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Motorola Edge Plus Review: Refined Style and Specs, but Still Lost in the Crowd

A premium Android phone with a big battery, snazzy look and competitive price — but not enough to stand out.

8.0

Motorola Edge Plus

Like

  • Refined, premium-looking design
  • Big battery and fast charging
  • Great curved display and audio

Don’t like

  • No expandable storage
  • Photos taken are too vibrantly untrue-to-life
  • Nothing distinguishes it apart from it competitors

The Motorola Edge Plus is the latest premium smartphone aimed at the US, and an all-around upgrade on last year’s Edge Plus. With its big battery and competitive price, Android fans have another top-tier contender to consider when phone shopping. 

Motorola has refined its premium phones over the years, adding some features and taking others away in an effort to find the right combination that will appeal to top-tier phone buyers. The newest Edge Plus is the best combination so far. But it’s also not exactly the same phone sold around the world, since Motorola releases slightly different versions in different regions. For instance, the Edge Plus available in the US is virtually identical to the Edge 40 Pro in Europe and elsewhere, but has a larger battery and more modest recharging speed.

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A black phone lays face-down on a bamboo wood table, showing its matte metal black rear cover and solid black camera block. A black phone lays face-down on a bamboo wood table, showing its matte metal black rear cover and solid black camera block.

David Lumb/CNET

In previous years, it’s been tough to recommend the Edge Plus series over similarly priced (or even cheaper) Samsung rivals. But with its $800 price tag, which is $200 cheaper than its predecessor, the new Edge Plus is a decent alternative to the $800 Samsung Galaxy S23, and lands right in-between the $600 Google Pixel 7 and $900 Pixel 7 Pro

That doesn’t mean that the Edge Plus is the absolute best value. It’s pricier than the $700 OnePlus 11, though its base model packs more onboard storage. And like other higher-end Android handsets, the Edge Plus faces stiff competition from the $500 Pixel 7A, which has most of its pricier Pixel sibling’s features.

The Motorola Edge Plus looks and feels premium with a sharp display featuring waterfall-style curved edges. That screen along with nearly top-of-the-line specs, like a big battery and truly fast charging speeds, make the Edge Plus a suitable option for anyone who doesn’t need the Galaxy S23’s zoom photo capabilities or the Pixel 7’s AI-powered photo editing. But aside from its tremendous battery life, there isn’t much else that distinguishes the Edge Plus from other premium phones.

A phone held in hand shows its bright, 6.7-inch full HD display. A phone held in hand shows its bright, 6.7-inch full HD display.

The Edge Plus’ display curves over the side of the phone.

David Lumb/CNET

Good battery life, great recharge speeds

The new Motorola Edge Plus has a 5,100-mAh battery, which is 300 mAh more than its predecessor. In practice, the phone easily survived media-heavy everyday activities. When I put the Edge Plus through CNET’s intensive-use media test — which includes streaming movies, playing games, scrolling social media, and joining video calls for a total of 45 minutes — the battery dropped 8%.

That’s comparable to the battery drain on the Galaxy S23 and Pixel 7A in the same test, and a little worse than the Galaxy S23 Plus and Galaxy S23 Ultra. Based on my early testing, the Edge Plus simply lasts longer than many other phones, especially when watching videos and playing games. The battery made it through a full day of use and then some, though it likely won’t be able to last two full days without a recharge.

The Edge Plus’s fast charging outperforms some of its peers. It may not have the ridiculously fast 125-watt charging of the European Edge 40 Pro, but the 68-watt charger included in the box is more than enough. When my test unit was down to 3% battery, a 30-minute recharge juiced it back up to 80%. Compare that to the 25-watt max charging on the standard Galaxy S23 or 45-watt charging on the S23 Plus and Ultra, and the Edge Plus has, well, the edge.

The Edge Plus’ charging doesn’t beat some phones with high-wattage chargers, like the OnePlus 11 with a 100-watt charger that juiced up a phone from zero to fully charged in 26 minutes. In addition to 68-watt wired charging, the Edge Plus has 15-watt wireless charging and can charge other devices at 5 watts.

