Judging from the leaks of the past few weeks, the Nintendo Switch 2 already exists in near-complete or complete form and has already been showcased to various people. On Reddit, user NextHandheld claims to have already seen the final iteration of the new Nintendo Switch 2 and the corresponding dock, and is currently answering users' questions. The unusual aspect about this leak is that at least one moderator of the subreddit was able to confirm the information, but did not share it publicly for reasons of source protection. That more and more people are being shown the Nintendo Switch 2 is hardly surprising, as new hardware has to be shown in advance to accessory manufacturers, developers, journalists and ultimately retailers.
NextHandheld has shared a lot of information. The presentation, or at least the actual announcement, is expected to take place in January. The Nintendo Switch 2 will also have a characteristically gigantic 2 as the logo, which is intended to minimize the risk of confusion with the first generation Switch. As previously reported, magnetically attached Joy-Cons will be installed, which will utilize the Hall effect. The game cartridges are said to be identical to those of the first Nintendo Switch, so backwards compatibility is thus quite likely or at least conceivable.
A LCD screen will be installed, which would make it quite easy for Nintendo to later launch an OLED model in the event of a refresh. The sticks and buttons on the new Switch are said to be slightly larger than on the current Switch, and the same applies to the ZL and ZR buttons. Moreover, according to the leak, the dock comes with the same connections as the Switch OLED but is a little larger and curved and is also said to show more of the Switch 2's screen. Lastly, it is very likely that the Nintendo Switch 2 will launch with Mario Kart 9, which at least suggests a special edition of the console.
Source(s)
Reddit, photos by Deck Wizard