The Japanese company advises the crowd, who will be able to pick up the upcoming console in a few days, not to do anything.
Nintendo has warned future Switch 2 users not to remove the screen protector on the console’s display. This is the second such warning from the company in recent times. The next Nintendo console is scheduled to launch on Thursday, June 5. Some people who pre-ordered it have already received the device, though they won’t be able to play games on it until the official launch. Last week, we wrote that the new hardware is unusable without installing the day-one update.
Nintendo has now made the Switch 2 user guide available digitally. It has recently been updated with a new warning about the device’s display. The company has confirmed that the Switch 2 will come with a pre-applied screen protector. This is believed to be intended to prevent pieces of the display from shattering if the Switch 2’s LCD panel breaks. For this reason, Nintendo advises that the screen protector should not be removed. This guideline is listed on page 3 of the user manual, as the last item in the “Careful Usage” section.
This is the second such warning in this decade. The 2021 Switch OLED model also includes a screen protector that users should not remove. The wording in the Switch OLED manual (for the HEG-001 model) is the same as that used for the Switch 2. Since not all users read the manual, Nintendo may decide to issue this warning through other channels close to the console’s launch.
In consumer electronics devices, layers that prevent screen fragmentation are quite common, as are cases of improper handling. In 2019, Samsung famously postponed the release of its first foldable smartphone, the Galaxy Fold, after a number of critics removed the screen protector. This protective film was a critical component of the device, so much so that removing it often rendered the device unusable. Subsequently, the South Korean company redesigned the phone so that the screen protector extended under the bezel to discourage users from removing it and added clearer warnings about its function to the packaging. Similar cases of mishandling the protective film have been documented for some Apple Watch models, starting with the 2018 Series 4.
As with the original Switch, Nintendo will offer an official screen protector for its successor. The accessory is currently available for preorder as part of a bundle with the official Switch 2 carrying case for $40.
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