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Nintendo releases Switch 2 console: Here's what to know

Nintendo‘s flagship Switch 2, the successor to one of its most popular consoles, went on sale on Thursday with excitement and hype from fans leading to special store opening hours and shortages in some markets.

The Japanese gaming giant is hoping the console can help sustain a monster rally in its shares which have risen nearly five-fold since the original Switch was released in March 2017.

Nintendo is also hoping the Switch 2 can match the success of the original Switch, which has sold more than 152 million units and is the second-highest-selling device in the company’s history, behind the Nintendo DS.

And current demand looks strong, according to analysts.

“Today is the biggest console launch of all time, so as expected, there is a frenzy of Nintendo fans checking stock availabilities at their local stores or eagerly awaiting deliveries,” George Jijiashvili, senior principal analyst at advisory firm Omdia, told CNBC by email.

The Switch’s popularity is widely credited to its innovative portable design, which merged consoles with mobile gaming. People could play the game on their TV, then attach the controllers to the console’s display and take it with them.

Shortages and late store openings

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said in April that 2.2 million people in Japan had entered the lottery to purchase the Switch 2 on launch day.

Furukawa said it was “beyond” Nintendo’s expectations and is more than the company will be able to deliver to stores on Thursday.

The shortages in Japan are expected to persist.

“Demand in Japan for Switch 2 is sky high actually, perhaps higher than anywhere else,” Serkan Toto, CEO of Tokyo-based games consultancy Kantan Games, told CNBC.

“You cannot walk into a store anywhere in Japan to pick up a Switch 2 without a pre-order, and this will not change over the next weeks and months.”

In China, major online retailer JD.com said it had received 400,000 reservations for the console which began shipping on Thursday. Not everyone who reserves a console will end up purchasing one.

In the U.S., Best Buy opened some stores across the country at midnight on Thursday (or late Wednesday depending on the time zone) for in-store purchases. Walmart said it was opening orders at midnight ET online as well as in-store at Supercenters at 6 a.m. ET. Walmart’s website currently shows the console as sold out.

In the U.K., there appears to be more availability. Amazon’s U.K. page shows the Switch 2 available for delivery on Friday. Other retailers, like Currys and toy store Smyth’s, also appear to have it in stock.

“Given the pent-up demand, a launch day sell-outs were inevitable. However, we believe Nintendo is well prepared and expect supply to stabilize in the weeks that follow,” Omdia’s Jijiashvili said.

Last month, Nintendo said it expects to sell 15 million units of the Switch 2 console in the fiscal year ending March 2026. However, analysts have said that is conservative.

Kantan Games’ Toto said he is forecasting sales of 20 million units in the first year. Omdia said it is expecting sales of 14.4 million Switch 2 consoles in 2025 alone, which would be ahead of the original Switch’s debut year.

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Tripadvisor stock surges 17% as Starboard Value builds sizable stake in online travel company

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Tripadvisor stock surges 17% as Starboard Value builds sizable stake in online travel company

The Tripadvisor logo is displayed on a tablet.

Mateusz Slodkowski | Sopa Images | Lightrocket | Getty Images

Tripadvisor stock jumped 17% Thursday after Starboard Value revealed a more than 9% stake in the online travel company, according to a securities filing.

The position was valued at about $160 million as of Wednesday’s close.

Tripadvisor shares have been flat since the start of the year after plummeting more than 30% in 2024. Last year, the travel review and booking company said it created a special committee to explore potential options.

Read more CNBC tech news

Starboard Value has gained a reputation for pushing for changes such as new CEOs and cost cuts by acquiring significant shares in companies.

Most recently, the firm settled a proxy fight with Autodesk, where it gained two board seats. It has previously pushed for changes at Tinder parent Match Group, pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and Salesforce.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report the news late Wednesday.

Tripadvisor did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment. Starboard declined to comment on the news.

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Apple’s China iPhone sales grows for the first time in two years

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Apple's China iPhone sales grows for the first time in two years

People stand in front of an Apple store in Beijing, China, on April 9, 2025.

Tingshu Wang | Reuters

Apple iPhone sales in China rose in the second quarter of the year for the first time in two years, Counterpoint Research said, as the tech giant looks to turnaround its business in one of its most critical markets.

