Nintendo Switches up production

[London Geezer]

Graphics-wise it really surprised me. Then again I really had low to no expectations, so understandable. I’ve seen some (bad) PS4 games looking and playing much, much worse than Mario Odyssey.

It really does feel like an extremely high quality toy - as opposed to a “serious” console. And maybe that’s why it’s so impressive.

Even the tiny cartridges are so CUTE.

 

[BRiT]

Even the tiny cartridges are so CUTE.

But how do they taste when you lick them?

 

[wco81]

I was happy to find that my pre-existing powerbank is able to increase the battery level of the Switch while playing, should make a 10h flight a breeze

What kind do you have?

I got a USB-A to USB-C cable and tried a USB charger or a power bank and find that it can prevent power from being drained but will not charge it unless the device is asleep.

Also, the Google engineer who was reviewing USB-C devices on his own dime found that there are no good third-party chargers for the Switch dock yet. And he found that the Nintendo power adapter does fine charging the Switch and its dock but it's not so good for charging other USB-C devices.

The current situation with USB-C Power Delivery chargers and battery packs and USB-C products in general (including some cables and things like HP Spectre laptop not charging unless you're using their USB-C chargers) is a real mess.

Interoperability is a mixed-bag at the moment.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

What kind do you have?

I got a USB-A to USB-C cable and tried a USB charger or a power bank and find that it can prevent power from being drained but will not charge it unless the device is asleep.

Also, the Google engineer who was reviewing USB-C devices on his own dime found that there are no good third-party chargers for the Switch dock yet. And he found that the Nintendo power adapter does fine charging the Switch and its dock but it's not so good for charging other USB-C devices.

The current situation with USB-C Power Delivery chargers and battery packs and USB-C products in general (including some cables and things like HP Spectre laptop not charging unless you're using their USB-C chargers) is a real mess.

Interoperability is a mixed-bag at the moment.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00LRK8JDC/?tag=b3d-21

That one, they no longer sell that model. I think I paid 27€ for it some years back. It's nothing fancy, but it seems to be able to handle Switch in handheld mode.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Also, the Google engineer who was reviewing USB-C devices on his own dime found that there are no good third-party chargers for the Switch dock yet. And he found that the Nintendo power adapter does fine charging the Switch and its dock but it's not so good for charging other USB-C devices.

O/T but my Switch works fine with my Apple USB-C chargers (those rated 19w or higher) and it also works fine on a couple of unofficial chargers I have. Having Ummed and ahhed about our generic Office IT strategy, we've gone all in on USB-C / Thunderbolt connections with Dell (Windows 10) and Apple (macOS) laptops available to our staff with all desk stations equipped with Targus universal USB-C docks which charges the laptop and let's the machine drive up to three monitors - it also works with the Switch.

All of the USB-C problems we've encountered were traced to shitty USB-C peripherals or cables. If you eliminate those you can exist in a single cable IT utopia. USB-C is complicated because of Thunderbolt but when it works, it's works fantastically.

 

[wco81]

But those Apple chargers are priced high, don't comply with USB-C PD specs and only have one port, not at least USB-A ports.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Yeah I wish my USB-C experience was as nice as DSoup. It's gotten better, but it's still not ready for primetime, IMO. At least not the "universal" part.

Regards,
SB

 

[Deleted member 11852]

Yeah I wish my USB-C experience was as nice as DSoup. It's gotten better, but it's still not ready for primetime, IMO. At least not the "universal" part.

It's definitely been pretty crappy until fairly recently with more affordable robust USB-C / Thunderbolt chipsets becoming available for products to use. Nintendo's Switch dock is expensive because the chipset they use is expensive and it's the same reason adaptors like Wofalo's adapter are also expensive. You can tell the products with goods chipsets as they support 4K @ 60Hz and the cheap unreliable ones do not, the cheap crap all seems to have the same unreliable HDMI negotiation issues which work on some TVs, some of the time.

Now the USB-C ecosystem is settling its getting better. Most of the problems attributed to USB-C are in fact Thunderbolt issues and some are related to unregulated power adaptors which is why HP won't allow you to use just any USB charger while the laptop is being used. Delivering power as well as video and data over one USB-C cable is brilliant in theory (and in practice with good chargers) but how many people will brick a laptop from using a crappy charger? The next generation of devices will need to be designed to manage this better than choosing to lock down devices to their own manufacturer's chargers. This is not an issue on Dell's laptops or Apple's MacBook so HP need to do whatever it is Apple and Dell are doing.

 

[wco81]

Now the USB-C ecosystem is settling its getting better. Most of the problems attributed to USB-C are in fact Thunderbolt issues and some are related to unregulated power adaptors which is why HP won't allow you to use just any USB charger while the laptop is being used. Delivering power as well as video and data over one USB-C cable is brilliant in theory (and in practice with good chargers) but how many people will brick a laptop from using a crappy charger? The next generation of devices will need to be designed to manage this better than choosing to lock down devices to their own manufacturer's chargers. This is not an issue on Dell's laptops or Apple's MacBook so HP need to do whatever it is Apple and Dell are doing.

I heard in the case of at least some models, HP released a firmware update that removed the restriction from having to use HP chargers. That was after people complained.

The other part is that the physical connector costs more to make because there are more components than standard connectors.

Finally, the USB group doesn't have enough staff to enforce compliance with standards. If they start charging for certification, then the products become more expensive.

I bought some cheap Lightning cables for my iPhone on Amazon and they wear out after awhile. You wouldn't think they could screw up that little connector but after awhile, some of them have hard time making good contact or just stop working. So if USB-C products become more popular, I suspect we'll get really poorly-made products for a long time and no easy way to sort through them before purchase.

 

[Deleted member 11852]

I bought some cheap Lightning cables for my iPhone on Amazon and they wear out after awhile. You wouldn't think they could screw up that little connector but after awhile, some of them have hard time making good contact or just stop working. So if USB-C products become more popular, I suspect we'll get really poorly-made products for a long time and no easy way to sort through them before purchase.

USB-C cables are now more complicated as HDMI, which already come in four varieties; standard speed and high speed, each with and without ethernet. Cheap USB-C cables generally only offer basic USB data support (USB 1, 2, 3.0, sometimes 3.1 but not 3.2) and some power delivery but not USB Power Delivery specification, nor USB Alternative Mode, nor Analogue Out and Microphone Mode. They also likely won't support modern Thunderbolt specifications and perhaps not even older Thunderbolt.

Obligatory XKCD comic:

 

[bunge]

Bring back FireWire!