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I love everything about the Steam Deck. It's a (mostly) open-source console with the ability to launch (but not necessarily run) all games on the Steam platform, and it became the perfect companion to my gaming PC when I first bought it. However, it wasn’t until my first week with the Nintendo Switch 2 that I was reminded why I liked handheld games to begin with.There’s nothing overwhelmingly new about the Nintendo Switch 2. Yes, the console is considerably more powerful than the original device that launched in 2017, with a larger screen, more comfortable controllers and an overall better design, but it also didn’t need its own show-stopping new feature. Nintendo’s world of gaming is unique and unmatched, tapping into aspects (portability, couch co-op-ability and a strong focus on first-party games) that leaves any other company, at best, hopelessly behind.It’s why the argument over whether or not the Steam Deck will stand a chance against the Switch 2 makes me groan. It's of no importance. It's not worth caring about. They might be similar devices overall, but they have different intentions in the games space.(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)What does matter is making your experience unique – and the Nintendo Switch 2 is far-reaching in its distinctiveness, making for both the perfect gadget when entertaining my niece or the ideal party trick when hanging out with friends.You should read our in-depth Nintendo Switch 2 review if you’re more interested in the specs, performance and features. I’m here to tell you why I like the console.Switch it up(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)My lovely niece Zoey is five years old – she’s hyperactive and a terror, constantly running around and yelling, excited about little things and bored with boring things. She’s the world to me.And being her only uncle, there’s a lot of responsibility placed upon me! My brother and his fiance are constantly exhausted by Zoey’s antics, so I’m put on ‘Zoey duty’ whenever I’m in town or when they come to visit. She’s lovely – but she gets bored easily.For a long time, the best gizmo I had for keeping Zoey preoccupied was my Samsung Galaxy S25 Ultra – its integrated S Pen stylus and well maintained first-party PENUP app offer countless hours of drawing fun for a little kid.(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)The Nintendo Switch 2 strikes the same niche. Pulling the console out at a family event on the weekend, Zoey’s restlessness was quickly brought under control once I introduced her to the new Mario Kart World. Sure, she's part of this new generation of kids that have been first introduced to Mario through the 2023 Illumination film, but like the Galaxy S Pen, there's an instant appeal to kids when the gadget is so tactile, and you can physically touch and interact with it in a really cool way.Similarly, the ability to whip the console out both in the office, on a meeting room TV, or at a party and have friends play on it effortlessly using the removable controllers is such a boon. It’s the best console to have when playing with people in person, and its compact form allows you to take it anywhere.Even without the deck, the new Joy-Cons are sufficiently large that they’re no longer too uncomfortable when held horizontally. The display is larger, brighter and more clear than the original Switch too, making splitscreen gameplay on the console alone much more enjoyable.The whole motion of snapping out a magnetically-attached Joy-Con to go head-to-head with a friend in person is infinitely more thrilling than whipping out a much smaller game on your phone, or even a high-performance game on your Steam Deck, and playing on your own. It’s a tactile difference and, with its performance improvements across the board, the Switch 2 aces the assignment.I can’t be won over with everything(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)The Nintendo Switch 2 is a pretty well-rounded console that knows exactly what it’s trying to do, but there are issues here. The main one is the price – the high cost of the Switch 2 is, in a word, inaccessible to many folks, and the lack of any tangible difference to the original console would leave many preferring to save money.Though the console is noticeably bigger this time around, with a larger display than even the Steam Deck’s (yet a smaller overall size), it’s still a bit uncomfortable for adult hands in its standard handheld mode. The bumper buttons in particular feel just a tad too big and have often led to accidental presses during my use.On this note, the ability for the Switch’s Joy-Cons to quickly turn into wireless mice for more precise gameplay at a desk or table, utilising sensors down the side to track the Joy-Con’s movement as it slides across the table, feels like one of the biggest jumps in recent first-party gaming hardware. My only criticism is that it’s limited by the same issues as when holding the console in handheld mode – it’s a bit awkward for bigger hands. Thankfully the Switch 2 supports third party mice.Having most of my gaming on PC, I’m also massively against subscription services for online play, but this is likely a non-issue for many, given that there are many other great bonuses to be had with Nintendo Switch Online.But my biggest point of criticism remains the dock – the thing I liked the least about the original Switch. I get that it’s supposed to be big to