A black phone seen from the back, showing off its matte metal rear that accentuates the glossy 'M' logo in the center and glass-covered square camera block in the top left of the phone. A black phone seen from the back, showing off its matte metal rear that accentuates the glossy 'M' logo in the center and glass-covered square camera block in the top left of the phone.

The Edge Plus has a matte-finish metal back.

David Lumb/CNET

The best-looking Motorola phone yet (come at me, Razr fans)

Motorola’s premium phones have been on a journey since the brand released the Edge Plus debuted in 2020. The original had an attractive device, and its display edges curved down to abruptly meet the phone’s rear metal plate with such a severe edge that I still remember it biting into my hand as I gripped its sides. The next Edge Plus in 2022 did away with the waterfall-style edges in favor of a standard flat screen, which was less painful but also less stylish.

The latest Edge Plus is a return to form with carefully curved display edges that smoothly meet the polished metal frame. The back is a matte metal with a slight texture, like fine-grain sandpaper, that gives it a refined look and contrasts against the glossy Motorola logo. The smoky glass-covered square camera block is a serious upgrade over the somewhat cheap-looking camera oval on last year’s model. Overall, it’s a phone that would look professional being held up to your ear, if we ever raised our phones like that anymore.

The Edge Plus’s 6.7-inch, 2,400×1,080-pixel OLED display has sharp and clear visuals and supports HDR10 Plus. It has a 165Hz refresh rate, which is technically faster than the last Edge Plus’s 144Hz refresh rate screen. While I could barely tell the difference between the phone’s maximum 165Hz refresh rate and the 120Hz step down setting, the higher refresh rate did look slightly smoother when scrolling through the operating system animations or browsing the web. It also has an under-display fingerprint sensor for security, as well as facial recognition to unlock your phone with your mug.

A phone with its entire display (except for the front-facing camera) showing a crisp and vibrant video of a green lizard in a Costa Rican jungle. A phone with its entire display (except for the front-facing camera) showing a crisp and vibrant video of a green lizard in a Costa Rican jungle.

The display has a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera.

David Lumb/CNET

Specs keep up with the competition

The Edge Plus packs a Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chipset, the top-tier premium silicon from Qualcomm, 8GB of LPDDR5 RAM and either 256GB or 512GB of storage, though it lacks the option for expandable storage via microSD card. This is a bit of a step down from last year’s model, which came in both 8GB and 12GB of RAM configurations, but I didn’t feel the new Edge Plus was let down without the additional memory.

Overall the Edge Plus performs well. I didn’t experience any slowdown or delays transitioning between apps or doing light tasks. The phone kept up with more process-intensive tasks like gaming and fiddling with video, like switching between horizontal and vertical video orientations. 

For raw stats, the Edge Plus kept up with its rivals scoring similar benchmark test results to its premium handsets peers. Take a look at Geekbench 5 results below.

Geekbench V.5.0 single-core

Motorola Edge Plus 1,470Samsung Galaxy S23 1,518OnePlus 11 1,160
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

Geekbench V.5.0 multicore

Motorola Edge Plus 4,849Samsung Galaxy S23 4,789OnePlus 11 4,840
Note: Longer bars indicate better performance

The Edge Plus runs Android 13 with a mostly stock version of the operating system and will get three years of Android updates and four years of twice-monthly security updates, which is encouraging for folks who want to keep their phones for longer. Though with Android 14 expected to launch in October, Motorola’s phone won’t be on a par with other leading Android phones for that long. Samsung still leads the pack with a guaranteed five years of major Android updates and security updates.

The Edge Plus also retains Motorola’s small suite of beloved gesture control shortcuts like the chop-chop to turn on the flashlight and the double-twist to open the camera app. 

A close-up of the glass-covered camera block on the black metal back of the phone, showing three lenses and a flash. A close-up of the glass-covered camera block on the black metal back of the phone, showing three lenses and a flash.

The Edge Plus has triple rear cameras.

