Mysterious Nintendo Device Certified by FCC as Switch 2…

Summary

The FCC certified a Nintendo device identified by model number CLO-001 in late September 2024.
The mysterious gadget has a rectangular form factor, basic Wi-Fi capabilities, no battery, and a mmWave transceiver that could be used for proximity or motion detection.
The device might be some kind of accessory for the Switch 2, Nintendo's upcoming console that's expected to be announced soon.

A mysterious Nintendo device with a somewhat unusual combination of wireless technologies has been certified by the United States Federal Communications Commission (FCC). While the gadget is almost certainly not the Switch 2, it could be related to Nintendo's next console.

Nintendo previously gave itself an end-of-March 2025 deadline for announcing the Switch 2. But a recent uptick in the frequency of leaks alleged to be detailing the company's much-anticipated device suggested that the Switch successor could be revealed much sooner than that, circa late September or early October 2024.

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By Dominik Bošnjak

FCC Certifies Nintendo CLO-001 Device

A product that could be related to the next Nintendo console has now passed through the FCC. According to a September 20 certificate spotted by The Verge, the U.S. Regulator recently tested a "wireless device" identified by model number CLO-001. Aside from that descriptor, another indicator that this gadget is not a gaming console is its shape, as its label location diagram suggests it has a rectangular form factor with round edges. Ditto for the fact that it doesn't have a battery but is exclusively powered via USB-C. Nintendo bundled it with the same cable it normally ships with Switch consoles for testing purposes. For clarity, the Switch 2 is expected to retain the hybrid form factor of Nintendo's 2017 console.

Nintendo CLO-001 FCC certificate bottom side label — An illustration of the bottom side of a Nintendo device identified by model number CLO-001. The image displays the location of its product label, having been published as part of an FCC certificate on September 20.

Nintendo CLO-001 Has Basic Wireless Connectivity Features and a Radar

In terms of wireless connectivity, the CLO-001 supports 2.4GHz Wi-Fi radio. This makes it inferior to the Switch, which can also communicate via 5GHz connections. Between its modest Wi-Fi hardware and lack of a Bluetooth adapter, it stands to reason that the mysterious device is not meant to perform any high-volume data transmissions. And while its Wi-Fi 4 technology is pretty old, the product does incorporate a more modern mmWave sensor in the 24.059 to 24.239GHz range. A transceiver module of this sort is typically used for proximity and motion/gesture detection in select smart home gadgets, such as the Google Nest Hub, which includes a 60GHz Soli sensor.

The Nintendo Switch console line and its accessories utilize an HXX-xxx model number format, wherein X is a letter and x is a number. E.g., the HEG-001 is one of the Switch OLED Models, whereas HAC-015 denotes a left Joy-Con controller.

Regardless, a mmWave radar is not something that's often seen in consumer electronics, so its presence in the CLO-001 could be central to the device's functionality. The gadget itself was submitted to the FCC in late August 2024, with Nintendo requesting a six-month confidentiality period before the regulator publishes real-life photos of the wireless testing it conducted, thus revealing the product's design. This is standard practice for FCC filings and doesn't necessarily mean that the device won't be announced much sooner than late February 2025.

Given the recent influx of Switch 2 leaks, it is plausible that the CLO-001 is in some way related to Nintendo's upcoming console, which is expected to hit the market in Q2 2025 and will hence likely need to be certified itself soon. But whether the gizmo is a new version of the company's Switch charging dock or meant to fulfill an entirely different purpose is currently unclear.

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