New Features Alert: Nintendo Switch 2 & OnePlus 13 Breaking New Ground in Tech Excellence

Nintendo Switch 2: The Next-Gen Console is Here

Long at last, we have the successor to the Nintendo Switch — or do we? Nintendo has only recently come out and explicitly announced the Nintendo Switch 2 with a teaser that shows the hybrid console along with a schedule for a Nintendo Direct in April. It will provide more information on the console as well as very little else. That still gives us a lot of unknown things about the new console and a vast number of myths and legends to consider.

It’s the Switch 2! That’s now official, which is good, unlike previous systems. There is no confusing naming like Wii U and New Nintendo 3DS. This is the sequel system; the first just-numbered one in Nintendo’s history. The company revealed that the Switch 2 is coming out this year but did not specify a date more exact than that. Most likely, it will happen in the early summer since the system announcement alone meets the prior commitment made by the company. It is to reveal Switch 2 before the current financial year ends in March. We’re not going to get a better look at the Switch 2 until Nintendo’s Direct presentation next month on the 2nd.

Introducing #NintendoSwitch2, the successor to Nintendo Switch, releasing in 2025.

Learn more: https://t.co/m8FoQWfYcv pic.twitter.com/pDs2T1xIhv

— Nintendo of America (@NintendoAmerica) January 16, 2025

As reported in PCMAG that gives Nintendo time to build anticipation, and have titles ready for the new console. It convinces other developers and publishers who are not secretly working on Switch 2 games. Before the announcement, six developers revealed to the Spanish fansite Nintendo that the Switch 2 will be released sometime in June or July of 2025. The timing complements the original Switch’s announcement in October 2016 and launch in March 2017.

Nintendo found its flop with the Switch. It is a kind of home video game console that users can equally use as a portable system by attaching the Joy-Con to its sides. Going back to a home console or handheld game system only would be mind-boggling (though spinoffs like the Nintendo Switch, stripped of many of its hybrid features, in Lite form are perfectly plausible).

OnePlus 13 Review: A New Contender for Best Smartphone

OnePlus 13 might be the one that will yield for the brand in the end. Building on the success of the OnePlus 12 that came before it, the 13 borrows more from it than mimics. One of the most compelling reasons why people might consider 2025 one of the best remains. That is a big plus for OnePlus which is struggling with all it has just to get some attention from the casual audience here in the West. It was already undercutting Apple, Samsung and Google on flagship pricing. So the only thing left was to cobble a package that feels fresh. It seems this is the year that has seen the competition pushed closer each year.

OnePlus takes on MagSafe and has authored an opportunity to share files and content with iPhone users. It also boosts camera performance by moving from one level to another rather than from one step to another to a new benchmark of reliability. We mentioned some of these in my previous hands-on, but there are other details to point out.

Fashion's finest moments, lit by #OnePlus13's low-light magic

— OnePlus (@oneplus) January 21, 2025

First of all, the Midnight Ocean model can turn heads. I liked it from the start and for others, the vegan leather back becomes more appealing the more they see it. Especially because the other two Arctic Dawn and Black Eclipse editions have a Gorilla Glass 7i rear instead. But it is the new MagSafe cases that are even more attractive to me, which I will discuss later on.

The 6.8-inch QHD+ display with 120Hz refresh rate, and new Ceramic Guard glass for screen protection. The inclusion of gloves for touch responses gives OnePlus an attempt to make it feel more inviting. This gloves mode has its limitations though. The easier it gets, the more porous the material, so rubber, wool, cotton and leather presumably work. However not if the fabric is over 5mm thick. I mentioned this to OnePlus and gave a reason why one pair of gloves would perform better than the other.

As reported in PetaPixel Whereas the leap coming from the OnePlus 12 to the 11 was a good one, the OnePlus 13 feels like a bigger jump. First and foremost, there are rivals such as Google Pixel 9 Pro. However, for the same amount of constructive memory and storage, you will have to pay more. Samsung seems to be up for it if it launches the correct Galaxy S25 lineup as could be tough competition.

If you’re looking elsewhere, the Vivo X200 pro has a wonderful telephoto lens that blends with one of the best camera sets on any phone so far. Nor should the Honor Magic 7 Pro be underestimated as it comes with a 200-megapixel periscope telephoto lens. In addition to offering a unique set of tools for its cameras. Even though it will be replaced shortly by the Xiaomi 15 ultra cameras. The Xiaomi 14 ultra is still considered one of the best cameras available. Android users will gravitate to the obvious choice of Samsung. However, Galaxy flat-out lost market share and most of that is to the overseas brands people in North America can’t even recognize. OnePlus demonstrate it is on the same level as other flagships among the present generation of slates.

Yes, because as OnePlus always does, they make improvements in various forms. It’s the most complete flagship phone OnePlus has made in years, if not ever. Having only deepened the approach recently, the OnePlus 13 now seems to be the real complete set.