NookLink is a companion service that Nintendo is offering for real life smartphones in the Nintendo Switch Online app. It allows players to scan QR codes of custom designs from New Leaf or Happy Home Designer and transfer them to New Horizons.
NookLink will also allow players to use their smartphones for voice chat or messaging. The service released alongside New Horizons on March 20, 2020.
Currently, there are a total of ten NookLink apps: Passport, Keyboards, Best Friends, Reactions, Catalog, Nook Points, Island Newspaper, Island Life 101, Designs, and Settings.
Passport[]
This app can be used to see your icon, comment, island name, native fruit, tag, name, birthday, and registration date (the day you first played the game), your custom design creator ID, your Dream Address, and the birthdays of all of your current island residents. You can also see how many visitors your dream island has had, along with who's islands you've dreamed of and when they updated their dream.
Keyboards[]
This app can be used to send in-game chat messages without needing to press R and typing out a message using the controller. Emojis can't be used.
Even though emojis can't be used, some characters (like Arabic) can be typed into the chat box, but will display as "???" in-game.
Currently, this only works for sending chat messages, so users need to use the controller or touch screen to type out number and text prompts, like when sending a card to a villager or buying turnips from Daisy Mae.
Best Friends[]
This app lets you manage your Best Friends List and send messages to other users, provided both users are online. This app can also be used to report inappropriate behavior.
Reactions[]
This app can be used to send reactions to your villager. Reactions can't be sent while in a loading screen, talking to a villager, or in a menu. This app does not auto-update when receiving a new reaction from a villager, so you'll have to close the app and re-open it to use your new reaction.
Catalog[]
This app can be used to see which items are currently in your Nook Shopping catalog, and search for items using criteria such as its category (furniture, clothing, wallpaper, flooring, rug, fossil, painting, music, or poster), its color, and whether or not you can order it from the catalog or customize it. You can also filter by its cost in Bells, along with its size in tiles. (Sizes that include decimal points will be shown rounding up. For example, the Simple DIY workbench will be shown as 2x2, even though it's 1.5x1.5.)
Although items can't be directly bought from the Catalog app, they can be favorited to buy from Nook Shopping later.
Nook Points[]
This app supplies Nook Points for each day, with Katrina sometimes supplying double or even triple the amount on some days. The points are utilized to send items over to New Horizons. The items that can be bought and transferred to the game are as follows:
- Nook Inc. poster (10 Nook Points)
- Nook Inc. toilet paper (10 Nook Points)
- Nook Inc. balloon (30 Nook Points)
- Nook Inc. doorplate (40 Nook Points)
- Nook Inc. pochette (50 Nook Points)
- Nook Inc. sweater (50 Nook Points)
- Aloha-edition carrying case (60 Nook Points)
- Nook Inc. cushion (60 Nook Points)
- Raccoon wall clock (80 Nook Points)
- Timmy and Tommy's photo (100 Nook Points)
- Tom Nook's photo (100 Nook Points)
- Isabelle's photo (100 Nook Points)
Island Newspaper[]
This app, titled "The [island] Post", features various news stories for the month, usually pertained to players actions beforehand as well as upcoming shopping news.
Island Life 101[]
This app, like in New Horizons, supplies various tips in the form of tweets by Tom Nook and Isabelle regarding how to live life on the island to the fullest.
Designs[]
This app can be used to scan QR Codes of Custom Designs made in New Leaf and Happy Home Designer on the 3DS. Scans can be made from the device's camera or an image on the user's device. Designs made for face-cutout standees cannot be scanned.
Some users have also used online tools, such as acpatterns.com, to upload pictures from their computer and use them in-game.
Scanned custom designs can be downloaded to the user's console by pressing + in the Custom Designs window.
Settings[]
This app can be used to switch players with Nintendo Switch Online subscriptions and languages.
Notifications[]
This isn't an app, but it's just a small window that can be accessed by tapping the mail icon in the top left of the NookLink screen. It displays temporary information, like when the game has received a new update or NookLink has received a new app.
The user will receive a special notification on their birthday that says, "It's your birthday today! Happy birthday!" with a cake icon. A similar notification is received when another villager celebrate their birthday, and a notification reminding you of the upcoming birthday will also be received the day before.
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