Image Credit: Bethesda
Forgot password
Enter the email address you used when you joined and we'll send you instructions to reset your password.
If you used Apple or Google to create your account, this process will create a password for your existing account.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.
Reset password instructions sent. If you have an account with us, you will receive an email within a few minutes.
Something went wrong. Try again or contact support if the problem persists.
Following last week's filings with the FCC, Nintendo announced the original Switch is getting a slightly enhanced model, along with two new sets of Joy-Con shortly after.

Nintendo Switch Hardware Update Boasts Improved Battery Life

Following last week's filings with the FCC, Nintendo announced the original Switch is getting a slightly enhanced model, along with two new sets of Joy-Con shortly after.
This article is over 5 years old and may contain outdated information

Following on from last week’s Nintendo Switch Lite reveal and rumors of an enhanced vanilla Switch, Nintendo announced there will, indeed, be a new and improved regular Nintendo Switch.

Recommended Videos

The improved Nintendo Switch will be sold as Model HAC-001(-01), and it’s expected to start shipping in the middle of August. 

It looks like consumers will also be able to tell the model difference based on packaging; the new model is shown (left) in a red box, where the original came in a white box  plus there are some other differences in how the product is shown off.

 

 

 

 

 


As we reported on last week
, after new FCC filings surfaced, these improvements aren’t related to graphical enhancements or anything of that nature. Instead, it’s all about improved battery life, likely thanks to the changes in storage and the new processor mentioned in those Class II FCC filings. Otherwise, the system itself is the same.

What’s more, these improvements mean the enhanced Nintendo Switch will actually outperform the Nintendo Switch Lite in terms of battery life.

Nintendo provided a comparison of how the three systems stack up:

As can be seen, the HAC-001 Switch model almost doubles the battery life of the original and offers a definite improvement over the Switch Lite as well. That’s just with Breath of the Wild as a reference point, too. It’s one of the Switch’s most demanding games and sucks the battery dry rapidly. Other games aren’t quite so greedy, hence the estimate that battery life could last up to nine hours. 

That’s not the only new thing coming to the Switch. On October 4, Nintendo fans are also getting two new sets of Joy-Con: Neon Purple/Neon Orange and Blue/Neon Yellow. These will retain for the usual $79.99. Just as a reminder, the Nintendo Switch Lite won’t have removable Joy-Con, so these new sets are only for the original Nintendo Switch and its enhancements.


GameSkinny is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more about our Affiliate Policy
Author
Image of Josh Broadwell
Josh Broadwell
Josh Broadwell started gaming in the early '90s. But it wasn't until 2017 he started writing about them, after finishing two history degrees and deciding a career in academia just wasn't the best way forward. You'll usually find him playing RPGs, strategy games, or platformers, but he's up for almost anything that seems interesting.