Nintendo gives Switch 2 the perfect start while Samsung’s tablets stumble

We’ve been waiting for more details on the Switch 2 since its teaser announcement at the start of the year, and this week, Nintendo well and truly delivered. But we’ll save all the juicy details for later.

Whenever a huge product dominates the headlines, other releases are either shelved or disappear without much fanfare. However, this week has still been packed with tech news unrelated to Nintendo’s follow-up to one of the most successful game consoles of all time.

Samsung’s super-slim S25 Edge could be delayed, LG removed DTS audio support from its TVs (again), and the first Xbox handheld is almost certainly going to be a new version of the excellent Asus ROG Ally.

We also got a firm release date for the Pixel 9a after a short delay and Apple launched iOS 18.5 in beta form for developers. There are plenty of winners and losers among that bunch, but here’s who takes the Grand Slam and the Wooden Spoon this week.

Winner: Nintendo’s Switch 2 reveal lives up to the hype

Launching the follow-up to any ridiculously popular console is always challenging, and it’s often not been something Nintendo has been particularly good at doing. The Wii U, for instance, didn’t hit the heights of the Wii, and the 3DS never managed to compare to the DS that went before it.

The Switch 2 feels completely different, though. Instead of focusing on a gimmick – like the Wii U’s gamepad or the 3D aspects of the 3DS – the Switch 2 is just a Switch, but better? At least that’s what it seems like on paper.

Nintendo has revealed a console that takes all those bits that made the Switch such a hit, like its hybrid nature, and instead of ripping up the rulebook and starting afresh, simply fixes the bits that fans and critics alike have asked for.

The console, which arrives in June for £395/$449, has a more capable chip for improved performance, a bigger 7.9-inch screen with 120fps support, HDR and a 1080p resolution. The Joy-Cons now attach magnetically and have larger, sturdier buttons, while the internal SSD has been bumped to 256GB.

Performance, storage capacity, and screen quality have been criticisms of the original Switch since its release all those years ago, and Nintendo has seemingly focused on fixing those issues rather than reinventing the wheel and putting off potential customers.

There are still quirky Nintendo extras, like an attachable camera and mouse controls on the controllers, but for the most part, if you were a fan of the Switch, then the Switch 2 will feel like a souped-up version of that console.

The whole Direct Nintendo used to unveil the console was also very well done. We sit through hundreds of these events every year, and rarely do they hit all the right notes without veering into tedious territories.

Nintendo managed to lay out the notable upgrades, show off a seriously large amount of Nintendo Switch 2 games, and let developers talk about improvements to new and old titles alike. It was charming in places, spec-heavy in others, and just generally very well thought out.

Of course, there were still murmurs of discontent. The high price of the games – $80 in some cases – caused a stir on social media and we were personally irked that the OLED screen has been ditched. It’s also the priciest console Nintendo has ever released. But, on the whole, this was an impressive launch from Nintendo.

Loser: Samsung continues the run of dull 2025 tablets

On the same day Nintendo launched the Switch 2, Samsung revealed its next set of tablet upgrades. The duo of Galaxy Tab S10 FE slates sit below the standard S10 Plus and Ultra slates as more affordable, smaller-screened offerings with similar designs.

The S10 FE and S10 FE Plus look like perfectly serviceable options, hoping to be among the best tablets around. They have quicker chips than the outgoing models, slimmer and lighter bodies, and a slightly larger screen on the Plus. The problem is that tablet upgrades are beginning to feel stagnant.

This isn’t just Samsung’s problem, it’s an industry-wide issue. Take Apple, for example. Last month we got the iPad Air M3 and iPad 11 – the latest entries in the brand’s low and mid-range tablet lines. The upgrades here were even more minimal than Samsung’s, with basically just the chip powering each tablet upgraded.

With these two upgrades in the bag, it’s hard to really see where the tablet innovation is going to come from in 2025. If the mid-range options have stopped picking up features trickling down from the flagships, then it feels like the whole sector is about to become stagnant.

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