Nintendo Announces New Switch Model, Improves Battery Life

Last week Nintendo made news with the surprise (not so surprising) reveal of the new member to the Switch console family, the Switch Lite. The new slim model is a dedicated handheld with a variety of new features, as well as a few subtractions from the original design. And it seems Nintendo still has other plans for newer SKUs to hit the market as they have just announced an upgraded model of the original Switch console.

The new model will address one of the lingering issues with the powerful handheld hybrid console – the battery life. While playing the Switch’s impressive line-up of titles on your television won’t be affected by the new updated model, those who love taking advantage of the hybrid design and play in handheld mode might want to start saving for the new model.

The Nintendo Switch (HAC-001(-01)) has an improved battery life that probably uses similar tech that’s featured in the new Lite model. The recently announced slimmer Switch will feature up to around 7 hours of battery life, significantly more than the original design’s 3-4 hour lifespan. The updated original model will now be capable of upwards of around 6 hours of battery life which is nearly twice as much time to spend before needing to charge. Not bad.

Nintendo announced that the new Switch model will be available first in Japan next month with a release in European regions arriving in September. The company has yet to announce the release date for the North American regions, though, we can expect announced shortly. The recently announced Switch Lite is set to release worldwide on September 20, 2019.