iFixit says the Switch 2 is even harder to repair than the original
iFixit says the Switch 2 is even harder to repair than the original
www.theverge.com
iFixit says the Switch 2 is even harder to repair than the original
113 comments
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Not a problem. I wasn't gonna buy one amyways.
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Great video. That's a disappointing outcome though.
It was interesting to hear though that Nintendo hasn't made any replacement parts available for the original switch, despite the fact that New York State apparently requires this by law.
I wonder if they'll be forced to comply with that at some point. There are probably other jurisdictions that require this or that will require this soon. I'd love to see some pressure applied to companies that don't make replacement parts available.
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At this point I trust in the EU to force Nintendo to play the right-to-repair game.
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Yeah, the EU has shown they're serious when it comes to consumer protections. It's great to see!
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I really appreciate iFixit and how they help bring the discussion of repairability to the forefront.
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Not surprised, given it's Nintendo. My Switch Lite has seen very little use since I got my Steam Deck, tho.
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I mean yeah, I wouldn't expect otherwise. Nobody hates their fans more than Nintendo does.
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Not surprising. Nintendo is turning into the Apple of the video game world.
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Nintendo has been the Apple of the video game world since the N64.
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Even Apple makes more repairable hardware.
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Part of the difficulty is that Nintendo have hitsquads that will blow your city if you even look sideways at one of the screw.
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Blow a whole city? That's dedication
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There is nobody with more dedication than IP lawyers and Nintendo.
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What’s the appeal of the switch for when PC handhelds exist ? I just don’t get it why you would buy this unless you had children. Nintendo Games are good but they’re really not that good either.
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Battery life and weight. That’s what keeps me from getting a pc handheld. Although the switch 2 is so big I don’t know if that holds true anymore
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2 hour battery time
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The steam deck has great battery life (better than my original switch by a lot) unless you're playing something super heavy, and it's so much more comfortable to hold that the bit of extra weight isn't that big a deal. I don't think I've touched my switch since I got a deck
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There are PC handhelds that do old emulated games pretty well with good battery life. Sorta like a modern version of a DS or PSP.
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Switch 2 battery life also isn't fantastic.
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People like playing Nintendo original games. Mario games, Zelda games, etc.
The only way to legally play those is on the switch.
Yes, even non children play those games.
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You can legally play them on an ROG Ally or other Pc handheld . It is not illegal to emulate a game that you own.
But I get that it’s just that I don’t think Nintendo games warrant buying an entire system anymore. If their consoles had more third party support maybe, but I just don’t see the value at the current price of the console.
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From my friend, the main advantage the switch have is the UI for games is being design for handheld from the get go, so big, readable font and icon is by default already there and is made to fit. PC game tend to made for either a 24inch or so monitor or big tv for couch gaming, games that doesn't have UI accessibility option on a handheld PC is unplayable for a lot of people.
Also that damn controller can be split so coop is so accessible. Not to mention that first party games.
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Friends with Switchs to play Smash Bros and Mario Party. Occasional Nintendo game but everything else PC. It's lighter than almost every PC handheld. The Ayaneo Air 1S is lighter but has a 5.5" display
I have a PC handheld but they're all too heavy in my opinion. The holy grail to me is a Steam Deck that's about the same weight as a Switch 2 or lighter. 7" display
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Mario. Zelda. Metroid. For a time the occasional Splatoon. Maybe a Wario once in a while too. Some Pikmin. Even the built-in (paid) list of emulator games are attractive.
Also, you severely underestimate the convenience factor for a lot of people. Yeah, I have a Steam Deck, and 95% of the time, it's a completely seamless experience. With consoles, it's 100% of the time. People want a "I turn it on, I start a game", not a "I turn it on, I might be able to start a game, and sometimes it needs a bit of fiddling, not much, but, more than zero. And sure, I could have this or that other thing by going there and running that, you know, sometimes".
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My Switch Lite is far more comfortable for me to play with than my Steam Deck. I know there are people who say that the Steam Deck is more comfortable and I believe them, but I get tired holding something big and heavy.
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I implore people to watch the teardown guide itself, which is way more nuanced than the clickbaity The Verge article.
I'm not a fan of the use of glue in the joycon sides and the fact that the color strips under the controllers are hiding screws. The bigger complaint is the battery glue, especially because you can imagine aftermarket parts with bigger capacity could be a thing here. I definitely wouldn't open this thing unless it has a problem.
Some components are still modular, which is nice. I can't imagine the sticks not having changed design is great, but it's entirely possible they're way more durable, which the teardown acknowledges. Keep in mind that, while all controllers can drift, most controllers don't fail that way. It's possible to build this type of stick without widespread issues. Time will tell, though.
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I'm not a fan of the use of glue in the joycon sides and the fact that the color strips under the controllers are hiding screws.
I'm not even surprised when I find screws under stickers or rubber pads anymore, it's become all too common. And like a dad, at this point it doesn't make me angry, just disappointed.
