Soda Is a Shockingly Good Egg Replacement for Boxed Cakes

I didn’t know it until recently, but apparently boxed cake mixes are a popular store-bought ingredient to experiment with. Thanks to you, the good people reading my food hacks, I’ve been made aware of yet another ingredient that can masquerade as an egg in cake mix. Honestly, who needs eggs when you have soda?

Replacing eggs in baking can be tricky

Eggs continue to be unreasonably expensive, which is especially frustrating for a person like me who used to rely on them for most of my protein. I’ve made some adjustments, though, and now I try to use them only for the recipes that really require them. It might take a few failed attempts, but it’s becoming easier and easier to identify when a recipe needs eggs, like a custardy Dutch baby, and when one can do without—like boxed cake mix.

I’ve tried plenty of egg replacement ingredients, like applesauce and bananas, in scratch cake mixes with varying degrees of success, and I’ve experimented with omitting the egg measurement from boxed cake mixes too. While the eggless boxed cake mix turns out just fine, in those tests I’ve continued to incorporate the water and oil measurement according to the directions. But as one reader let me know, you can make boxed cake mix with soda, not just as an egg replacement, but to replace the water and oil too.

Though I needed to test out this witchcraft, I could already see it working. While eggs typically provide binding, emulsification, and aeration to batters and doughs, commercial boxed cake mixes are designed to be foolproof. (It’s almost like they knew we’d be cutting corners.) On my mission to turn boxed mix into black and white cookies, I found that cake mix refuses to change its consistency or texture. If liquid of any kind is added, whether it’s oil, water, soda, juice, or eggs, it will do its darndest to become fluffy cake.

However, I did wonder how using soda would affect the flavor and the texture of the cake, especially without oil or egg yolks (a tenderizer).

A can of cola and a bottle of juice in front of two boxes of cake mix.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

Soda outperforms juice

I decided to test out replacing the ingredients with two different liquids: a cola and a fruity juice. In my prior tests, I had omitted the eggs without replacing their volume or weight. I simply erased them from the game and the resulting cake was flatter than one with eggs, but tender and boasting that nostalgic boxed cake flavor.

I did the same thing here, leaving out the eggs and replacing the water and oil measurement (a total of 12 ounces) with the juice and cola separately in two tests. I was actually impressed by how much better soda turned out to be than fruit juice. Even after thoroughly whisking, enough of the carbonation remained to lift up the batter so it had a nicer appearance compared to the pomegranate juice cupcake’s fallen center.

Two cupcake pans, one with brown cupcakes and one with yellow.

Left: pomegranate juice cupcakes (surprise! they’re brown). Right: cola cupcakes.
Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

I used pomegranate juice thinking the fruit flavor would be a nice complement for the cake. Instead, it was a little too sweet (if you can imagine) and the fruit flavor became murky against the yellow cake. The soda however, was actually very tasty. Even though I’m not a soda person, I enjoyed it. This could be a good opportunity to get creative with soda and cake flavor pairings.

How to make boxed cake mix with soda

1. To make cake mix with soda, start by preheating the oven and getting the pans ready. Mixing the batter takes all of one minute. You need your pan and oven to be ready to go so you don’t loose more carbonation than necessary.

2. Once your oven is preheated, simply empty out the dry boxed mix into a large mixing bowl. Look at the box’s directions and add the measurement of the oil and water together. If the box says, “1 cup water and 1/2 cup oil” then you’ll need 12 ounces (1 1/2 cups) of soda. Pour the soda into the bowl and whisk it all until well incorporated. Tiny bits may remain unmixed.

3. Pour the batter into your prepared pans immediately. Bake as directed on the package.

How does the texture hold up?

Despite the fallen centers on the pomegranate cupcakes, both cakes shared the same texture: light and fully aerated with a slight rubbery skin on the bottom. This likely manifested because of the lack of fat (a shortening agent because fats shorten gluten strands) from the missing oil and egg yolk.

A cupcake broken in half and sitting on a cupcake pan.

Credit: Allie Chanthorn Reinmann

That said, this texture difference is completely unnoticeable if you’re not looking for it. Any person who crushes a Fanta vanilla cake at a summer picnic is not going to comment on the lack of a shortening agent. I promise. Soda can and should be used as the wet ingredient for boxed cake mix. It’s a fun way to experiment with flavor combinations and while you’re at it, save a bit of money on eggs and oil too. Try orange soda, root beer, ginger beer, or dare to dream with Diet Coke the next time you make a batch of cupcakes.

