While theNintendo Switch 2is going to be a big step up in terms of performance from the original Switch, it seems like that extra muscle is going to come at a cost.
Duringtoday’s Switch 2 Direct, there were a number of aspects of the upcoming console that Nintendo was somewhat cagey about.
One of them was pricing, which we have since learned isa fairly reasonable $449 for the console itself, even ifthe game prices may be a little less reasonable.
Another big thing that Nintendo didn’t discuss much was the console’s battery life, and it seems like they’ve got a good reason for this: it’s kind of disappointing and potentially even worse than the original Switch, at around 2-6.5 hours.
More Capacity, But Shorter Life
According to the official specs for the Switch 2 provided byNintendo, the battery in the Switch 2 has a capacity of 5220 mAh, up from its predecessor’s 4310 mAh battery.
For reference, that’s much more than the average modern smartphone; the iPhone 16 has a 3561 mAh battery. It’s around the same as the Steam Deck, which ships with a 5200 mAh cell.
However, Nintendo’s 2-6.5 hour estimate for the battery life of the Switch 2 is slightly worse than their estimate for the original model of the Switch, which was 2.5-6.5 hours. The Switch Lite, meanwhile, clocked in at 3-7 hours, and the revised 2019 model of the Switch and the later OLED version improved the battery life to 4.5-9 hours.
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Still, this battery life does put it in the ballpark of other handheld gaming devices. The Steam Deck delivers a similar battery life estimate of 2-8 hours for the LCD model, and slightly longer for the OLED model and the Asus ROG Ally.
In any case, if you plan on playing the Switch 2 mostly in handheld or tabletop mode, you should expect to be spending a lot of time near an outlet so you can keep the battery topped up, just like with any modern gaming handheld. But hey, at least you can actually charge this one while it’s in tabletop mode with the top USB-C port, unlike the original Switch.
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