Nintendo’s Alarmo uses the tech that could solve Joy-Con stick drift

Nintendo is still shipping the Switch with Joy-Con hardware that will potentially develop issues like joystick drift and false inputs over time. We’ll have to wait until April 2nd to find out if Nintendo is fixing the issue with the new Switch 2, but as iFixit discovered during a teardown of the Alarmo alarm clock, the company is already embracing more reliable Hall effect sensors in at least one of its devices.

Unlike disassembling most modern smartphones, iFixit’s teardown of Nintendo’s Alarmo appears to be relatively painless. Removing a single tri-point screw on the bottom of the alarm clock allows its faceplate to be simply twisted off, providing easy access to its internal hardware.

There aren’t a lot of surprises inside Alarmo. Below its 2.4-inch LCD screen, you’ll find the 24GHz mmWave presence sensor the alarm clock uses to detect your body movements and whether you’re sleeping through an alarm. There’s also an easy to replace CR2032 coin cell backup battery that’s used to preserve settings while the clock isn’t getting power from a USB cable.

Somewhat unexpected, given Nintendo’s refusal to update its Joy-Con hardware, is the presence of a magnet and Hall effect sensor inside the rotary dial button atop Alarmo. That tech, which is already in use in many third-party controllers, should not only improve accuracy while using the dial to navigate the alarm clock’s menus, but it will also help ensure that in five years’ time Alarmo’s dial can still work as reliably as it does today.