Nintendo Switch will connect to a smartphone app to manage your online gameplay experience, and to voice chat.

That much we knew already - although the specifics of how it will work, what you'll do to connect, when it will launch and how much it costs are all still up in the air.

But while we wait for answers to those big questions, here's a little more information on the app's functionality from a Splatoon 2 press release sent out this morning.

"Splatoon 2 will be compatible with an upcoming Nintendo Switch app for smart devices that enhances online play," Nintendo wrote.

"This app will connect to the game and allow players to set play appointments with friends who have been added to their Nintendo Switch friend list or via their social media accounts."

This is actually cool - the app will let you schedule matches with friends. I can imagine sitting on the train home from work and using it to arrange a play session later in the evening.

Confirmation of social media account support is also a bonus. You'd think it would go without saying in 2017, but then Fire Emblem Heroes reverted back to Nintendo's archaic friend code method.

"[The app] also allows players to match up with those friends directly in the game or voice chat with them via their smart device."

As expected, this sounds like confirmation you will need a smartphone or tablet nearby and switched on to voice chat with friends. But it's a little confused - surely you don't require the app to start matches with friends in-game?

"For example, during a Private Battle, players can voice chat with all of their connected friends when they divide into teams, but once teams are set, voice chat is switched to communication only between teammates on the same team."

This last line is also confusing - what if you're chatting with a party of friends and some of them are sorted into other teams? What if you're playing a different game, can you still voice chat then?

We'd love to know more - and just two and a bit weeks from Switch's launch we're really hoping there's not much longer to wait to find out.

The company is still to confirm how its online service will work when the console launches - as well as detail what fans will get as part of the online service, which will be locked behind a paywall in September.