After a long wait, Nintendo has now fully pulled back the curtain on the Switch 2. The hybrid handheld console successor looks like a fantastic upgrade. It’s finally bringing proper HDR to the dock, magnetic Joy-Cons might actually stay attached, on-device voice chat, 120Hz refresh, and a genuinely useful second USB-C port.
The culprit? Battery life. Read through the spec sheet and your eyes will stumble upon “2 to 6.5 hours of battery life.” That’s not a typo. Yes, it’s “just an estimate,” but let’s not kid ourselves. We all know how this goes. You’ll be lucky to hit that top end unless you’re playing a static puzzle game on airplane mode with the brightness dialled down.
Compare that to the OLED Switch – a lovely bit of kit that still manages up to 9 hours if you treat it nicely. The Lite does 7 on a good day. It’s disappointing just how quickly the second-gen handheld console will conk out. In fact, I think it lets down the Switch 2.
Now, I get it. The Switch 2 is pushing a lot more pixels around. It’s got a bigger, faster brain under the hood. It can even manage Elden Ring in handheld — which is an impressive feat. But if I can’t get through a long-haul flight without the battery wheezing its last breath, what’s the point of a handheld at all? And before anyone says “just charge it,” bear in mind it takes three hours to juice back up. In sleep mode. Not even while actively playing.
Okay, perhaps I’m being a tad dramatic. But it just feels like a bit of a missed opportunity, doesn’t it? Nintendo’s clearly aiming high with the Switch 2, but this one Achilles’ heel could drag the whole thing down for anyone who actually uses the Switch the way it was meant to be used.
Am I still excited for the Switch 2? But come launch day, I’ll be eyeing that battery bar with the same wary suspicion I reserve for Joy-Con calibration settings. The Nintendo Switch 2 is out 5 June, priced at $450/£396. Pre-orders go live 9 April at all the usual haunts.