Google Is Announcing Android News Ahead of I/O

Google I/O, the company’s annual developer conference, is nearly here. The show kicks off May 20, and will likely center around Google’s plans for its services and products for the coming year.

Android, of course, is a huge Google service that is usually highlighted at each I/O. This year, however, it appears the company is taking a different approach; rather than feature Android as part of the general I/O presentation, Google is giving Android its own event, called, appropriately, “The Android Show: I/O Edition.”

“The Android Show” itself isn’t something new for this year’s I/O. It’s actually an existing Google podcast that covers new features and changes surrounding the mobile OS. However, for I/O, Google is rolling out a special edition of its podcast that acts like the Android portion of any given I/O presentation—it’s just a week early.

The Android Show: I/O Edition will air on May 13, and although we don’t know exactly what Google will discuss, we do know the official reason Android is getting its own day of announcements outside of I/O. According to Google, there are just “so many new things to share” regarding Android that there just isn’t enough time to include the OS alongside other I/O news.

That might be true: Android 16 will likely be the focus of this special edition podcast, which is currently in beta testing. So far, the software has added new features like media and camera updates, power button shortcuts, upgrades to user switching, among others. It’s possible the company has a number of new announcements in store for Android 16 and Android devices as a whole, and wants to make sure the platform gets its time in the spotlight.

However, it’s also possible that there is a standard amount of Android news to share, and the real cause for the split is AI. Google, like other big tech companies, is all in on AI, issuing new updates to Gemini seemingly daily. I/O will likely be focused on these AI developments, highlighting the company’s voice mode Gemini Live, its video generator Veo 2, as well as the latest updates to the Gemini AI model.

Hopefully for Android’s sake, the company has plenty of announcements to go around. But don’t be surprised if I/O in general is more focused on artificial intelligence than anything else.

There’s an Easy Way to Restore Deleted iCloud Files

The next time you accidentally delete something from iCloud, you don’t need to head to four different pages to recover it. Instead, you can head to iCloud’s Data Recovery page and find almost everything you need in one spot. This page lets you recover deleted files from iCloud Drive, Calendar, and Contacts, and it also retains deleted Safari bookmarks.

How to use iCloud’s data recovery page

Even if your iCloud account is linked to Apple services, you probably don’t log in to its website that often. I usually go to my iPhone’s settings to check all iCloud-related information, but not everything is easy to find there. That’s why you might have missed iCloud’s Data Recovery page, which is well-designed and puts all the information you need neatly in various cards for you to access. Once you open the website and log in with your Apple Account, you’ll see four cards:

Restore Files
Restore Bookmarks
Restore Contacts
Restore Calendars

You can click any card for more information. The Restore Files card shows all the documents deleted from your Files app in the last 30 days, but note that it will only show files synced with iCloud Drive, so it won’t be able to help you with locally stored files. Click “Restore Files,” to see an option to either un-delete your files, or alternatively, permanently delete them. You can do this on a per-file basis, too, if you’d like to keep some but get rid of others.

Similarly, click any of the other cards to see any bookmarks, calendars, or contacts you’ve deleted over the past 30 days, as well as be able to either get rid of them for good or restore them to your account. You should know, however, that contacts work a little differently. When you’re restoring contacts, you have to select an archive of your contacts list from the past 30 days, and doing so will change your list of contacts to match that archive. This means that contacts you’ve added since that list was archived will be removed from your account and backed up in a new archive. Unfortunately, you can’t restore just one or two deleted contacts using this method.

Recovering deleted photos on iCloud

Unfortunately, the data recovery page doesn’t include photos. To recover those, you’ll have to visit a different webpage. Go to iCloud.com, click Photos, and select the Recently Deleted album in the left pane. Alternatively, you may follow this direct link or open the Photos app on your iPhone/iPad, scroll to the Utilities section, and tap Recently Deleted. This will allow you to restore deleted iCloud photos.

Five Ways to Protect Your Privacy When Using Smart Home Tech

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

We might not live in a Jetsons-like future with robot maids and flying cars, but we do have the technology to transform our standard houses into futuristic smart homes. There are some very compelling reasons to do that, including having more control over your environment, increased automation for repeated tasks, and even improved security.

But smart homes—and the devices that comprise them—have one enormous downside: privacy. Smart home devices work by allowing access over a network, and as a result, every single smart device in your home, from the lock on your door to the light bulbs in your fixtures, is a potential weak spot in your battle for privacy. And it’s not just hackers looking to steal your banking details—often the manufacturers of those smart devices are the worst offenders, hoovering up every scrap of data you leave lying around so they can sell your data to someone else.

