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Comment by 013a | Hacker News Reader

While this is more of an interesting fact than anything: The Nintendo Switch website [1] does not advertise that the Switch has a USB-C port. It has HDMI and USB 2.0 on the dock... but no USB-C anywhere.

[1] https://www.nintendo.com/switch/features/tech-specs/

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Depends where you look. [1] lists:

> USB terminal USB Type-C terminal Used for charging or for connecting to the Nintendo Switch dock.

As does the Japanese site[2]:

> USB Type-C™端子

[1] https://www.nintendo.co.uk/Nintendo-Switch/Specifications/Sp...

[2] https://www.nintendo.co.jp/hardware/switch/specs/

Then why did they use the port? I'm guessing it's the obvious answer of "it was cheaper".

As much as it pains me to say it, a "pay us to use the port shape" group like HDMI that will threaten litigation unless you pay them to use the port would probably have prevented this kind of thing from being as widespread with USB-C as it is. While just about everyone doesn't want that to be the case (myself included), I don't see any other way of aligning incentives to make it harder to use the port/spec incorrectly than it is to make it correctly.

More that cheap it was convenient: You solve the whole power, video output and external devices problem with a single chip on both side. And it also look nice compared to any usual docking port.

It solved enough design issues for them to let go their old habit of having proprietary connectors for charging. Which made them a lot of money.

With a broken implementation, their connector is effectively proprietary.

Best of both worlds for them then.

For what it's worth, the linked article I think is misleading as to how incompatible the device is. I charge my Switch regularly at work with a Lenovo 45W USB-C power adapter (model: adlx45uccu2a), it seems to perhaps take longer to charge than the Nintendo one but has worked reliably. Unfortunately I have tried several 3rd-party USB-C HDMI adapters with no success, though there are several options for HDMI+power on Amazon that reportedly work -- as I understand this is simply because the Switch does not enable video output unless it is also on AC power, so you need a combo adapter.

I've had good luck with this one: http://a.co/86ahf5e though I'm concerned about the recent reports of bricking devices using 3rd-party adapters...

I've also charged my Switch with a random USB-C cable that someone let me borrow. It's a bummer that it doesn't handle HDMI properly or whatever else people might want from it, but being able to borrow a commonly-used cable and charge my Nintendo device (or any other dedicated gaming system)? I don't know if that's ever been done before... I certainly haven't owned one. And it's a nice step forward.

I dunno, I tried a couple of my home USB C chargers and neither of them would work with the Switch.

I've charged mine a few times with a USB A to USB C cable off an iPhone charger. It takes many hours and the device was in sleep mode at the time.

They should stop using HDMI and switch to DisplayPort.

It's for use with TVs which all have HDMI.

You can always get a converter for that.

Or .. they could do what they currently do and ship HDMI for use with what most people have.

(Why do you care about DisplayPort? Can't you get a converter in the other direction?

No, you can't. You can convert DP to HDMI, not the other way around. DisplayPort uses packet protocol for its data (so it's almost network data like), while HDMI is just using digital signal. So it makes sense to always prefer DP.

Fun fact: the Switch does output a flavor of DisplayPort to the dock, which converts it to HDMI using a Megachips STDP2550 MyDP-HDMI converter for output to TVs[0]

[0] https://www.tweaktown.com/news/56650/switch-dock-uses-mobili...

Hm, so actual Switch alone does output in proper DisplayPort (as MyDP)?

or not pay to use the port shape but pay to certify the port, which is most often the case in the compatibility industry and adds a useful service...

Make popular and cheaply available ($1 - $3) a simple device that can plug into a port and pound the device through all the modes, blowing it up in spectacular fashion if it's not compliant. Make them ubiquitous enough that mischievous sorts are prone to quickly destroy any device put on the market with flawed ports.

Note: There is probably an ethical issue with this, but it doesn't jump out at me.

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