We have some fantastic new rumor about the Switch 2, a few days short of its official Nintendo Direct.
As shared on the GamingLeaksAndRumours subreddit by user Icy-ConcentrationC, Famiboards user Secretboy revealed that the Switch 2 would have a very powerful screen, putting it in line with its Windows based PC gaming competition.
For starters, while it will be an LCD screen, it will have a refresh rate of 120Hz. You need screens with refresh rates like this to see the improved performance of games that are running at 120 FPS and above.
None of the Steam Deck’s SKUs have a 120Hz screen, but the ROG Ally X and MSI Claw offer this technology. While most observers haven’t expected the Switch 2 to run games at 120 FPS, this rumor makes that just a little bit more likely.
Subsequently, the screen will support HDR, and more impressively, VRR. VRR, or variable refresh rate, is a solution for issues with several games running at different framerates that may not match up with the refresh rates of the screen or monitor that you are playing the game on.
To put it simply, a monitor with VRR will adjust to the framerate of each game accordingly. If a game runs at 144 FPS, it will become a 144Hz screen. At 60 FPS, it becomes a 60Hz screen. In this way, these screens avoid screen tearing and stuttering.
HDR is a more common technology, so it may not sound as impressive, but it’s particularly useful for a gaming handheld. HDR stands for high dynamic range, and what that actually refers to is the range of colors that a screen can display, both in terms of their hue (the variety of colors) and brightness (light and dark information).
HDR is in no way a substitute for ray tracing. However, as you may already know, ray tracing takes up a lot of performance away from gaming devices, including the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5. It’s far easier to improve a game’s visuals using HDR than ray tracing, so an even larger library of games are compatible with HDR.
Some PC gaming handhelds use HDR and VRR, to varying degrees of success. On Windows, you will often have to make adjustments yourself to make sure games are optimized to use these technologies and features.
But that’s what makes this rumor so fascinating on the Switch 2. Of course, as a console, developers will put the work in to make sure their games are already optimized for the Switch 2’s features. If this rumor about the Switch 2 screen is true, than games will generally look better on the console than they currently are on the Steam Deck, ROG Ally, or other PC gaming handhelds by default.
It’s possible that those handhelds can be tweaked so that they run better, and future handhelds can perform even better. But because the Switch 2 is a dedicated console, gamers will just get those optimizations built in for them.
And while it’s true that some developers may not make use or fail to properly use these technologies, the prospect of gaming on a device where all of this has been taken care of, and you’re just enjoying the best performant screen possible, well that just makes the Switch 2 even more desirable.
In recent weeks, a lot of the Switch 2 rumors coming out haven’t been as credible. In this case, there’s just enough reason to believe that it could be happening, between the higher rumored cost, and Nintendo’s rumored list of manufacturing partners, including Samsung.
We’ll see how true this rumor is very soon, but if it is, it will make the Switch 2 the most desirable gaming handheld on the market on the date that it comes out.
