Switch 2 vs. Steam Deck: How Nintendo’s next console measures up

The Nintendo Switch 2 was finally revealed, and it looks more like a Steam Deck than its predecessors ever did. Its new design paints over the iconic red and blue Joy-Cons with a black finish you could almost mistake for Valve’s handheld PC. Details are slim on what’s inside the Switch 2 as we wait to learn more in April, but for now, we can look at how it stacks up against the Steam Deck as a portable gaming device based on what was shown.

Here’s all the specs we can surmise about the Switch 2 from the trailer and how they compare to the Steam Deck.

Nintendo stretched the Switch 2’s overall size out a little bit to accommodate its larger screen. While we don’t have specific measurements, we did the math based on the teaser video and found that it’s about 14% larger than the original Switch (with Joy-Cons included). That makes the Switch 2 about 4.5 inches tall and 10.7 inches wide. The Steam Deck is a little larger at 4.6 inches tall and 11.7 inches wide.

A report from last year said that the Switch 2 will have an 8-inch LCD screen, and the video looks close to that. Our measurements put the Switch 2’s screen at 7.8 inches, a sizable upgrade from the original Switch’s 6.2-inch LCD screen, and it’s actually a tiny bit bigger than that of both models of the Steam Deck. The Steam Deck OLED has a 7.4-inch touchscreen, and its LCD cousin has only a 7-inch touchscreen.

Resolution remains a mystery for the Switch 2. Leaks suggest it might still have a 720p screen like the original console, but will be able to use upscaling tech similar to Nvidia’s DLSS to hit 4K when docked. That would put it just under the Steam Deck’s 1,280×800 resolution, a difference you wouldn’t notice without holding the screen real close to your face. But the Steam Deck can output up to 8K using its USB-C port, and the newest model has an OLED screen. Picture quality on the Switch 2 will have blacks that look more gray and duller colors than the Steam Deck OLED, but it’ll probably have a better battery life because of it.

Here’s where the speculation happens. According to leaks from someone getting their hands on the Switch 2 motherboard, the system will run on an Nvidia custom Tegra T239 processor. Analysts predict it’ll reach a similar power level as the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It’s unclear how much of that power will be tied to having it docked or not, though. If that’s true, the Switch 2 will be slightly faster than the Steam Deck OLED’s Zen 2 processor, but when you take into account its rumored 12 GB of memory — compared to the Steam Deck’s 16 GB of memory — the differences will be minimal.

The Switch 2’s storage situation isn’t something you can glean from a fancy teaser video. More rumors courtesy of the motherboard leak suggest the Switch 2 will have 256 GB of UFS 3.1 storage, a huge jump up from the original system’s 32 GB of storage. It might also have a slot for microSD Express cards with up to 128 TB of capacity. The Steam Deck OLED beats the Switch 2 with a 512 GB NVMe SSD for internal storage in its base model and a 1 TB NVMe SSD in its upgraded version. But keep in mind, PC games are often a lot larger than Nintendo games, so the difference might not matter much. And Valve’s device only supports microSDXC and microSDHC cards, which gives the Switch 2 a slight advantage in terms of data transfer speeds.

Nintendo surprised us with not one, but two USB-C ports on the Switch 2. And just like the previous model, it’ll have a 3.5 mm headphone jack (take that, Apple!). The Steam Deck only carries one USB-C port along with its headphone jack and, unlike the Switch 2, it doesn’t have a fancy kickstand.

Battery life and other specs

The Switch 2’s battery life is up in the air still. Leaks can only tell us so much, because a lot of it will depend on how its hardware and software will work in concert. The original Switch’s battery life ranges from around two and a half to six and a half hours, so the Switch 2 could last a little longer. The Steam Deck is a similar story: Its battery is rated for between three and 12 hours of gameplay, depending on what you’re playing and how high you have the graphics settings cranked up.

And that leaves us with that mysterious button and the mouse-like Joy-Cons on the Switch 2. Rumors say the new button is a C button, but nobody seems to have any idea what it does. And even though we’re pretty sure the Joy-Cons can be used as mice, we have no idea how you actually use them. We are certain the Switch 2 doesn’t match the Steam Deck’s dual trackpads that also work as big buttons.