featured refresh called Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance.

The Persona series is also a spinoff of the franchise. This leads to a very serious question. Persona board game when? I want to wander around a fake high school and eat ramen with a motley crew of characters.