Nintendo has hundreds upon thousands of hardware patents up its sleeve.
Not all of these come to fruition, but I'm totally on board with the one published in China that was discovered by the aptly named Nintendo Patent Watch on BlueSky, which pertains to a dock for the Nintendo Switch 2 that is also compatible with the older Switch handheld.
As it stands, the official dock packaged with every Switch 2 handheld is not compatible with the older console, as its power output is only adapted to suit the newer console. If you want to play your original Switch on the big screen, you have to go old-school and dig out your dock instead. However, according to Nintendo Patent Watch, this dock can recognize which of the consoles it's connected to and act accordingly - something we've not yet seen in a first or third-party accessory so far.
A Nintendo patent published in China describes a Switch 2 dock that can also support Switch 1 console. Since NS2 and NS1 handle the Power Delivery negotiation differently, the dock can recognize which console is connected (imgs 1-3) and behave accordingly.worldwide.espacenet.com/patent/searc...1/
— @ninpatentswatch.bsky.social ( @ninpatentswatch.bsky.social.bsky.social ) 2026-07-17T13:34:11.791Z
For a dock to accommodate both handhelds, there's a more to consider than what the average best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories have to deal with. Nintendo Patents Watch reiterates this in their BlueSky thread: while the original device's dock features a standard USB 2 alongside a lower-res video output and a lower-fan RPM (Rotations Per Minute) to keep its internals nice and cool, the Switch 2 dock is a bit beefier.
The Nintendo Switch 2 dock uses USB 3, can output in 4K, and has a higher fan RPM. There're also the power differences, which is notably why the Switch 2 dock is not currently compatible with the older console. As it stands, the Switch 2 has a power delivery of up to 60W, while the original handheld requires 18W, so there's a lot at stake and likely why we didn't get a backwards-compatible version at launch.
Like plenty of other hardware patents, likely nothing will ever come of this. Brands like Nintendo and, more recently, Sony PlayStation with its bizarre joystick controller patent like to publish patents all the time with no end product in sight. While we can only speculate, these patents very likely have less to do with creating new products for one of the best gaming handhelds and more to do with cultivating a "we won't make one but you can't either" approach to prevent third-party brands from thinking of it first.
Personally, I'd at least like the opportunity to dock both devices in the future, even if it seems like a pretty redundant accessory given the Switch 2's masterful backwards compatibility. Even with the Switch 2 versions in tow, some games like The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom just look better on an OLED Switch's display, but having the plug socket real estate to set up both devices is a bit of a pain.
Yet while this new dock might not ever come to fruition, Nintendo Patents Watch states the drawings included in the filing help "settle a debate among Nintendo hardware enthusiasts." According to them, the illustrations show a setup where a "fan (#23 in img 1) takes in air from opening 21F. The air flows over the dock’s circuitboard 22, enters the console from the bottom opening 30B, and exits from the top opening 30C", which suggests the Switch 2 dock fan does in fact cool both the dock and the handheld. I'll take that new factoid over no new shiny universal dock.
- View all Nintendo Switch 2 docks at Amazon
Creating the ultimate Switch 2 setup? Check out our guides to the best Nintendo Switch headsets, the best Nintendo Switch 2 cameras, and the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers.