It does tell me a lot about what to expect from the manufacturer though. Anyone who actively hides their screws is no longer on my side, they've just branded themselves as an adversary. At that point I know I'll be better off buying 3rd party replacement parts, I know to ignore any "recommendations" from the company.
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The switch 2 gives out complete apple vibes. It's repairability is pretty horrid after watching the teardown guide.
Controllers will fail sooner or later and will have to be replaced. Here it will end up replacing the whole stick just due to glueing small parts of the controller.
Battery will also fail sooner than later. The whole thing yells planned absolesence...
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It absolutely does not. Nintendo hardware is built like a freight truck. The teardown guide references the JerryRigEverything "durability test" and I am pretty sure unless you use it to bash someone's head in this thing will last (and even then).
What it reeks of is Nintendo wanting to make things cheap and sell you multiple of them. Which they do. My launch Switch 1 lasted until I got a Lite and then an Oled and I expect this one will do pretty much the same. That doesn't mean their joycon won't need fixing or replacing (and I did have to open and mod my Lite, which wasn't easy).
I think Nintendo hasn't adjusted its industrial design to modern repairability concerns yet, which is a very Nintendo thing (and definitely not the same as Apple artificially holding down the repair ecosystem to itself artificially). I like neither option, but I'd take Nintendo's approach over Apple's any day. They absolutely need to comply with modern right to repair regulations, though, and that will mean doing more than they're currently doing.
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All the more reason for me not to purchase it.
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After the initial excitement I think the Switch 2 is gonna bomb. Offers too little for too much.
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I hope you're right. Nintendo has turned into a bunch of cocky assholes and they need to be taught a hard lesson. I hope the Switch 2 flops so hard, costing them so much that they don't have any spare money left to continue suing the Palworld devs. They need to be put in their place.
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Maybe if it was 349 or 399... but 499 is wild
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Just yesterday I spent 3 hours playing MK8D on my PC. Cozy on my bed and a controller + a remote keyboard.
Felt like the real deal.Edit: Why the downvotes? Is emulation so frowned upon here?
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The guy doing the teardown recommended you wait until a third party company makes a drift proof module to replace the same as last version joystick decoders
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Hope the drift issue is fixed. Ran into the issue with two of mine. The paper under the joystick hack didn't work and one of the brand new replacement joysticks I installed isn't responsive. 🙄
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Spoiler alert: it's not. Same joysticks as last time.
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Are you fucking kidding? They didn't switch to Hall effect?
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It's the same joystick design. As the video says that doesn't mean it will have the same issues as frequently, but it does mean it can have the same issues. The question will be at what rate.
Given the coverage I have very low hopes that we will get a good idea of that from the press. Instead I expect the first Switch 2 joycon to drift will be put on an auction sale for every clickbait article to parade in front of people with rotten tomatoes at the ready. Still, it will matter if it's one in two or one in a million.
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It's not, and the joycons are even HARDER to repair due to a piece of plastic glued over a screw on the inside..
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Thanks to 3d printing I have litres of isopropyl. What sucks is you probably want to replace the glue since it's there to protect against liquids, and Nintendo don't care to provide a seal kit
You also need to remove stickers to get at the screws
Also you need a security screwdriver (three blade) for those screws
There are no replacement stickers, we wait for iFixit to provide guidance on adhesives
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Congrats it's worse! Harder to get to :)
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I wonder if Nintendo will ever embrace repairability like some phone companies have
I guess there's more competition in phones than in devices that can run Mario Cart
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Or Mortal Combat.
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If you consider how hostile they are with everything else, I highly doubt it. Nintendo never again
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Haha when they did that blog post to change the switch from 8/10 to 4/10 saying they don't normally do that but wanted to make sure you could compare the 2 properly against the original, I thought they were making space for the 2 to be above the original, not that they were going to mark it as worse 😅
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Just don't break it smh.
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you forgot the /s
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"smh" serves the same purpose here.
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Oh good idea I hadn't thought of that
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I honestly don't care how difficult it is, only if it's possible, if it's cost-effective, and if there are any fucking corporate shenanigans that intentionally make it harder.
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From the teardown the only "corporate shenanigans" seem to be the usual soft security measures of hiding screws, having glue in a couple of places and using their security screws in the outer shell. I guess until we start seeing experimentation with swapping parts around we won't know if any pieces are signed to the board (something both Sony and Microsoft have been doing with optical media readers for ages, for example), but I'd be surprised. I assume iFixit have either tried or will try soon.
I think the difficulty matters, particularly for stick replacements. The Switch sticks weren't super easy to change but it was doable. I'd say this one is... harder. I'm hoping the sticks are more reliable, but I would seriously consider buying an aftermarket joycon before trying to replace a stick myself on this one. That's perhaps the one significant escalation I see here, and I will give it at least a bit of a pass in terms of difficulty because man, are the joycon insanely packed with stuff.
113 comments