Having the smart home experience without the privacy nightmare isn’t impossible, however. You just need to take a few proactive steps.

Think twice

First, it has to be said: The easiest way to avoid privacy issues in a smart home is to not have a smart home at all. There’s no way to guarantee your smart devices won’t erode your privacy, no matter what you do, so the simplest solution is to simply keep your house dumb.

A less extreme approach is to think about what smart features you actually need. Instead of simply installing every single device available, focus on the smart features that will actually benefit you and your family’s lifestyle. For example, will light bulbs that change hue and temperature throughout the day make a real difference in your life? If the answer isn’t an emphatic yes, you can limit your privacy exposure simply by not installing smart light bulbs.

Shop smart

If you decide there are smart devices that you can get a real benefit from, the next step is to be careful about the specific devices you buy. This involves doing the research to choose the best options for each category—and it also means you shouldn’t cheap out and buy crappy devices at knock-off prices. Sure, those cheap products might do the basic job for you (for a while), but they will undoubtedly be the worst option in terms of privacy and security. (The low cost is likely subsidized by the amount of data you’re giving away to these companies.) If you’re concerned about your personal data being splashed all over the world, resign yourself to paying a little more.

If you’re in the market for a new smart vacuum, for example, you can check out our buying guide to see options based on firsthand testing. If it’s smart light bulbs you’re in the market for, check out Lifehacker sister site PCMag’s buying guide.

Secure everything

There are two components to a smart home—the devices, and the network. Make sure both are as secure as possible:

Change your router settings: Don’t keep the factory default SSID (the wifi network name) or default password in place (and please use a strong password). Then set up strong encryption—WPA3 if you can, WPA2 if that’s your only option (but if you have privacy concerns, upgrading to a router that offers WPA3 would be best).
Separate networks: Your router almost certainly allows you to create a “guest” network that is separate from your main network. Use this option for your smart devices—this will allow them to operate as expected, but since they won’t be connected to the same network as, say, your laptop or phone, the chances of a privacy breach are lower.
Separate passwords and 2FA. Each smart device is probably controlled by an app of some sort, and each one might have its own password and security settings. Don’t use the same password for each one, and definitely set up two-factor authentication (2FA) if it’s available. This adds an extra hurdle to accessing your devices, but it will help keep your data secure.

Check the settings

Even if your network is tight as a drum, the specific devices you’re installing each have their own settings, and many of those settings have to do with your privacy. You should familiarize yourself with the settings on each device—look for phrases around “data,” a wonderfully vague term that could mean just about anything, and “personalization,” especially in the context of advertising. Setting those to the most restrictive option will help protect your privacy as much as possible.

For example, if you have a Google Nest smart speaker, you can access the privacy settings through the Google Home app. Go to Settings > Privacy > Your Data in the Assistant, then choose Personalized ads and turn the setting off. While you’re in there, you might also want to turn off Audio recordings, a setting which allows Google to save the things you say to your devices.

It pays to roam around the settings, as well. Let’s say you have an ecobee smart thermostat to make your home smart about climate control. There’s one feature that might catch your eye: Smart Home/Away. This tracks whether you’re in the house or not, changing the temperature accordingly—but it requires tracking your phone’s location to work. If you’d rather not be tracked, it’s a good idea to hit Settings > eco+ menu and make sure this is disabled.

You should take a similar approach to the features offered by each device—if you don’t need it, disable it, if you can. For example, if your device can accept voice commands but you prefer not to shout at inanimate objects in your home, you’re better off just disabling that feature. That way, you don’t have to worry about accidentally leaking private info because your device is patiently listening to everything you say.

Keep things updated

Hackers are constantly probing the security limitations in smart devices and discovering innovative ways to gain access and control. Reputable manufacturers will work to update the software and firmware in these devices to keep them secure—but getting those updates isn’t always automatic.

If your smart home device has a setting around receiving automatic updates, it’s a good idea to allow it. But you should still routinely check that it is, in fact, updating, and check for firmware updates while you’re at it, which sometimes involve more than just a download. The more on top of updates you are, the better your privacy will be.

Updates will depend on the device in question, but you’ll likely be able to find them in the smart device’s app (or the hub app). Some will update automatically—if you have an August Home Smart Lock on your front door, for example,you’ll occasionally receive a notification that a firmware update is available when your phone connects to the lock via Bluetooth. You have the option to postpone the update by walking away, but you should always do it right away. (It only takes a few minutes.)

