Seemingly out of nowhere, Nintendo has just announced another version of the original Nintendo Switch with a much longer battery life while you play it on the go. At the time of this writing, Nintendo has not stated whether this will be released outside of their native region of Japan. However, the newer model is showcased on the American Nintendo website for the Switch, which may hint at an official announcement very soon.
According to the website, the new model will have a much better battery that will extend the 2017 launch systems 2.5-6.5 hours to 4.5-9.0 hours depending on how much it is used and what you’re playing. For those who prefer to play bigger games such as The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Xenoblade Chronicles 2 while you’re on the move, then this version of the Switch is the system for you.
The new model is scheduled to start shipping in Japan in late August, and will have a special logo on the box to minimize confusion between the original and the newer system. One thing that isn’t changing is the price tag, as Nintendo seems keen keeping it the same as the original, which only makes sense as the only major change in the console is the extended battery.
Nintendo is on a roll with updates to the Switch as of late. They announced the Nintendo Switch Lite last week, which itself has a slightly longer battery life, but not quite as long as this newer version. If portability is what they were going for with these new updates to the Switch, they certainly aren’t holding back on it. As we said earlier, Nintendo has not officially announced this for North American or Europe, but expect either a reveal or response sooner than later.
