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Somehow, thankfully, Nintendo is not done with two screen devices.
The Detachable Dual-Screen Patent
Nintendo’s dual-screen patent first went public in 2023. It revealed a dramatic iteration of the dual-screen we already saw in the DS and 3DS. This time, the second screen can be detached from the primary gaming device. At the time, a lot of fans speculated that it was going to be used for the Switch 2.
The US Patent and Trade Office (USPTO) has rules on how patents are filed and when they are published to the public. Companies can always file patents for ideas that never get used. In general, we do see patents emerge for devices just as they are about to come to market.
Nintendo was working on this technology at the same time that they were working on the Switch 2. This explains the speculation that it could be for the Switch 2 itself.
We have seen that that did not turn out to be the case. But there’s still a lot of speculation that this could be something Nintendo could add to the Switch 2 in the future. Content creator Mike Odyssey confirmed that the magnetic Joy-Cons can bet attached to the Switch 2 backwards. This lends credence to the idea that the console was being designed with the detachable screen in mind.
The Patent Gets Updated
Mike Odyssey revealed on Twitter that that same 2023 patent was updated just yesterday, on August 14, 2025. There are new images of the dual-screen devices as well.
One particularly interesting image shows what appears to be eight buttons on one side of the device. Both the main device and the detachable screen have two buttons each on each corner.
At first glance, this may look like the L, ZL, R, and ZR buttons at the top of the Switch 2 Joy-Cons and Pro Controller. But those only add up to four buttons.
It’s possible that this is actually the attachment system for the console. These buttons may be safely detach the two screens apart. It could be a similar system to the release buttons on the Switch 2 Joy-Cons.
Is This Still For The Switch 2?
Based on these images, it doesn’t look like these are for the Switch 2 anymore. It’s possible that Nintendo will push this forward for what could be the Switch 3. But it’s also possible that they’re planning a crazy variation for the Switch 2 sometime in the future.
Whatever this is, for fans who were hoping to see dual screens return someday, this is that sign you were looking for.