Sometimes you’ll have to nudge these devices to update. If you have a bunch of Amazon Echo devices in your house, you can actually trigger a software update just by asking them to check: You just have to say “Alexa, update your software,” or something similar. Otherwise, you can search the settings for update options. If you have Blink Outdoor cameras set up for home security, for example, you can navigate to each camera’s section in the Blink app, choose Settings and scroll down until you see Update Firmware.

Physical security

Finally, let’s not make the basic mistake of assuming all security is digital. If you want your smart devices to guard your secrets, make sure they’re not easily accessible in the physical sense. This is primarily a concern for any smart devices installed on the exterior of the house (or that could be accessed from the outside in some way), but it’s possible that a bad actor could gain access to your home’s interior in order to tamper with your devices, so keep their physical security in mind any time you let someone you don’t know and trust into your home.

And don’t forget that your phone or tablet is the portal to control all your smart home features and privacy settings, so physical access to that can give someone access to all your private information. Always secure this device with a strong PIN or biometric security feature.

The New M4 MacBook Air Is $150 Off Right Now

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

The new 2025 lineup of M4 MacBook Air laptops hit record-low prices last week, but today the prices got even lower. The 13-inch M4 MacBook Air with 16GB Unified Memory and 256GB SSD Storage is currently $849 (originally $999) after a $150 discount.

While we don’t condone panic buying because of tariffs, there are some sensible tech purchases you can make if you were planning on buying them anyway. Laptops are definitely one of them.

13-inch M4 MacBook Air (2025)

Unified Memory: 16GB, SSD Storage: 256GB, Camera: 12MP Center Stage.

Although this is the entry level MacBook Air, it comes with 16GB of RAM, twice what the previous generation’s basic model came with. This is enough to take on intensive applications and projects right now and for many years to come. It also comes with a 13.6-inch “Liquid Retina” display, with a resolution of 2,560 by 1,664, a P3 wide color gamut, and a maximum brightness of 500 nits. You’ll also get an excellent backlit keyboard with Touch ID, Wi-Fi 6E support, and great speakers and microphones. Apple also decided to bring back MagSafe charging with this laptop.

The 12MP camera comes with Center Stage. You might’ve first seen this feature on iPads and on the M4 MacBook Pro, which follows your face as you move around the frame during video calls. The two USB-C ports are Thunderbolt 4 means you can extend to up to two 6K external monitors if you buy the equipment separately.

For a “basic” laptop, the 13-inch M4 MacBook Air offers an incredible value for its price, and actually a much better value than the Pro, according to Senior Tech Editor Jake Peterson. If you take into account the discount, it really is the best MacBook for most people.

What’s New on Prime Video in May 2025

Amazon hasn’t yet released a full list of what’s coming to Prime Video in May, but there are a handful of original titles ranging from documentaries to dark comedies.

First up is Another Simple Favor (May 1), a Paul Feig comedy-mystery film and sequel to 2018’s A Simple Favor. Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively reprise their roles as Stephanie Smothers and Emily Nelson, this time amid a murder that takes place at Emily’s wedding in Capri, Italy. Henry Golding, Andrew Rannells, Michele Morrone, and Allison Janney also appear.

At the end of the month, eight-episode thriller series The Better Sister (May 29) stars Jessica Biel and Elizabeth Banks as estranged sisters forced back together after one of their husbands is murdered. The show is an adaptation of Alafair Burke’s titular novel.

In between, Phoebe Waller-Bridge will narrate two-part nature doc Octopus! (May 8), which includes an appearance by Tracy Morgan, and Jeremy Clarkson will return for Clarkson’s Farm season 3 (May 23). There’s also a new special from David Spade (Dandelion, May 6) and Benito Skinner’s college comedy-drama Overcompensating (May 15), produced by A24.

Here are all the originals coming to Prime Video in May.

What’s coming to Prime Video in May 2025

Available May 1

Another Simple Favor

Available May 6

David Spade: Dandelion

Available May 8

Octopus!

Available May 9

Molly-Mae: Behind It All

Available May 15

Overcompensating

Available May 20

Motorheads

Available May 22

Earnhardt

Available May 23

Clarkson’s Farm

Available May 27

The Second Best Hospital in The Galaxy

Available May 29

The Better Sister

Twitch Streamers Love the Elgato Stream Deck, but I Use It for Productivity

We may earn a commission from links on this page.

