Technologies
Hulu Live vs. Sling TV vs. YouTube TV and More: Top Channels Compared
A look at which live TV streaming service offers the best channel lineup.

Live TV streaming services may prove to be a more economical option when compared to monthly cable bills, despite the close competition between the two. These streaming apps not only offer a larger variety of channels than antennas but also the convenience of streaming on mobile phones and computers.
There are six primary services available currently: YouTube TV, Hulu Plus Live TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Stream, Fubo and Philo. Our comprehensive live-TV streaming guide provides details about prices and features, but the channels they offer is what it’s all about. That’s why we’ve sifted through these services to compile a list of which ones offer the top lineups.
Read more: Best Sports Streaming Service for 2023
The Big Chart: Top 100 channels compared, updated May 2023
The main difference between the services is their channel selection. All of them offer different lineups of channels for various prices.
Below you’ll find a chart that shows the top 100 channels across all six services, but note that not each service has a worthy 100. There are actually seven listed because Sling TV has two different «base» tiers, Orange and Blue. And if you’re wondering, I chose which «top» channels made the cut. Sorry, AXS TV, Discovery Life, GSN and Universal HD.
Plenty of live TV streaming choices are available to anyone who wants to cut the cable cord. Sling TV’s basic packages are $40 in most cities. DirecTV Stream expanded its PBS channel availability, and YouTube TV and Hulu added the Hallmark network. But costs have increased everywhere. YouTube TV is now $73 per month. Hulu Plus Live TV offers three price plans for its service: $70 per month with ads, $83 without ads and $69 a month for live TV only (no on-demand videos). Fubo upped the price of its base bundle to $75, and DirecTV Stream increased its plan subscriptions as well. Those changes are reflected in the chart below where applicable.
Some more stuff to know about the chart:
- Yes = The channel is available on the cheapest pricing tier. That price is listed next to the service’s name.
- No = The channel isn’t available at all on that service.
- $ = The channel is available for an extra fee, either a la carte or as part of a more expensive package or add-on.
- Regional sports networks — local channels devoted to showing regular-season games of particular pro baseball, basketball and hockey teams — are not listed. DirecTV Stream’s $100 tier has the most RSNs by far, but a few are available on other services. See our NBA and NHL streaming guides for details.
- Local ABC, CBS, Fox, NBC, MyNetworkTV and The CW networks are not available in every city. Since availability of these channels varies, you’ll want to check the service’s website to make sure it carries your local network.
- Local PBS stations are only currently available on YouTube TV and DirecTV Stream. Again you’ll want to check local availability.
- Sling Blue subscribers in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York City, Philadelphia and San Francisco must now pay $45 per month, but have access to local ABC, Fox and NBC channels. Customers in Fresno, Houston and Raleigh now have both ABC and Fox on their Blue or Orange-and-Blue subscriptions at no extra charge. This is not reflected in the chart.
- Fubo subscribers may find that the ACC Network and SEC Network are included with their package at no extra cost. Check availability for your state.
- The chart columns are arranged in order of price, so if you can’t see everything you want, try scrolling right.
- Overwhelmed? An easier-to-understand Google Spreadsheet is here.
