Switch 2 May Have Solved Stick Drift—And the Answer Lies in an Unlikely Nintendo Product

A gamer that uses a controller often faces a lot of battles at once. Apart from the occasional loss in an aim duel against a keyboard and mouse player, the inevitable stick drift that drives your Nintendo Switch’s joysticks to no use is the biggest enemy for any player.

Thankfully, the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2 might have the solution to this one big problem that has been eating away at users’ wallets for several decades now. As noted by Comicbook, the studio already has the technology to combat the dreaded stick drift, and it is being used in nothing else but Alarmo, an unusual retro-looking alarm clock by Nintendo that was revealed last year.

The infamous Joy-Con drift issue has plagued Switch owners for years now, forcing countless controller replacements since the first ever Switch came out. Fortunately, the solution was already hiding in an unexpected corner of Nintendo’s product lineup.

The Nintendo Alarmo makes use of a Hall Effect sensor paired with magnets. This technology ensures that the clock’s dial remains accurate for the longest time possible. It is funnily similar to what third-party controllers often make use of in order to combat stick drift, as also reported by The Verge.

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Stick drift occurs when the physical components inside an analog stick break down with time. The usual, or more traditional, joysticks have always relied on potentiometers, the unbalance of which causes stick drift within the controller.

Hall Effect sensors, however, use magnetic fields to detect movement, meaning there’s no physical contact and friction to wear down mechanical parts, completely getting rid of the stick drift problem.

Why Nintendo Desperately Needs To Fix Stick Drift on Switch 2

The fact that Nintendo is already using Hall Effect sensors in Alarmo means that they are not only aware of the technology but actively implementing it in their products.

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If they are making use of it in a literal alarm clock, then there’s no reason for it to not be implemented in the upcoming Nintendo Switch 2, possibly making it one of the biggest selling points against the other handheld devices out there.

The next-generation Switch is expected to be a major leap forward in hardware, and one of the most obvious areas for improvement is controller durability. With Hall Effect joysticks, Nintendo could potentially free itself of stick drift forever.

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