RUMOR: Switch successor to feature magnetically-attached Joy-Con
An attractive idea
It’s been awhile since we’ve had some Switch successor rumors that are worth diving into, but today a wave of details has been shared by Vandal, a source that’s been proven correct in the past through early details they shared on the Switch OLED.
Vandal has apparently heard some inside info on the Switch’s successor through various peripheral manufacturers, and the details pertain to the system’s controllers. It does appear that Nintendo is going to stick with the Joy-Con approach for Switch’s follow-up, but this new system will connect the controllers through magnets rather than the rigid rail system the current Switch employs. (h/t VGC)
Wondering what this means for the Joy-Con on Switch? It’s not confirmed at this time, but with a new attachment method, it might leave controller compatibility in the lurch between Switch and Switch’s successor. That said, reports state that the Switch Pro Controller will work with Switch’s successor no problem.
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d_says_hi
11d agoHrm, not sure if I like this. How well would it hold up when playing handheld and you're in a moving vehicle and it's shaking?
Permanent magnets can get pretty damn strong even at tiny sizes.
Like "put your hand between two strong enough ones that are each the size of a dime and your hand gets crushed into salsa" levels of strong.
But then you need to be able to remove it. I just don't see a strong enough magnet that it won't cause you to drop the display and also not require excessive force to remove.
the_crimson_lure
11d agoNintendo stated they experimented with magnets to hold the joycon in place for the original Switch during prototyping.
So this makes it easy to make this up as a rumor.
Or act as supporting evidence this is more likely true!
I think it would feasibly be possible to come up with a design where the joycon fit into depression on the main unit, and is mainly held in place by the depression, with the magnets serving to hold the joycon inside the depression.
Imagine peg that slides into a hole. The walls of the hole keep the peg from moving forward/back and left/right, but you can still pull it up.
Now put one magnet on the bottom of the peg, and another at the bottom of the hole.
Now imagine that hole was sideways on the sides of your switch and the peg was the joycon.
You don't normally apply pull left/right to joycons while you play, so you wouldn't need super strong magnets to keep the joycons set into the "holes." And the walls of the "holes" would keep the joycons from sliding off the switch.
Even so, I don't think magnets alone would ever be enough protection from accidents, involuntary quick movements, or even children. So I doubt Nintendo does magnets unless they are supplemented with back-up physical points of security, but if that's the case why do magnets at all. I smell a false rumor!
Maybe it's a weak electromagnet? The magnetic force could be turned on or off with the press of a button. But turning off the device would likely result in the Joy-Cons falling off, so I'm probably wrong.
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