The Elgato Stream Deck sits on the desk of your favorite Twitch and YouTube streamers, just off camera. It’s there, trust me. I know, because using its customizable LCD buttons is one of the easiest ways to launch and manage apps without disrupting what you’re doing. In other words, what makes the Stream Deck useful for streamers also makes it a powerful productivity tool.

I’ve been advocating using gaming peripherals for productivity for—is it already almost a decade?—and the Stream Deck takes that advice to the next level. It’s is much more customizable than your typical gaming keyboard, allowing you to assign common tasks, launch apps, and automate complex workflows from a single button. And you can slap on your own colorful icon, too.

All models of the Stream Deck—I’ve explained the differences between all of them at the bottom of this article—rely on the same Stream Deck software for Windows and macOS to customize your keys. That app is where the real power lies, so here’s how to make the most of it.

Elgato Stream Deck MK.2

Elgato Stream Deck Neo

Elgato Stream Deck XL

$249.99
at Amazon

Launch your essentials instantly

Sometimes, it’s easier for me to get started working when I have a visible reminder of where to start, and the Stream Deck can help me with that. My default Essentials layout gives me shortcuts to the apps and sites I use for work, and it can launch each with a quick button press.

The Stream Deck’s “Open” action (under System) lets you open commonly used apps, or even specific files. Pair this with the “Website” action to launch web-based tools like internal dashboards or project management tools and your entire workflow is easily accessible. You can even use Multi Action (more on that below) to launch all your tools at once with a single button press.

Control your meeting chaos

Every mic is always hot, or so my audio engineer friends keep trying to tell me. So, I am constantly, justifiably paranoid about whether my mic is muted. Fortunately, the Stream Deck makes it easier to avoid muting mixups. The official Elgato plugins for Zoom, Teams, and Discord give you buttons to mute your mic or toggle your camera. These buttons will also show you whether your mic or camera are on, even if the window isn’t in focus.

You can also access features like screen sharing, recording, or even leaving the meeting instantly, regardless of whether the meeting window is active. Because nothing’s more awkward than being the last two people still in the meeting, according to my persistent anxiety disorder.

Automate text snippets and replies

The best way I’ve ever found to automatically insert frequently used text snippets is, well, the Logitech G600 I’m still using. But if I didn’t have that, the Stream Deck would be my go-to. The “Text” action (under System) lets you pre-write 500-character blocks of text that you can insert with one button. There are even basic formatting options like font, alignment, bold, and italics that you can add to the text blocks.

If you want to take this further, you can use the SuperMacro plugin to create complex macros, though it might require a bit of comfort with basic scripting. You can store variables and paste blocks of text that change based on those variables, allowing you to make somewhat more customized text snippets.

Control your smart home

The one piece of smart home tech I can’t live without anymore is smart lights. Specifically, the ones from Philips Hue. They’re expensive, but I haven’t found a better software ecosystem. To wit, this Philips Hue Stream Deck plugin that lets you control individual lights or rooms from a single button. You can use this to set your lights’ brightness, activate specific scenes, or adjust color temperature without having to open an app or use a voice assistant.

If you don’t use Philips Hue, you can still get in on the action via the IFTTT plugin. This lets you connect your Stream Deck to the extremely powerful IFTTT service, which supports a ton of smart home devices.

String it all together with Multi Action

This is where the real value of the Stream Deck truly resides. The “Multi Action” feature lets you chain multiple Stream Deck actions (already powerful in their own right) together to become powerful scripts. When you add one of these to your deck, you’ll then add other actions from the right-hand menu to run, in order. So, for example, you could have this one button launch Photoshop, Lightroom, and open up your email all at once.

The Multi Action Switch action takes it even further, letting you specify two separate lists of commands to run, swapping between them each time you press the button. Building on the previous example, you could have a switch also set to close your work apps at the end of the day. Multi Action builds on an already robust set of tools to automate tedious tasks that eat up your day.

What kind of Stream Deck do you need?

