A Nintendo patent application 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 and behave accordingly (imgs 1-2 below).
With Switch 2 console:
• USB 3 data standard
• Higher res video out
• Higher fan RPM
With Switch 1 console:
• USB 2 data standard
• Lower res video out
• Lower fan RPM
The patent publication also helps settle a long-standing debate among Nintendo hardware enthusiasts: The dock’s fan not only cools the dock, but also cools the console. [See correction below] The fan (#23 in img 1 below) 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.
This universal dock may be purely an R&D project, or an abandoned earlier design (patent originally filed in 2025-01).
[CORRECTION] Although this patent shows that the fan helps cool the console, the actual Switch 2 Dock doesn’t do that. I went back to check the 2025 patent for the final product, and the fan ingests air from the middle of the backplate before pushing air out of the top. This reinforces the point that this patent is for R&D, and probably won’t be commercialized.
[Originally posted on 2026-07-15 Pacific Time]
