Despite Nintendo’s stocks dropping after the reveal of its new flagship console Nintendo Switch, the general response from the public has been positive. Objectively, Nintendo did a much better job conveying what the Switch is in their short three-minute trailer, but we still don’t know everything about the device.
For example, Nintendo never said the specs of the display or that it would be a touchscreen. Now, according to sources close to Eurogamer, we have these answers. The screen will be a 720p display and the touch screen will be a capacitive multi-touch display, like your smartphone. The screen will be 6.2″ in size as well. This touch display is much different than the resistive touchscreens Nintendo has used on the 3DS and Wii U. With the new capacitive screen, the device will work much like your smartphone, meaning it will support multi-touch gestures.
Since the Switch is a handheld/home console hybrid how will the touch functionality work when the tablet is docked? Well, according to Eurogamer, there is a short-range IR sensor on the bottom of the right-hand JoyCon. This sensor would allow for some basic touchscreen functionality.
The question is why would Nintendo not show this in the trailer? Eurogamer theorizes that showing that functionality would detract from what the Switch actually is since both the 3DS and Wii U have a touchscreen.
Nintendo has yet to comment on the report, but there is another Switch event planned for January 13th Tokyo time. We reported that the event will be open to approved media, financial analysts, and financial backers, but the event will be live streamed. The event will reveal more features as well as pricing and the release date.
Currently, the Switch is slated for a release sometime in March of 2017.