David Lumb/CNET

Cameras are good, but not the best

The Edge Plus has a triple rear camera consisting of a 50-megapixel, f1.8 main shooter, a 50-megapixel ultrawide and a 12-megapixel, 2x optical zoom camera that extends to 16x digital zoom. Given last year’s Edge Plus lacked a telephoto lens, this alone makes the new model superior to its predecessor.

A scene in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles, where red and white lanterns strung between trees and shops hang over passersby. A scene in the Little Tokyo neighborhood of Los Angeles, where red and white lanterns strung between trees and shops hang over passersby.

Edge Plus main camera  

David Lumb/CNET

Photos taken with Motorola phones have never reached parity with those shot and processed on premium Apple and Samsung phones, and while that’s still the case, Motorola is catching up. In side-by-side comparisons of the same photos taken on an iPhone 12 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra, the Edge Plus’s photos have slightly more saturated colors but lack detail in shadows. 

A pinkish purple flower sits in the foreground, but the colors blend together to make it hard to pick out petal edges. A pinkish purple flower sits in the foreground, but the colors blend together to make it hard to pick out petal edges.

Edge Plus main camera (portrait)  

David Lumb/CNET

This leads colors to streak into uniform hues rather than dappled with subtle differences from angled light, moisture or some other factor. It’s not too noticeable unless you look closely.

A photo taken at night on a partially-lit street, showing how bright the Edge Plus makes its nighttime subjects. A photo taken at night on a partially-lit street, showing how bright the Edge Plus makes its nighttime subjects.

Edge Plus main camera  

David Lumb/CNET

A nighttime shot of a baseball game from above home plate, showing a brightly-lit stadium and cheering fans as a home team player rounds the bases after a home run. A nighttime shot of a baseball game from above home plate, showing a brightly-lit stadium and cheering fans as a home team player rounds the bases after a home run.

Edge Plus main camera  

David Lumb/CNET

A slightly zoomed-in shot of a baseball field using the phone's 2x telephoto camera. A slightly zoomed-in shot of a baseball field using the phone's 2x telephoto camera.

  Edge Plus telephoto camera (2x zoom)

David Lumb/CNET

Using its maximum 16x digital zoom, the phone can zoom in from the cheap seats to see the pitcher on the mound in a baseball game, albeit in fuzzy detail. Using its maximum 16x digital zoom, the phone can zoom in from the cheap seats to see the pitcher on the mound in a baseball game, albeit in fuzzy detail.

  Edge Plus telephoto camera (16x digital zoom)

David Lumb/CNET

The Edge Plus’ 2x telephoto works well and compares favorably with an iPhone, though the premium Galaxy phones still take far clearer photos out to a distance. The ultrawide camera has a narrower field of view, capturing less area than either Galaxy or iPhone. 

A bee buzzes around a column of purple flowers in the foreground while, blurred with a portrait effect, other purple flower columns rise in the background. A bee buzzes around a column of purple flowers in the foreground while, blurred with a portrait effect, other purple flower columns rise in the background.

Edge Plus main camera (portrait)

David Lumb/CNET

The Edge Plus’s cameras take capable portrait photos, and while the saturation is a bit much for normal photos, it actually pops nicely against the added depth. At night, photos capture a good amount of light, preserving detail of subjects if losing out on some shadow and texture. 

Photos from the 60-megapixel, f/2.2 front-facing shooter have an impressive amount of detail and color, though come out a bit more vibrant than they should. The phone can record 4K video in 60fps with the main and ultrawide cameras.

A hand holds a phone with camera app open pointed at a subject (a tiny Gundam figure). It is adorable. A hand holds a phone with camera app open pointed at a subject (a tiny Gundam figure). It is adorable.

The Edge Plus’ camera app.

David Lumb/CNET

Should you buy a Motorola Edge Plus?

Motorola made the right tweaks with the Edge Plus, with a snazzier design and slight upgrades everywhere else to make it better than its predecessor. While its cameras and software still don’t produce photos that truly top those coming out of Samsung or Apple phones, they get close, producing good shots in dark and light settings. 

But it’s the Edge Plus’s $800 price that makes it a true competitor to the Galaxy S23 and other premium phones. So long as you don’t need extensive zoom photo capabilities or Google’s line of photo software tricks. The new Edge Plus’s large battery and fast charging should make it a consideration among top-end Android devices.