Philo vs. Sling TV vs. Fubo vs. Hulu vs. YouTube TV vs. DirecTV Stream: Top 100 channels compared
Channel | Philo ($25) | Sling Orange ($40) | Sling Blue ($40) | Hulu with Live TV ($70) | YouTube TV ($73) | Fubo ($75) | DirecTV Stream ($75) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total channels: | 42 | 24 | 35 | 73 | 77 | 56 | 62 |
ABC | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
CBS | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fox | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
NBC | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
PBS | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
CW | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MyNetworkTV | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Channel | Philo ($25) | Sling Orange ($40) | Sling Blue ($40) | Hulu with Live TV ($70) | YouTube TV ($73) | Fubo ($75) | DirecTV Stream ($75) |
A&E | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
ACC Network | No | $ | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Accuweather | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
AMC | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Animal Planet | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
BBC America | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
BBC World News | Yes | $ | $ | No | Yes | No | $ |
BET | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Big Ten Network | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Bloomberg TV | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Boomerang | No | $ | $ | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Bravo | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Channel | Philo ($25) | Sling Orange ($40) | Sling Blue ($40) | Hulu with Live TV ($70) | YouTube TV ($73) | Fubo ($75) | DirecTV Stream ($75) |
Cartoon Network | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
CBS Sports Network | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Cheddar | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Cinemax | No | No | No | $ | $ | No | $ |
CMT | Yes | $ | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
CNBC | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
CNN | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Comedy Central | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Cooking Channel | Yes | $ | $ | $ | No | $ | $ |
Destination America | Yes | $ | $ | $ | No | $ | $ |
Discovery Channel | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disney Channel | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disney Junior | No | $ | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Disney XD | No | $ | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
E! | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
ESPN | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
ESPN 2 | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
ESPNEWS | No | $ | No | Yes | Yes | $ | $ |
ESPNU | No | $ | No | Yes | Yes | $ | $ |
Channel | Philo ($25) | Sling Orange ($40) | Sling Blue ($40) | Hulu with Live TV ($70) | YouTube TV ($73) | Fubo ($75) | DirecTV Stream ($75) |
Food Network | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fox Business | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Fox News | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FS1 | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FS2 | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Freeform | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FX | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FX Movies | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | $ | $ |
FXX | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
FYI | Yes | $ | $ | Yes | No | No | $ |
Golf Channel | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Hallmark | Yes | $ | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
HBO/HBO Max | No | No | No | $ | $ | No | $ |
HGTV | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
History | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
HLN | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
IFC | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Investigation Discovery | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Lifetime | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
Lifetime Movie Network | Yes | $ | $ | Yes | No | No | $ |
Channel | Philo ($25) | Sling Orange ($40) | Sling Blue ($40) | Hulu with Live TV ($70) | YouTube TV ($73) | Fubo ($75) | DirecTV Stream ($75) |
Magnolia Network | Yes | $ | $ | $ | No | Yes | $ |
MGM+ (formerly EPIX) | $ | $ | $ | No | $ | No | $ |
MLB Network | No | $ | $ | No | No | $ | $ |
Motor Trend | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MSNBC | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MTV | Yes | $ | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MTV2 | Yes | $ | $ | $ | Yes | $ | Yes |
National Geographic | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Nat Geo Wild | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | $ | $ |
NBA TV | No | $ | $ | No | Yes | $ | $ |
NFL Network | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
NFL Red Zone | No | No | $ | $ | $ | $ | No |
NHL Network | No | $ | $ | No | No | $ | $ |
Nickelodeon | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Nick Jr. | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Nicktoons | Yes | $ | $ | $ | Yes | $ | $ |
OWN | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Oxygen | No | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Paramount Network | Yes | $ | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Science | Yes | $ | $ | $ | No | $ | $ |
Channel | Philo ($25) | Sling Orange ($40) | Sling Blue ($40) | Hulu with Live TV ($70) | YouTube TV ($73) | Fubo ($75) | DirecTV Stream ($75) |
SEC Network | No | $ | No | Yes | Yes | $ | $ |
Showtime | No | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ |
Smithsonian | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Starz | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ | $ |
Sundance TV | Yes | $ | $ | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Syfy | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Tastemade | Yes | $ | $ | No | Yes | Yes | $ |
TBS | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
TCM | No | $ | $ | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
TeenNick | Yes | $ | $ | $ | Yes | $ | Yes |
Telemundo | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
Tennis Channel | No | $ | $ | No | No | $ | $ |
TLC | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
TNT | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
Travel Channel | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | $ |
TruTV | No | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
TV Land | Yes | $ | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
USA Network | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
VH1 | Yes | $ | $ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Vice | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes |
WE tv | Yes | $ | $ | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Channel | Philo ($25) | Sling Orange ($40) | Sling Blue ($40) | Hulu with Live TV ($70) | YouTube TV ($73) | Fubo ($75) | DirecTV Stream ($75) |
A series of price hikes has brought a number of additional channels to Hulu, including PBS and access to Disney Plus and ESPN Plus, at a $70 price tag. Its channel selection isn’t as robust as YouTube TV and Fubo, yet it’s Hulu’s significant catalog of on-demand content which sets it apart. Exclusive titles such as The Handmaid’s Tale, The Orville and Only Murders in the Building give it a content advantage no other service can match.