Most Stream Decks that Elgato offers have an array of customizable LCD buttons, but there are a few important differences that are worth considering:

Stream Deck MK.2 ($150): This is the basic model of Stream Deck that you’re most likely to have seen around. It has a three-by-five grid of customizable buttons, plus a removable stand to prop it up on your desk.
Stream Deck Neo ($100): If the price of the Stream Deck puts you off, the Neo is a bit cheaper, and still comes with eight buttons. It also has a small info bar with customizable clock designs.
Stream Deck + ($200): This model drops some of the LCD keys (down to eight), but it adds four customizable dials that are helpful for media professionals. You can use these to adjust variable settings like brightness, saturation, or volume. Plus, there’s a touch strip that can display labels for these dials, as well as other useful widgets you can swipe through.
Stream Deck XL ($250): If you don’t think there can ever be enough buttons on your desk, the Stream Deck XL is for you. It packs a 32-key array of the customizable LCD buttons Stream Decks are known for. This is most useful if you need a lot of functions available at a glance (like while streaming) without having to jump through multiple pages and folders.
Stream Deck Mobile (iOS/Android): If none of these are appealing, you can still use Stream Deck tools without spending a dime. The Stream Deck mobile app gives you six customizable buttons (and up to 10 pages of them) for free. If you need more, a Pro subscription gives you up to 64 buttons for $3/month or $25/year. A lifetime subscription is also available for $50, if you’re using it regularly.

The Elgato Stream Deck markets itself as a streamer’s accessory, but anyone can benefit from its tools. It takes a bit of time to set up your actions, although Elgato has made it surprisingly fast for even basic users. And since you can try it free with the mobile app, there’s no reason not to take a few minutes and see if it can help you get your work done faster, too.

My Favorite Amazon Deal of the Day: The Sonos Ace Headphones

We may earn a commission from links on this page. Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication.

You’ve probably heard of Sonos smart speakers and soundbars, which offer some of the best audio quality in the market. What you may not know, however, is that Sonos also makes the excellent Sonos Ace headphones, which released last summer. Right now, they’re on sale for $349 (originally $449), the lowest price they’ve ever been, according to price tracking tools.

The Sonos Ace are soft, comfortable, and adaptable to different head sizes, thanks to their plastic design. You actually get buttons to control the headphones (as opposed to touch controls), which I personally consider a huge plus. The battery life is impressive, with about 30 hours with either the Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) or Aware Mode settings active, or about 40 hours with both of those off. The Bluetooth multipoint connectivity means you can connect up to two devices at once and switch seamlessly between them.

The headphones perform well, according to PCMag’s “excellent” review. The sound is balanced with an EQ adjuster in the app, and the ANC and Aware Mode are top-tier, competing with the best headphones on the market. Unfortunately, the Sonos Ace aren’t wifi-enabled, meaning you can’t stream media into them like you can with Sonos speakers, but then again, not many headphones are. However, you can connect to Sonos speakers through Bluetooth and listen to your media that way (if you own Sonos speakers).

At their current price, the Sonos Ace are competitive with the best headphones for Apple users, the AirPods Max, and the best headphones for Android users, Sony’s WH-1000XM5. If you care about transparency mode or have Sonos speakers at home, the Sonos Ace headphones are your best choice. Otherwise, consider the AirPods Max or the WH-1000XM5.

U.S. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins Demands Mexico Cooperate to Protect U.S. Agricultural Products from Invasive Pests; Threatens Port Closures

(Washington, D.C., April 26, 2025) – Today, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins sent a letter to her counterpart in Mexico demanding Mexico eliminate restrictions on USDA aircraft and waive customs duties on eradication equipment that are critically impairing the U.S. response to spread of the New World Screwworm.

Read the Letter (PDF, 1.3 MB)

Here’s How the Switch 2 Specs Compare to the Original

Nintendo Switch 2 preorders are currently underway (if you can manage to find a store with inventory, that is). As we approach the console’s June 5 launch date, it’s worth getting a bit reflective: The Switch as a product line is now more than eight years old, and Nintendo has made some significant changes with this latest device. If you have a Switch and are thinking about picking up a Switch 2, you might be wondering how these two generations of consoles compare.

Now, Nintendo didn’t just release one console during the Switch era: It released three. There’s the original Switch, the Switch OLED, and the Switch Lite. I’m taking a look at all three and comparing their specs to the new Switch 2. While we’ll need to wait for reviews to directly compare the overall experience of these different devices, we can at least get a sense for them on paper.

Dimensions

Right off the bat, all of Nintendo’s Switches feel very different. The Switch 2 is the largest, coming in at 4.5 inches tall by 10.7 inches wide by 0.55 inches thick. That’s with the Joy-Con 2s attached, mind you. Nintendo says the thickness from the tip of the joysticks to the ZL/ZR buttons is 1.2 inches. It weighs 0.88 lbs on its own, or 1.18 lbs with the Joy-Cons attached.