How we test phones

Every phone tested by CNET’s reviews team was actually used in the real world. We test a phone’s features, play games and take photos. We examine the display to see if it’s bright, sharp and vibrant. We analyze the design and build to see how it is to hold and whether it has an IP-rating for water resistance. We push the processor’s performance to the extremes using both standardized benchmark tools like GeekBench and 3DMark, along with our own anecdotal observations navigating the interface, recording high-resolution videos and playing graphically intense games at high refresh rates.

All the cameras are tested in a variety of conditions from bright sunlight to dark indoor scenes. We try out special features like night mode and portrait mode and compare our findings against similarly priced competing phones. We also check out the battery life by using it daily as well as running a series of battery drain tests.

We take into account additional features like support for 5G, satellite connectivity, fingerprint and face sensors, stylus support, fast charging speeds, foldable displays among others that can be useful. And we balance all of this against the price to give you the verdict on whether that phone, whatever price it is, actually represents good value.

Motorola Edge Plus (2023) specs

Display size, type, resolution 6.7-inch, OLED, 2,400×1,080 pixels
Pixel density 394 ppi
Dimensions (millimeters) 161.2 x 74 x 8.59 mm
Weight (ounces, grams) 203 g; 7.2 oz (converted)
Mobile software Android 13
Camera 50-megapixel main, 50-megapixel ultrawide, 12-megapixel 2x telephoto
Front-facing camera 60-megapixel
Video capture 8K UHD (30fps)
Processor Snapdragon 8 Gen 2
RAM, storage 8GB RAM; 256 or 512GB storage
Expandable storage None
Battery, charger 5,100 mAh, 68W charging
Fingerprint sensor Yes
Connector USB-C
Headphone jack N/A
Special features 165Hz, 68W charger included in box
Price off-contract (USD) $800
Price (GBP) Converts to £649
Price (AUD) Converts to AU$1,225

Technologies

Zelle App Is Gone. Use These Alternatives to Send Money Digitally

You still have lots of free ways to send money to friends and family electronically.

If Zelle has been your go-to app for sending money digitally, it’s time to find a new method. The digital payment app shut down on April 1.

That doesn’t mean you can’t use Zelle altogether, however. Zelle has only discontinued its standalone app. You can still send money using Zelle if your bank belongs to the Zelle network. You’ll just need to do it through your bank’s app or website. You also have other services to choose from. Here’s what you need to know about this change and your options moving forward.

TAX SOFTWARE DEALS OF THE WEEK

Deals are selected by the CNET Group commerce team, and may be unrelated to this article.

Why the Zelle app is shutting down

When Zelle launched in 2017, only about 60 US financial institutions offered the service by the end of that year. Today, that number exceeds 2,200. As a result, less than 2% of Zelle transactions occur through the standalone app. Zelle has been phasing out the ability to make transactions on its mobile app since October 2024.

«Today, the vast majority of people using Zelle to send money use it through their financial institution’s mobile app or online banking experience, and we believe this is the best place for Zelle transactions to occur,» Zelle said in an October 2024 press release

In December, Zelle was in the spotlight when the Consumer Financial Protected Bureau sued the company and three of the largest US banks for failing to protect consumers from widespread fraud on the peer-to-peer payment network. The lawsuit has since been dropped.

Other ways to send money digitally

You can still use Zelle through your bank’s app or website if it belongs to the Zelle network. You can also switch to another digital payment app, such as:

  • Apple Wallet
  • Cash App
  • PayPal
  • Venmo

Take some basic precautions when using Zelle or any other digital payment service. These apps are a frequent target for scammers, and Chase Bank has started blocking some Zelle payments it believes could be fraudulent. Only send money to people you know and trust, and watch for red flags like an urgent message claiming to be from your bank or an online ad for concert tickets that seem impossibly cheap.


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Technologies

Marvel Rivals Season 2 Starts Next Week, Devs Drop Big News

Emma Frost and Ultron are joining the Rivals roster in season 2, and developers are upping the pace to one new hero per month starting with season 3.

