It’s already June 5th in some parts of the world, which means the Nintendo Switch 2 is now out in the wild. Before the first reviews of the new console have appeared online, the YouTube channel ProModding has already shared a 17-minute teardown video of the handheld that includes close-ups of its custom Nvidia processor.
Aside from Nintendo hiding a few screws and release latches beneath stickers on either side of the console, the teardown appears to be relatively straightforward if you already have the tools needed to carefully remove ribbon cables and other connectors and don’t care about voiding the Switch 2’s warranty.
The teardown doesn’t provide many new insights into the Switch 2’s internal hardware, but ProModding did share a few observations of the new console. The Joy-Con controllers do sit tighter when attached to the Switch 2 than they did on the original, but can still be wobbled. Nintendo appears to be using the same types of thermal paste it used on the first Switch, which some gamers have replaced to improve performance and prolong the life of their consoles.
They also note that the folding support stand on the back of the Switch 2 is “too flimsy” and that there is a “high risk of breakage” when attempting to unfold it from only one side.
If you want to know how repairable the Switch 2 is, you might need to wait for iFixit’s teardown. Yesterday, iFixit retroactively reduced the original Nintendo Switch’s repair score from the 8 out of 10 it gave the console in 2017 to a 4 out of 10, based more on its battery setup and progress made by competitors like Valve’s Steam Deck than the finicky Joy-Con sticks.
