In pictures: Nintendo Switch 2 from every angle

Nintendo has finally lifted the lid on Switch 2 and... well, it looks an awful lot like the Switch. But there are subtle differences, a few obvious new additions, and still some intriguing questions about the new hardware to be answered.

Let's take a tour of the console hardware, as seen in today's reveal video, for a closer look.

The trailer begins with a look at the Switch's top and bottom ports (no laughing please) which notably will include an extra USB-C slot at the top of the console. Perhaps this is just so you have a further option for where to plug in your Switch 2 - maybe it docks both ways up, to save a bit of fiddling around there? Or, is this an attachment for something else, yet to be revealed? Only time will tell.

Next up, a look at Switch 2's kick stand, which folds out from the rear of the console to allow you to play in tabletop mode. The kickstand has a new design and can support the Switch 2 from a much lower angle, all the way down to horizontal. Handy!

Onto the Switch 2 Joy-Con, which have been given a fresh lick of paint. Gone are the old red and blue designs for Switch 1. These are slightly larger, to fit the larger Switch 2, and are now mostly black except for coloured side edges. As expected, the Joy-Con look to lock onto the main console unit via a magnetic connection, so there's no more fiddly rail to slide them into. Has Nintendo solved Joy-Con drift too? Let's hope so.

The right Joy-Con, below, also features that mysterious extra button we saw from the console's leaks. It's been suggested this is referred to as the "C" button, though the final design has left the button blank - at least here. This is something we're likely to find out more about in April's big Nintendo Switch Direct event.

Next is the mysterious Switch 2 optical sensor, seen at the top of the Joy-Con on the side it attaches to the main console. This sensor looks like it will enable a mouse-like control option for the console.

It's quick, but we can see an attachment being added to the edge of the Joy-Con to enable the controller to be held horizontal and shuffled around a surface like a wireless mouse.

The side of the Switch 2 where the Joy-Con attach is shown next, and looks much cleaner than on Switch 1 with its fiddly rail attachments.

A quick look at the Switch 2 dock shows it looking similar to that of the Switch 1, from the outside at least. We don't see inside of it, so there's no way of knowing how different it is. A previous report suggested it would not be compatible with the Switch 1, however.

Here's Switch 2 playing a game - and it's the newly-revealed Mario Kart 9!

Finally, we get a look at Switch 2 doing what its name suggests - switching display so it outputs to a TV. Lovely.

Want to watch it all again? Here's that trailer one more time.

Nintendo Switch 2 – First-look trailer