After surviving the endless night in New York City with the Fantastic Four, Marvel Rivals players are getting invited to the shores of Krakoa for the start of season 2 on April 11. The game dropped the first trailer for the new season, giving us our first official look at the new heroes, and a developer vision video dropped major news about the future of hero releases. 

The trailer features the former foe and sometimes-leader of the X-Men, Emma Frost, inviting people from across Rivals’ various timelines to the mutant nation of Krakoa, where everyone gets dressed up for a fancy gala — even Wolverine puts on a white tux. The event, however, is unceremoniously interrupted when Ultron shows up preaching extermination. 

We also got a look at some of the cosmetics in season 2, though it’s unclear which are from the shop and which might be in the battle pass. In addition to the dressed-up Wolverine, we also got looks at Magik and Psylocke in the traditional X-Men blue and yellow. Nonmutant guests are also getting in on the fun, with fancy attire for heroes like Cap, Widow and Luna Snow. 

New Heroes and balance changes in Marvel Rivals Season 2

Emma Frost joins the roster as a Vanguard. We don’t have detailed information about her abilities yet but expect that information to drop ahead of next week’s season launch. Ultron is coming in the season 2.5 update, which should be in late May. 

Some team-ups are changing in season 2, including three new team-up abilities that were previewed in the newest developer vision video. 

  • Emma Frost allows Magneto and Psylocke to create illusions of themselves.
  • Doctor Strange teams up with Scarlet Witch allowing her to use small portals to seemingly increase her damage output via a rapid-shooting alternate fire.  
  • Cap finally teams up with Bucky, allowing the Winter Soldier to leap to allies.

A few existing team-ups are getting adjustments, with Psylocke, Winter Soldier and Doctor Strange being removed from older team-ups in favor of new ones, and Namor moving from working with Luna’s anchor to Hulk’s to empower his ultimate with gamma energy. Two team-ups are being removed entirely: Magneto can no longer team up with Scarlet Witch, and Thor is no longer anchoring Cap and Storm.

The developers vaguely teased other balance changes, including buffs to Peni, Mister Fantastic and Moon Knight, with Strange trading offensive pressure for more survivability and Rocket getting more utility while Loki and Adam Warlock receive nerfs to their Regeneration Domain and Soul Bond abilities.

Future seasons will be shorter, which means more new heroes

One of the most surprising moments in the developer video was the announcement that, beginning with season 3, seasons will be two months long instead of roughly three. There has been a lot of discussion online about whether Rivals’ pace of new heroes (about eight per year based on three-month seasons) was sustainable. Well, apparently the Rivals devs took that personally and are cranking up that pace to a new hero every month, meaning 12 new heroes per year. 

This feels borderline ludicrous compared with other hero shooters that average about three new heroes per year, or even MOBAs like League of Legends, which has averaged about four new champions per year over the past five years. Rivals benefits from having an overflowing stable of Marvel characters to pull from rather than inventing their own hero concepts, and compared with Overwatch, the developers seem less worried about mechanical overlap in their heroes, as seen with many support ultimates. Still, a new hero every month feels unheard of for a hero shooter.

New Krakoa map and competitive changes

A new Krakoa-themed domination map is being added in season 2, and Yggsgard: Royal Palace (domination) and Tokyo 2099: Shin-Shibuya (convergence) will rotate out of the map pool for ranked modes, though they’ll still be available in quick play and custom games.

The threshold for competitive picks and bans, which currently only happen in diamond-ranked lobbies, will be lowered to gold 3. Players in Eternity or One Above All ranks will only be able to duo queue, instead of queuing with larger groups — a measure that’s likely intended to keep high-level teams from stomping lobbies. 

Speaking of ranks, season 2 will drop everyone by 9 divisions, which is equal to 3 ranks. That means players in Eternity will drop to diamond, and any players at platinum 3 or below will start their climb from bronze 3 again. (AGAIN… AGAIN.)