support console play at home, but for my use case, I would like a more portable solution for projecting to a TV at a friend or family member’s home. Surely all of the internal components can be condensed into a smaller form factor, just as we saw with third-party Switch accessories after 2017? This would be a massive boon to me, as lugging the sizable dock around solely for the ability to project onto a TV is kind of annoying.On gaming and identity(Image credit: Zachariah Kelly / TechRadar)The Nintendo Switch 2 is the ultimate social console. That I can entertain my niece for hours on end with this gadget, playing games in a more portable form than any alternative console, is so cosmically important to me that I can’t help but love this quirky, multi-purpose handheld. That I can show up to a house party of introverts and have buckets of fun is of similar importance.In 2025, there are alternatives for dedicated gamers after greater performance. The Steam Deck most prominently (particularly for how it too can be used as a co-op console, albeit less. elegantly without removable Joy-Cons), but even the PlayStation Portal can be regarded as a decent in-home handheld.But none of these will ever achieve the all-encompassing brilliance of the Nintendo Switch 2. Try as Microsoft might with its latest console, the ‘ROG Xbox Ally X’, a name so comically bad that only Xbox and Asus could have come up with it, it’ll never be this.These handheld consoles, while cool and capable of great gameplay, lack the physical appeal that makes the Switch 2 so brilliant in the first place. Nintendo has mastered the balance between hardware and software to make different modes of play quickly achievable, without annoying OS difficulties (like in former Windows-based handhelds), streaming reliance (like the Portal and cloud-based services) and bulky hardware tradeoffs (like when pairing controllers with the Steam Deck). Rather than spend a couple of minutes pairing controllers to the Deck, for example, the Switch 2 only requires a split-second detaching of a Joy-Con. It's seamless.It’s an expensive console, no doubt about it, but the Nintendo Switch 2 has taken the mantle of the best casual console on the market – while also catering to more dedicated gamers too. It’s easy to love, but if you can’t afford it (or justify the high price), then I would highly recommend still picking up either the original Switch or the Switch OLED, as they continue to provide a sufficiently capable family gaming experience.You might also like...I’m not interested in the Switch 2 - but there’s one game that will make me open my walletThe Nintendo Switch 2 has already smashed a sales record, with 3.5 million units shifted in just four daysActivision is reportedly still 'committed' to bringing Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 to Nintendo Switch 2

Glitching videos. Spelling mistakes. No blinking. Robotic audio. Unnatural tone.Historical hallmarks of a deepfake cyberattack may seem apparent to the well-informed individual, but if recent news events have taught us anything, humans can no longer be relied upon to correctly spot AI-generated content such as deepfakes.However, many online security frameworks still rely on human intervention as a crucial defense mechanism against attacks. For example, employees are expected to spot phishing emails and scams after completing corporate cybersecurity training. Remote identity verification often relies on a manual check of uploaded imagery, or a person-to-person video call to verify a user’s identity.The reality today is that humans can no longer detect generative AI content and should no longer remain a central defense mechanism. A new approach is urgently needed.The threat landscape is changing two-fold AI-powered fraud and cyberattacks have captured several headlines recently. One notable example was global engineering firm Arup, which fell victim to a £20m deepfake scam after a finance employee was duped into sending cash to criminals, following a series of hoax AI-generated video calls from senior officials.On the incident, Arup’s Global CIO, Rob Greig, said: “Like many other businesses around the globe, our operations are subject to regular attacks, including invoice fraud, phishing scams, WhatsApp voice spoofing, and deepfakes. What we have seen is that the number and sophistication of these attacks has been rising sharply in recent months.”Here, Greig underscores the two biggest changes AI is driving in the threat landscape today: attacks are rising in volume and sophistication. Generative AI tools that can create video, audio, and messages are now widely available and are accelerating the speed and scale at which attacks can be launched. What’s more, the technology has become so sophisticated that humans cannot be reasonably expected to detect AI-powered attacks.Other organizations are starting to worry too; a recent iProov survey of technology decision-makers found that 70% believe AI-generated attacks will significantly impact their organizations, while more than two-thirds (62%) worry that their organization isn’t taking the threat seriously enough.There are several ways AI is transforming traditional attacks.Phishing gets a power-up Despite widespread awareness of social engineering techniques, this method remains highly effective in cyberattacks. Verizon’s 2023 Data Breach Investigations report revealed phishing was involved in 36% of breaches in 2022, making it the most common attack