The original Switch is smaller: It’s 4 inches by 9.4 inches by 0.55 inches. (The joysticks to the ZL/ZR buttons is 1.12 inches.) It also weighs a little less: 0.66 lbs without Joy-Cons, or 0.88 with. It’s interesting to note that the Switch 2’s display is equal to the weight of the original Switch with Joy-Cons attached.

The Switch OLED is quite similar to the original Switch in footprint: It’s 4 inches by 9.5 inches by 0.55 inches, with the same Joy-Con dimensions as the OG Switch. However, it’s right in the middle when it comes to weight: 0.71 lbs without Joy-Cons, and 0.93 with.

The Switch Lite is the smallest of all: The handheld is 3.6 inches by 8.2 inches by 0.55 (the joysticks and ZL/ZR buttons add the same 1.12 inches, despite being built into the unit) and it weighs 0.61 lbs.

Display

The Switch 2 has the largest screen of any Nintendo device ever. It comes with a 7.9 inch LCD, with a resolution of 1920 x 1080. It supports HDR10, and has a VRR (variable refresh rate) of up to 120Hz.

The original Switch also uses LCD for the screen, but its display is much smaller: The OG has a 6.2-inch screen with a resolution of 1280 x 720. There is no HDR support, and the display supports a refresh rate of 60Hz. It’s the same situation with the Switch Lite, only it has an even smaller 5.5-inch LCD (this is the most portable Switch, after all).

The Switch OLED, of course, has an OLED display. That means that each of the pixels on this Switch’s display can be shut off individually, which allows for much deeper blacks than an LCD can reproduce. Still, the Switch OLED’s display is 7 inches, nearly a full inch smaller than the Switch 2, with no HDR support. It’s also the same 720p resolution as the original Switch, so you won’t see as much detail as compared to Nintendo’s latest console.

Video output and dock

Nintendo limits the Switch’s resolution in handheld mode, likely for battery reasons. But when docked, you can push the console further.

For example, the Switch 2 supports a maximum resolution of 4K (3840 x 2160) at 60 fps when connected to a TV. If you want to boost your game’s frame rate to 120 fps (assuming the game supports it) you’ll need to drop the resolution to at least 1440p, but you can also use 1080p if you like.

The OG Switch and Switch OLED both support the same 1080p maximum resolution when docked. The Switch Lite doesn’t support video output, since it’s meant to be played exclusively in handheld mode.

In order to output to a TV, you need a dock. The Switch 2 dock is quite similar to the OLED Switch dock: It’s slightly larger, but comes with the same dual USB 2.0 ports, as well as a LAN port. The original Switch dock came with an extra USB 2.0 port, but no LAN port. The biggest difference here, however, is the Switch 2’s dock now has a fan for active cooling, which makes sense for some of those more intense game play modes.

Joy-Cons

The Switch’s detachable controllers are called “Joy-Cons,” and they’re an iconic component of this particular Nintendo era.

The new Joy-Cons, called Joy-Con 2, are 4.57-inches tall, 0.56 inches wide, and 1.2 inches thick. The left Joy-Con is 2.3 ounces, while the right is 2.4 ounces. That might have something to do with the right Joy-Cons “C-Button,” which you can use for the new GameChat feature.

Nintendo’s official spec page for its devices appears to be wrong for the original Joy-Cons, so I’ve sourced it from this specific Joy-Con page: The original Joy-Cons are 4.02 inches by 1.41 inches by 1.12 inches. The left Joy-Con is 1.73 ounces, while the right is 1.84 ounces.

While all Joy-Cons support HD Rumble (Nintendo’s brand name for haptic feedback), the new Joy-Cons support HD Rumble 2, a newer standard. Most notably, however, the Joy-Con 2s support Mouse Mode, a feature that lets you use the Joy-Cons on a flat surface like a computer mouse.

You also don’t connect the Joy-Con 2s to the Switch 2 the same way as you do the originals: These connect magnetically (yes, they’re strong magnets.) While you don’t slide the Joy-Cons into rails like you do on the OG Switch, you do still release them via buttons on the back of the controllers.

All Joy-Con models use Bluetooth 3.0, support NFC, and have the same battery stats: It takes three and a half hours to fully charge them, and you get 20 hours of play time on one charge.

Battery

Surprisingly, the Switch 2 does not make improvements to the Switch family’s battery life—despite having the largest battery of all. The Switch 2’s 5220mAh battery can run anywhere from two to 6.5 hours. (Nintendo warns that these are rough estimates and that battery life depends on the specific games you play.)