Rivals developers also announced that individual player performance will be weighted higher when determining competitive progress after a match, meaning if your stats outperform your team’s, you’ll earn more for winning and drop less for losing. This change can help elevate smurfs and other high-skill players in lower-ranked lobbies by getting them into their appropriate ranks faster. However, it can also lead to players stat-farming, instead of playing in a way that is most effective for winning games. Overall, given that Rivals doesn’t use any sort of competitive placement matches, this should be a net positive for the game.

Other announcements

Rivals is adding new skin recolors to certain hero skins and (finally) giving players the option to gift costumes to their friends so they can surprise someone for their birthday, which you definitely did not forget about.  

Missions are changing a bit, with the addition of weekly missions and a redistribution of where battle-pass-progressing chrono tokens are earned. The devs framed this as creating a «smoother expectation» of how to earn chrono tokens, but the surface-level description sounds like they’re just making it harder to earn battle pass progress over the season by tucking away more progress under missions with shorter time limits.

The developer vision update also gave us our first look at the competitive distribution, showing how many Rivals players are in each tier as of season 1.5. 

The Hellfire Gala trailer says season 2 will start on April 11. While it doesn’t give a specific start time, expect the between-seasons maintenance to finish sometime in the middle of the night in the US.

For more on Marvel Rivals, check out which heroes and roles you should play and how to get free skins.

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Technologies

Nintendo Switch 2 vs. Switch 1: Every Detail Compared

The Nintendo Switch 2’s official specs aren’t too different, but the new console has a lot of upgrades on the original Switch.

The Nintendo Switch 2 may look like its predecessor, but there’s been a lot of changes to its features and under the hood. The new console has «10x the graphics performance» compared to the original Switch, says Nvidia, which built the custom processor powering the Switch 2.  

The Switch 2, with a release date on June 5, is priced at $450 alone or $500 in a bundle with Mario Kart World, the headliner of the console’s launch games. Here’s all the info on how to preorder the Switch 2.

Note that we’re mostly comparing the Switch 2 to the original Switch 1 released in March 2017, because looping in the Switch Lite and Switch OLED gets complicated.

Design

Broadly, the Switch 2 is a larger version of its predecessor, with everything looking slightly inflated: bigger footprint, bigger screen, bigger Joy-Cons. 

Original Switch: The original Switch, with Joy-Cons slotted into the side rails, is a little over 9.4 inches wide, 4 inches tall, a little over half an inch thick and weighs about 10.5 ounces (297 grams). The Joy-Cons slide into place from the top of the device’s sides, while a thin wedge of plastic pops out of the back of the console to serve as a kickstand.

The Switch also came with a dock, which the console could slot into to for recharging and outputting to a TV or large display via HDMI port.  

Switch 2: The new Switch 2 is bigger in every way, but it has the same overall shape and layout as the original. The new Joy-Cons will indeed be held in place on the console magnetically, and connect to the console via pins. The new console also sports a wide U-shaped kickstand that spans almost its entire rear width, which can be moved around to prop up the Switch 2 at a variety of angles. Nintendo says the console has more powerful speakers, which we’re looking forward to testing.

The Switch 2’s dock is largely similar in function though it has rounded edges and an internal fan to cool down the console during long game sessions. More importantly, it can output games in 4K to TVs, but only for select games. 

Joy-Cons

The Joy-Cons were a marvel when they arrived on the first Switch, and while they’re functionally similar in its successor, there have been upgrades in the Switch 2’s controllers.

Original Switch: The Switch Joy-Cons are simple but powerful controllers that slid on and off the console via plastic rails, connecting and recharging via pins on the side. Detach and they become their own micro-controllers, with little shoulder buttons to boot.

Switch 2: The new console’s Joy-Cons are larger to fit the Switch 2, and lock into the side of the console via powerful magnets — there are small inward-facing buttons to the side of ZR and ZL to detach the controllers from the console. The larger-size Joy-Cons have longer L and R outside shoulder buttons, as well as much wider SL and SR internal shoulder buttons, which are accessible when detached from the console. 

And yes, you can use the Switch 2 Joy-Cons as mice by placing their inner edges flat on a surface. During the Nintendo Direct, we saw it being used to control active action games like the wheelchair basketball-simulating DragXDrive and strategy games like Civilization VII. 

