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Should You Buy Nintendo's Switch 2? What We Know So Far

Should You Buy Nintendo's Switch 2? What We Know So Far

Bloomberg01-04-2025

Nintendo is about to release its newest console, the Switch 2. It's the first major hardware release in more than eight years, but not everyone might want to make the "switch". Bloomberg Opinion's Gearoid Reidy explains more on Nintendo's plan. (Source: Bloomberg)

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Nintendo Issues Two Safety Warnings About The Nintendo Switch 2
Nintendo Issues Two Safety Warnings About The Nintendo Switch 2

Forbes

timean hour ago

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Nintendo Issues Two Safety Warnings About The Nintendo Switch 2

Illustration of the interior of a Fnac store, a French chain of stores specializing in the ... More distribution of cultural products (music, literature, cinema, video games) and electronics at the Beaugrenelle shopping center in the 15th arrondissement of Paris, France, on June 6, 2025. Console Nintendo Switch 2. Games console. (Photo by Riccardo Milani / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by RICCARDO MILANI/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images) For those lucky gamers who've already gotten their hands on a Nintendo Switch 2 or who have one coming soon, Nintendo has issued a 'careful usage' warning about what not to do with your console (via IGN). Many of the warnings in this section of the user manual are pretty boilerplate, like keeping small parts away from children or cleaning the AC adapter should it become dirty. One, however, stands out: 'The screen is covered with a film layer designed to prevent fragments scattering in the event of damage. Do not peel it off.' This is an odd recommendation, as most screens you buy come with a similar film and you always peel it off and generally (if you're smart) replace it with a screen protector of some sort. It's unusual to leave the manufacturer's protective film on a screen, as these are typically not designed with touch in mind. Perhaps the best advice would be to not remove the film until you've purchased a better screen protector to replace it with. Nintendo also warned users to regularly charge the console. "Make sure to charge the built-in batteries at least once every six months," the document reads. "If the batteries are not used for an extended period of time, it may become impossible to charge them." This shouldn't be a problem for fans diving headlong into Mario Kart World, but I can certainly attest to my own original Nintendo Switch consoles sitting idle for months on end, though this was largely after enough Joy-Cons suffered from drift that I simply stopped playing Nintendo games. A bonus warning: Over on the Nintendo Switch reddit, a user posted that they noticed a bulge in their system where the battery is located, and a number of other users posted that they noticed the same thing. The OP checked with Nintendo's customer service and writes, that Nintendo 'advised me not to ignore and to turn it off, package it and return it ASAP". If your Switch 2 has a similar bulge, you should probably do the same or at least contact customer service. Other than this, it appears the Switch 2 is a huge hit with fans, reportedly moving over 3 million units in 24 hours, though this has yet to be officially confirmed. I have yet to get my hands on a Switch, though I plan on trying out some brick-and-mortar options this weekend since I was unable to find one online or secure a pre-order. How's your Switch 2? Let me know on Twitter, Instagram, Bluesky or Facebook. Also be sure to subscribe to my YouTube channel and follow me here on this blog. Sign up for my newsletter for more reviews and commentary on entertainment and culture.

Here's How Much Traders Expect Apple Stock to Move After WWDC
Here's How Much Traders Expect Apple Stock to Move After WWDC

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Here's How Much Traders Expect Apple Stock to Move After WWDC

Apple (AAPL) is holding its annual Worldwide Developers Conference next week, with a keynote address set for Monday at 1 p.m. ET, when the tech giant is expected to announce new features and software updates, with markets expecting a modest stock move following the event. Current options pricing suggests markets expect a move of about 3.5% in either direction by the end of the week. Based on Friday's closing price of $203.92, that would put Apple shares at about $210.99, at the high end, or $196.85 on the low end. Apple shares are about 19% below where they started the year, but have partially recovered from their steep losses in the days following President Trump's April 2 tariff announcement. They have traded sideways in recent weeks amid uncertainty about how tariffs will affect iPhone manufacturing and prices. Apple stock has had a mixed performance the week of its WWDC over the last three years. Last year, when it unveiled its Apple Intelligence suite of AI features, shares rose nearly 8% the week of the event. The year prior, when Apple debuted its Vision Pro headset, shares were flat, and in 2022 the stock fell roughly 5.6% as Apple announced new MacBook laptops and its iOS 16 operating system. Last month, Bloomberg reported that Apple is considering a major change to its software naming, and is likely to announce it during WWDC. The new system would make all its operating systems use the number 26, for 2026, for each year rather than different systems based on the version number like iOS 18 and macOS 15. Bloomberg also reported that Apple is expected to announce an opening of its internal AI models to outside developers, looking to boost the creation of new AI-powered apps. Analysts are largely bullish on the iPhone maker, with nine brokers tracked by Visible Alpha calling the stock a "buy," compared to two each rating it a "hold" or "sell." The average price target of about $228 implies nearly 12% upside to the stock's close Friday. Read the original article on Investopedia Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data

Everything You Need to Know About MicroSD Express
Everything You Need to Know About MicroSD Express

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time5 hours ago

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Everything You Need to Know About MicroSD Express

