Nintendo Switch 2 supports HDR, 120fps and 4K output

Today’s big Nintendo Direct presentation for the Nintendo Switch 2 was the company’s first ever 4K stream. Viewers almost immediately took note; and it was more than just a tease. Early on in the presentation, Nintendo highlighted that Switch is indeed a 4K machine, with a surprising number of additional modern capabilities.

A beauty to behold

The new hybrid punches far above what its predecessor could do, sporting 4K output when docked, and is even capable of achieving 120fps in some games, along with coveted HDR support for superior color production.

The new Nintendo Switch 2 sports its own high refresh rate display, supporting 120hz. This will allow supported titles to output at a full 120 frame rates per second, in addition to supporting smooth animations across its OS.

The display is also VRR (variable refresh rate) capable, available in supported titles. This is similar to Nvidia’s G-Sync and AMD’s FreeSync technologies. Basically, the display’s refresh rate will keep dynamically adjusting to match the game’s frame rate, thus resulting in a smoother image.

Switch 2’s screen has been boosted to a full 1080p panel, which is an upgrade compared to the 720p display of the existing Switch. While it remains as an LCD panel, it does sport a wide color gamut and even HDR10 support. This boosts contrast levels, thus presenting a much more vivid image. This feature is available in “compatible games.”

When docked, the Nintendo Switch 2 can output up to 4K 60fps and retains HDR support for compatible displays and games. The new Dock also sports its own fan for improved thermals, thus providing a more stable gameplay experience.

Interestingly, games that are not natively outputting in 4K will be upscaled to that display output.

Storage selections

On-board storage has gotten a boost to 256GB, which is light-years more than the 32GB that comes with the standard Nintendo Switch. This is also in the more modern UFS format, which provides faster data transfer speeds, thus improving loading times.

As for external options, the new system continues support for microSD cards, but is exclusively compatible with the brand-new microSD Express standard. This is a much faster format that’s required to achieve quick read-write speeds. Regular microSD cards are not compatible at all with Nintendo Switch 2.

For Switch owners moving onward to Switch 2, there is a System Transfer functionality that will handle the transfer of “save data, digital games, and more.”

Nintendo Switch 2 launches on June 5 for $449.