The Switch 2 reveal on Thursday didn’t tell us much, but the one thing Nintendo was quite particular about showing was the suite of I/O options on the console. I’m pleased to see we’re getting an extra USB-C port, but nothing could compare with the joy of seeing a real, proper headphone jack highlighted so prominently in a 2025 hardware reveal.
Headphone jacks still prominently feature in many of the best gaming handhelds, including modern devices like the Steam Deck OLED, as well as standard PS5 and Xbox Series controllers. But ever since 2016, when Apple declared its own “courage to move on” from analog audio output in favor of Bluetooth, I’ve been increasingly nervous that other tech companies would start to crawl in the same direction.
I’m guessing at least partly their audience. I haven’t kept up with every release, but it seems like Nintendo has always tried to keep their consoles cheaper than the others. And they’re popular with families with kids. Kids lose headphones, be they wired or wireless, and replacing a $5 pair of earbuds is way cheaper than wireless ones.