What is the latest MicroSD iteration, and why does your Nintendo Switch need it? All products featured on WIRED are independently selected by our editors. However, we may receive compensation from retailers and/or from purchases of products through these links. I just got my Nintendo Switch 2, and my internal storage is already filling up with all my old games and saves! If you're in the same boat, you may have also noticed you can't just jam in the SD card from your original Switch and keep rocking. Instead, you'll need a new MicroSD Express card. This Express standard was introduced in late 2023, and it enables write speeds in the hundreds of megabytes, but until now it was used only for high-end digital cameras and niche use cases. As a result, the cards are few and far between, and they carry a significant price premium over the more common MicroSD cards. Before I get too caught up in the price and availability though, let's just go over what the difference is between Express and standard MicroSD cards and what it means for your Switch 2. Express Lane As you might have guessed from the name, MicroSD Express cards are faster, but to understand exactly what that means, we need to break down what we mean by speed and how it's measured and displayed on MicroSD cards. Normal, non-express cards use three metrics with some overlap in performance. We've got an in-depth technical guide if you want to know more about the non-express cards, but I'll give the short version here. There are three ranges: Speed Class, denoted with a C, UHS Speed Class, as marked by a U for Ultra High Speed Class, and Video Speed Class, with a V. Regardless of how it's displayed, the number indicates that the card is able to read and write at least that fast. For the Circle and the V, it's a direct comparison, so a circle with a '10' in it has a 10MB/s sustained write speed. There are two U variants, 1 and 3, which correspond to 10MB/s and 30MB/s respectively. Cards are almost always compatible with slower devices, so you may see multiple symbols and numbers on each card. The indicator for Express cards is, perhaps unsurprisingly, a stylized EX or E, sometimes with a number next to it. Once again, this represents the card's sustained write speed, with officially supported ranges from 150MB/s up to 600MB/s. Remember that these are minimum speeds, so you may see manufacturers quote even higher numbers, but whether you'll be able to support those speeds will depend on the device reading and writing to the card. That means your MicroSD Express card will also work as a V30 device when installed in a device that supports that standard, for example. Make sure not to confuse the actual new standard of Express with the performance adjective Extreme that many manufacturers use. Speed isn't the only difference. The overall card shape is the same, but the pins on the back have a different configuration. Most standard MicroSD cards use the UHS-I or UHS-II standard, with one or two rows of pins. The new Express card's pins have two rows in a more compact shape, but are still compatible with slower readers via the top row. If you aren't shooting high-resolution video, the main reason you'd want a MicroSD Express card is for the Nintendo Switch 2. A detailed page on the Nintendo website lists compatibility and requirements for the new device. While you can load images and videos from a regular MicroSD card onto the Switch 2, you'll need a proper Express card to use it like normal for save files and game data. One detail missing is the actual sustained write speed needed. There's a Nintendo-licensed Samsung MicroSD Express card listed with a release date of June, but it doesn't have detailed speeds listed either. We've reached out to Nintendo for more information and will update here when we hear back. Hands On If you just search for standard MicroSD cards on Amazon, the most common result will be cards with a 30MB per second write speed. A 128GB version of one of these cards starts around $10 and goes up to almost $20, and you can often find discounts if you buy multiple. A MicroSD Express card, on other hand, will run you upwards of $50 for the same 128GB capacity, a significant price jump for the extra speed boost. I was able to get my hands on two MicroSD Express cards at launch, one from SanDisk and one from PNY. While there are 128GB versions available, you only have one slot on the Switch 2, and games are quickly getting larger, so I'd recommend at least the 256GB models. The models I have tried so far are the SanDisk 256GB MicroSD Express for $72 and the PNY 256GB MicroSD Express for $56. This is normally where I'd show you some measurements from software like CrystalDiskMark with read and write speeds. Unfortunately the MicroSD Express standard is so new that I was only able to find one USB card reader on the market that supports it. While I work on acquiring one, I did a quick and dirty stopwatch test moving some games back and forth on the Switch 2. The Switch 2 was able to move Rocket Leauge, a 20.3 GB game, from the system's internal storage to the SanDisk in four minutes and 12 seconds, while the PNY took six minutes and 46 seconds to accomplish the same task. There wasn't as much of a gap to move the game from the card back to the system, with the SanDisk taking three minutes and 35 seconds, and the PNY taking three minutes and 22 seconds. For comparison, my original Switch moved that console's version of Rocket League, a 3.4GB game, to the regular MicroSD card in two minutes and 32 seconds, and back to the console in two minutes and 16 seconds. Games for the Switch 2 are so much larger, it makes sense Nintendo would push for a faster storage option to save you a lot of time, even if it costs you some bucks. Unless you own a Switch 2 or hi-res video camera, you can probably stick to standard MicroSD cards for now, but it is worth it for moving games quickly onto your system, especially if you have a larger catalog. Power up with unlimited access to WIRED. Get best-in-class reporting that's too important to ignore for just $2.50 $1 per month for 1 year. Includes unlimited digital access and exclusive subscriber-only content. Subscribe Today.

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