Compare that to the original Switch and Switch OLED, both of which have a 4310mAh battery, and can run from 4.5 hours to nine hours. The Switch Lite (3570mAh) beats it too, with a range of three to seven hours. This isn’t wholly surprising: The Switch 2 is quite a bit more powerful than the original Switches, so running a high-performing game at 120 fps is going to consume much more power than a 720p game running at 60 or 30 fps, or below.

All consoles charge in about three hours when they’re in sleep mode.

Storage and communications

The Switch 2’s games are likely the largest Nintendo has ever made, since the console is capable of much higher resolutions and frame rates than past generations. As such, it makes sense for Nintendo to pack more internal storage here: 256GB to be exact.

The OG Switch and Switch Lite, on the other hand, only ship with 32GB of internal storage, while the Switch OLED offers 64GB. If you need more space, you can expand that storage with a microSDHC or microSDXC card on these models. Switch 2 also supports expanded memory, but specifically MicroSD Express cards, which limits the flexibility here.

Switch 2 supports Wi-Fi 6, a step up from Wi-Fi 5 on the original Switches. Those Switches support Bluetooth 4.1, while Nintendo says the Switch 2 supports “Bluetooth” without any additional information. It likely supports a newer standard than that, seeing as it’s launching eight years after the original, but we don’t know for sure at this point.

The Switch 2 also has a second USB-C port on the top of the unit. This is a great change that makes it possible to charge your Switch with the kickstand out.

Audio and video chat

For the first time, a Nintendo console has camera support. The Switch 2 lets you connect a webcam for use with GameChat, so you can see your friends while playing games—and they can see you. Nintendo sells a camera of its own, but you can use some third-party webcams as well.

The Switch 2 also has a built-in microphone for voice chat. That way, you can talk to your friends over GameChat with or without a camera—though I’m not sure how well they’ll be able to hear you if your console and TV are across the room.

Speaking of audio, the Switch 2 supports “3D Audio,” which the company advertises as a more immersive audio experience. Essentially, sounds should seem like they’re coming from where they originate in the game. (If a Mario Kart racer is on your tail, you should hear their engine “behind” you.)

Games

When it comes down to it, the most important element of any console is its library of games. The Switch 2, like any new console, does have exclusives, though there aren’t as many as you might think—at least not at launch.

Some of the notable upcoming titles you will only be able to play on Switch 2 at this time are Mario Kart World, Donkey Kong Bananza, Drag X Drive, Hyrule Warriors Age of Imprisonment, Kirby Air Riders, and Elden Ring Tarnished Edition. There are also the Nintendo Switch 2 Edition titles—original Nintendo Switch games with graphical boosts thanks to the upgraded hardware. That includes both Switch Zeldas (Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom), Super Mario Part Jamboree + Jamboree TV, Kirby and the Forgotten Land + Star Crossed World, Metroid Prime 4 Beyond, and Pokémon Legends ZA.

If you have a Nintendo Switch Online subscription, Switch 2 also supports GameCube titles. At launch, that includes The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, Soulcalibur II, and F-Zero GX, but more are on the way.

You can buy Switch 2 games physically or digitally, but not all physical games are going to ship with the game itself. That’s because some of these titles are “game-key cards,” which contain the “key” to let you download the game from the internet. Then, you can play the game—as long as you have the game-key inserted in your Switch. It’s peculiar, but worth mentioning here, since the original Switch doesn’t operate that way.

As you might expect, the Switch 2 can play Switch 1 games, but you might not consider this truly backwards compatible. That’s because the Switch 2 uses emulation to play Switch 1 games, and not all games play well via this emulation. Hopefully, Nintendo irons out the issues here, but in case they don’t, you might not want to trade-in your old Switch to pay for a Switch 2 if you want to continue playing Switch 1 games.

Kickstand

Nintendo continues to advance the kickstand with each Switch model. The original features a small, skinny stand that was prone to snapping off (though easily reattached via magnets). The Switch OLED greatly improved upon this design, by making the kickstand take up the full width of the console, and support more angles. The Switch 2 has a kickstand that allows for even greater variety of play angles. It’s not a huge change, but worth a nod.

Price

The Switch 2 was spared a price increase from the tariffs: The console runs for $449.99, or $499.99 if you want Mario Kart World bundled in. You probably want that deal, as the game costs $79.99 on its own. Not all Switch 2 games cost $80: Donkey Kong Bananza costs $69.99, but Nintendo is no longer the company for $60 games across the board.

The original Switch retails for $299.99, while the Switch OLED goes for $349.99. The Lite originally launched for $199.99, but you can frequently find it on sale.