type.It’s commonplace for organizations to teach employees about spotting phishing attacks, like looking for typos, grammar errors, or awkward formatting. But with AI able to quickly create, polish, and scale personalized phishing messages, those training sessions have become redundant.Tools like WormGPT, a malicious cousin of ChatGPT, are enabling bad actors to create convincing, personalized phishing messages quickly without any errors and in any language.AI is also helping make spear-phishing (highly targeted social engineering attacks) even more impactful and scalable. Traditional social engineering attacks become even more convincing when coupled with a deepfake phone call or voice note from a relative or colleague, for example, just like the Arup incident.With AI creating convincing content that no longer requires a high technical skillset, the number of potential attackers is greatly expanded. The barrier to entry to create these attacks is also far lower than before, with generative AI tools now easily accessible from Crime-as-a-Service marketplaces.Onboarding becomes a top target Remote onboarding, the point where a user first sets up access to a system or service and verifies their identity, is a high-risk point in user journeys for any organization, and is another area AI-attacks are targeting. Allowing a criminal access to an organization's systems or accounts can cause significant, uncontrolled damage that can quickly spiral. Consider how easily a criminal could borrow money fraudulently, steal identities or weaponize company data once they have been given an account or granted access.KnowBe4, a US cybersecurity company, recently shared details of an attack it faced that illustrates this risk all too well. They unwittingly hired a North Korean hacker who used AI and a stolen ID to trick hiring teams and the identity verification process. Once onboard, the imposter almost immediately tried to upload malware before being detected.Verifying identities remotely is far more commonplace in today’s global and digital age. Whether it’s hiring a new employee like the KnowBe4 example, creating a bank account, or accessing government services; people are far more accustomed to verifying their identity remotely. However, traditional methods like video calls with human operators are clearly no longer able to defend against deepfake imposters. As KnowBe4’s CEO said: “If it can happen to us, it can happen to almost anyone. Don’t let it happen to you.”So, how can organizations stop it from happening to them?Fighting fire with fire No organization can ignore the emerging AI threats – the KnowBe4 and Arup examples should ring alarm bells for any enterprise. They also underscore how vulnerable humans are as a defense method. Employees can’t be expected to spot every cleverly disguised phishing email, nor can human operators flawlessly manage remote identity verification. Bad actors knowingly exploit human vulnerabilities.Our recent deepfake detection study found only 0.1% out of 2,000 participants could accurately distinguish real from fake content, and despite this poor performance over 60% of people were confident in the accuracy of their detection skills. Regardless of how confident someone may feel scrutinizing a deepfake photo or email message during a cyber training session, the chances of detecting these when a notification is received in real life during a busy workday or while out running errands is considerably lower.The good news is that AI is both sword and shield. And thankfully, tech leaders are recognising the power of technology as the solution, with 75% turning to facial biometric systems as a primary defense against deepfakes and the majority acknowledging the crucial role of AI in defending against these attacks.Biometric verification systems are transforming remote online identity verification, enabling organizations to verify that the user at the other end of the screen is not only the right person, but a real person. Liveness assurance, as this is called, prevents attackers using stolen or shared copies of victims’ faces, or forged synthetic imagery.Organizations must be aware that what truly differentiates biometric systems is the quality of this liveness assurance and not all liveness assurance systems are created equal. While many solutions claim to offer robust security, organizations need to dig deeper and ask critical questions.Does the solution offer liveness assurance that continuously adapts to evolving threats like deepfakes through AI-powered learning? Does it create a unique challenge-response mechanism to make every authentication unique? Does the provider have a dedicated security operations center that provides proactive threat hunting and incident response to keep pace with emerging threats and ensure that defenses remain robust?Implementing these more advanced solutions are critical to staying ahead of the ever-evolving attacks, reducing the burden on individuals and ultimately bolstering organizational security in the AI-driven threat landscape.We list the best identity management software.This article was produced as part of TechRadarPro's Expert Insights channel where we feature the best and brightest minds in the technology industry today. The views expressed here are those of the author and are not necessarily those of TechRadarPro or Future plc. If you are interested in contributing find out more here: https://www.techradar.com/news/submit-your-story-to-techradar-pro