Sales of iPhones in China jumped 8% year-on-year in the three months to the end of June, according to Counterpoint Research. It’s the first time Apple has recorded growth in China since the second quarter of 2023.

Apple’s performance was boosted by promotions in May as Chinese e-commerce firms discounted Apple’s iPhone 16 models, its latest devices, Counterpoint said. The tech giant also increased trade-in prices for some iPhone.

“Apple’s adjustment of iPhone prices in May was well timed and well received, coming a week ahead of the 618 shopping festival,” Ethan Qi, associate director at Counterpoint said in a press release. The 618 shopping festival happens in China every June and e-commerce retailers offer heavy discounts.

Apple’s return to growth in China will be welcomed by investors who have seen the company’s stock fall around 15% this year as it faces a number of headwinds.

U.S. President Donald Trump has threatened Apple with tariffs and urged CEO Tim Cook to manufacture iPhones in America, a move experts have said would be near-impossible. China has also been a headache for Apple since Huawei, whose smartphone business was crippled by U.S. sanctions, made a comeback in late 2023 with the release of a new phone containing a more advanced chip that many had thought would be difficult for China to produce.

Since then, Huawei has aggressively launched devices in China and has even begun dipping its toe back into international markets. The Chinese tech giant has found success eating away at some of Apple’s market share in China.

Huawei’s sales rose 12% year-on-year in the second-quarter, according to Counterpoint. The firm was the biggest player in China by market share in the second quarter, followed by Vivo and then Apple in third place.

“Huawei is still riding high on core user loyalty as they replace their old phones for new Huawei releases,” Counterpoint Senior Analyst Ivan Lam said.

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Like Google, China’s biggest search player Baidu is beefing up its product with AI to fight rivals

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Like Google, China's biggest search player Baidu is beefing up its product with AI to fight rivals

Pictured here is the Ernie bot mobile interface, with the Baidu search engine home page in the background.

Future Publishing | Future Publishing | Getty Images

Chinese tech giant Baidu has bolstered its core search platform with artificial intelligence in the biggest overhaul of the product in 10 years.

Analysts told CNBC the move was a bid to keep ahead of fast-moving rivals like DeepSeek, rather than traditional search players.

“There has been some small pressure on the search business but the focus on AI and Ernie Bot is a key move ahead,” Dan Ives, global head of tech research at Wedbush Securities, told CNBC by email. Ernie Bot is Baidu’s AI chatbot.

“Baidu is not waiting around to watch the paint dry, full steam ahead on AI,” he added.

Baidu AI overhaul

Baidu is China’s biggest search engine, but — as is also being seen by Google — the search market is being disrupted.

Users are flocking instead to AI services such as ChatGPT or DeepSeek, which shocked the world this year with its advanced model it claimed was created at a fraction of the cost of rivals.

But Kai Wang, Asia equity market strategist at Morningstar, also noted that short video platforms such as Douyin and Kuaishou are also getting into AI search and piling pressure on Baidu.

To counter this, Baidu made some major changes to its core search product:

  • Users can now enter more than a thousand characters in the search box, versus 28 previously;
  • Questions can be asked in a more direct and conversational manner, mirroring how people now use chatbots;
  • Users can ask questions through voice but also prompt the seach engine with pictures and files;
  • Baidu has integrated its AI chatbot features, which enable users to generate photos, text and videos, into the product.

“This is more aligned with how people use ChatGPT and DeepSeek in terms of how they look for answers,” Wang said.

Outside of China, Google has also been looking to enhance its core search product with AI, highlighting how search has been under pressure from the burgeoning technology.

Baidu on the offense

Baidu was one of China’s first movers when it came to AI, releasing its first models and ChatGPT-style product Ernie Bot to the public in 2023. Since then, it has aggressively launched updated AI models.

However, the Beijing-headquartered company has also faced intense competition from fellow tech giants like Alibaba and Tencent, as well as upstarts such as DeepSeek.

These companies have also been launching new models and infusing AI into their products and Baidu’s stock has fallen behind as a result. Baidu shares have risen around 2.5% this year, versus a 30.5% surge for Alibaba and a 20% rise for Tencent.

“This is a defensive and offensive move … Baidu needs to be aggressive and perception-wise show they are not the little brother to Tencent on the AI front,” Wedbush Securities’ Ives added.

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