Display size

Original Switch: The original Switch has a 6.2-inch LCD screen with 1,280×720-pixel resolution, which was reasonably impressive at launch in 2017 but has been outclassed by newer handhelds with sharper displays. The Switch OLED upgraded this with a larger 7-inch display showing deeper blacks and colors, but no upgrade in resolution. The Switch Lite has a 5.5-inch LCD screen.

Switch 2: Unsurprisingly, the Switch 2’s larger size means a larger display. The new console has a 7.9-inch 1080p LCD screen that can get up to 120Hz refresh rate in handheld mode, or up to 4K when docked and outputting to a TV. 

Why no OLED display? Possibly to save on costs… or possibly to give Nintendo room to release a Switch 2 OLED version down the line.

CPU/GPU

Original Switch: The original Switch runs on an Nvidia custom Tegra X1 processor split into four ARM Cortex A57 CPU cores, and according to Hackaday, there are four extra A53 cores that aren’t used. 

Switch 2: Once again, Nintendo hasn’t released any official info on the Switch 2’s specs, even after the Nintendo Direct reveal stream — and they most the company reveals is that it has a «custom processor made by Nvidia» on the Switch 2’s official specs page. Nvidia confirmed it also has a custom GPU, claiming that the new console has «10x the graphics performance» of the Switch 1, and the custom processor’s AI-powered features include Deep Learning Super Sampling (DLSS), face tracking and background removal for video chat and real-time ray tracing.

We do still have more supposed details from previous leaks. Months ago on X (formerly Twitter), leaker Zuby_Tech posted that the Switch 2’s CPU will be an eight-core Arm Cortex A78C. They also suggested that the GPU will be an Nvidia T239 Ampere, aligning with years of similar rumors reported on by Eurogamer and others about the custom chip, which derives from Nvidia’s Tegra line of chips for smartphones and mobile devices.

RAM and storage

Original Switch. The Switch has 4GB of LPDDR4 RAM and 32GB of onboard storage, expandable up to 2TB via microSD cards in the slot beneath the kickstand.

Switch 2: Even after the reveal stream, Nintendo didn’t release official specs for RAM. Leaker Zuby_Tech posted on X back in September suggesting the Switch 2 will have 12GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 256GB of onboard storage. That leak also suggested the new console will have two internal fans, up from the single one in the original Switch. 

Nintendo did confirm that the new console will have 256GB of onboard storage, which can be expanded with special microSD Express cards — sorry, your old Switch-compatible microSD cards won’t work on the Switch 2.

Battery life

Original Switch: The original Switch packs a 4,310-mAh battery, which gives between 4.5 and 9 hours of battery life depending on screen brightness and other factors.

Switch 2: Though Nintendo didn’t release details on the Switch 2’s capacity in the reveal stream, the company does list specs on its website, showing it packs a 5,220mAh battery. While that’s notably larger than the one in its predecessor, Nintendo estimates this will only get players between an estimated 2 and 6.5 hours, depending on games played.   

Ports

Original Switch: The first Switch sports a single USB-C port out the bottom, a 3.5mm headphone jack on the top and Wi-Fi 5 plus Bluetooth 4.1 connectivity. On the top is a slot at the top for Switch game cartridges as well as the microSD slot beneath the kickstand on the rear of the console.

Switch 2: The Switch 2 retains the original’s USB-C port on the bottom and 3.5mm jack on the top while adding another USB-C port topside, and now we know what it’s for: to connect with accessories like the Nintendo Switch Camera, a webcam-like camera on a stand to let you do Nintendo’s version of FaceTiming while you play games with your friends.

Nintendo hasn’t clarified the console’s connectivity options, and rumors are scarce on the subject. 

As for cartridges, Switch 2 will play some original Switch games in physical versions. The cartridge slot is to the right of the headphone jack in the above image, which is where the slot is on the original Switch. You can tell game cartridges from the two console generations apart by color: ones for the new Switch 2 are red, while older Switch 1 games are black.

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