The Nintendo Switch 2 received its full unveiling earlier today during the latest Nintendo Direct presentation, revealing its release date, price, new features, games, and more. The company has now revealed the official specifications for the new console, revealing details on the included battery.
Being a hybrid console touting handheld gameplay, one of the biggest questions regarding the device has been the battery life. Featuring a «custom processor made by NVIDIA,» the Switch 2 has a confirmed range of approximately 2 to 6.5 hours of playtime on its 5220mAh battery. Of course, the games being played will affect this number. The original Switch featured a custom NVIDIA Tegra X1-based SoC.
While the Switch 2 battery capacity has been upgraded from the original Switch’s 4310mAh battery (3570mAh on the Switch Lite), the playtime estimations have gone through a massive downgrade. For comparison, Nintendo has the original Switch’s approximate battery life marked as 4.5 to 9 hours (3 to 7 hours on Lite).
Moreover, Nintendo says the Switch 2 will take approximately three hours to charge while the system is in sleep mode. Meanwhile, the new Joy-Con controllers will take 3 hours and 30 minutes to charge while attached to the console and will last for 20 hours independently, depending on use.
Coupled with needing to power its larger 7.9-inch 1080p screen, the company may be pushing the Nvidia internals to get more horsepower while losing battery life in the process. The Switch 2 is already confirmed to receive a whole bunch of high-profile games too, including Elden Ring 2, Cyberpunk 2077, Star Wars Outlaws, Hogwarts Legacy, Hitman, Split Fiction, Street Fighter 6, an exclusive from FromSoftware, as well as paid upgrades for major Nintendo exclusives like The Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild and Tears of the Kingdom.
Players will probably have to wait until the new console, as well as games, to launch before getting any real-world battery life data from third parties.
The Nintendo Switch launches June 5 with a $449.99 price tag. A bundle version with Mario Kart World included is also arriving for $499.99.
