Nintendo Switch Reportedly Features Multi-Touch 6.2-Inch 720p Screen

When the Nintendo Switch trailer was released last week, it may have raised even more questions as Nintendo didn’t confirm most of its features. Now, new information has surfaced online detailing the upcoming hybrid console’s screen size and resolution.

The Nintendo Switch primarily features two parts: the dock, which is responsible for TV output and the detachable LCD screen for gaming on the go. The trailer didn’t show what the LCD screen is capable of other than playing games on it when the Joy-Con controllers are attached to it.

Sources have indicated that the Switch’s screen is 6.2-inches with 720p resolution. What’s most interesting is that the LCD also features capacitive multi-touch controls, according to Eurogamer. If true, this will be the first time that a Nintendo device of any kind will feature a multi-touch screen.

Eurogamer says that the Nintendo Switch’s LCD touchscreen functions pretty much like most modern smartphones. The device’s screen is a 10-point multitouch display which allows multi-finger gestures.

Nintendo’s 3DS and Wii U both come with resistive touchscreens which rely more on pressure. The screens on both devices are also single-touch controlled, meaning it could only detect touch gestures one finger at a time.

Perhaps the reason why Nintendo didn’t show off the multi-touch controls in the trailer is because it could have confused some people. The Nintendo Switch trailer released last week already showed multiple ways on how to play on the hybrid console using the Joy-Con controllers when the dock is outputting to a TV, or when the Joy-Con controllers are attached to the Switch LCD screen and using the Joy-Con controllers for multiplayer gaming.

One of the potential problems of having a touchscreen on the Switch is how will games work when it’s connected to dock and being played on the TV. Eurogamer also says that the right-hand Joy-Con controller comes with a short-range IR (infrared) sensor. Gamers would be able to point the controller to the TV to replicate touchscreen controls. The JoyCon’s IR sensor will communicate directly to a corresponding IR sensor on the docked Switch in order for this work.

Just to make things clear, this feature wouldn’t necessarily enable multi-touch controls, but rather make gaming on TV and on the go close to similar, as pointed out by IGN. Speaking of TV output, there’s no word yet on what the Nintendo Switch’s maximum TV resolution output is.

All of these features have not been confirmed yet by Nintendo. The gaming firm will be holding a Nintendo Switch Presentation on Jan. 12 in Tokyo, Japan where the console’s pricing, release date, games and other features are expected to be announced.