Live TV subscribers also receive unlimited DVR that includes fast-forwarding and on-demand playback — at no additional cost. It’s a move that has aligned Hulu with its competitors in terms of features, but the channel lineup may still be a deciding factor. For example, the platform recently lost Sinclair-owned ABC affiliate channels. But, Hulu Live TV is a better value as it’s $3 less than YouTube TV and is our top choice for live TV streaming. Read our Hulu Plus Live TV review.
With an excellent channel selection, easy-to-use interface and best-in-class cloud DVR, the $73 per month YouTube TV is one of the best cable TV replacements. It offers a $20 4K upgrade, but the downside is there isn’t much to watch at present unless you watch select channels. If you don’t mind paying a bit more than the Sling TVs of the world, or want to watch live NBA games, YouTube TV offers a high standard of live TV streaming. Read our YouTube TV review.
If you want to save a little money, and don’t mind missing out on local channels, Sling TV is the best of the budget services. Its Orange and Blue packages go for $40 per month, and you can combine them for a monthly rate of $55. The Orange option nets you one stream, while Blue gives you three. Rather than run a free trial, Sling offers a 50% discount for your first month. It’s not as comprehensive or as easy to navigate as YouTube but with a bit of work, including adding an antenna or an AirTV 2 DVR, it’s an unbeatable value. Read our Sling TV review.
DirecTV Stream is tied for the most expensive at $75, beating Hulu Plus Live TV and YouTube TV. The service does have its pluses, though — for example, it includes the flipper-friendly ability to swipe left and right to change channels. Additionally, it includes some channels the other services can’t, including nearly 250 PBS stations nationwide. The $75 Entertainment package may suit your needs with its 75-plus channels. But for cord-cutters who want to follow their local NBA or MLB team, DirecTV Stream’s $100 Choice package is our live TV streaming pick because it has access to more regional sports networks than the competition. Nonetheless, you’ll want to make sure your channel is included here, and not available on one of our preferred picks, before you pony up. Read our DirecTV Stream review.
There’s a lot to like about Fubo — it offers a wide selection of channels and its sports focus makes it especially attractive to soccer fans or NBA, NHL and MLB fans who live in an area served by one of Fubo’s RSNs. It’s also a great choice for NFL fans since it’s one of three services, alongside YouTube TV and Hulu, with NFL Network and optional RedZone. In 2023, Fubo will offer 19 Bally Sports RSNs with a new package that includes the lineup. The biggest hole in Fubo’s lineup is the lack of Turner networks, including CNN, TNT and TBS — especially since the latter two carry a lot of sports content, in particular NBA, NHL and MLB. Those missing channels, and the same $75 price tag, makes it less attractive than YouTube TV for most viewers. Read our Fubo review.
At $25 Philo is still a cheap live TV streaming service with a variety of channels, but it lacks sports channels, local stations and big-name news networks — although Cheddar and BBC news are available. Philo offers bread-and-butter cable staples like AMC, Comedy Channel, Nickelodeon and Magnolia Network, and specializes in lifestyle and reality programming. It’s also one of the cheapest live services that streams Paramount, home of Yellowstone, and it includes a cloud DVR and optional add-ons from Epix and Starz. We think most people are better off paying another $15 for Sling TV’s superior service, but if Philo has every channel you want, it’s a decent deal. Read our Philo review.
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.
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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.
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.
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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