A new Switch is coming with double the battery life!
17.7.2019
Translation: Patrik Stainbrook
The Switch Lite isn't the only new Nintendo hardware this year. The original model is getting an upgrade with up to 80 percent longer battery life.
The Nintendo machine is in full swing. Barely a week has passed since the introduction of the new Switch Lite and the Japanese gaming wizards have already revealed a console update. It's probably the new and improved Switch everyone has been going on about in the dirt sheets. Externally, the model with the HAC-001 (-01) designation can't be distinguished from the current version. Except for the packaging, which is now completely red. If you buy one of the devices starting with the serial number XKW, you should feel the difference quickly.
The only officially listed improvement to the existing Switch concerns the battery. The revised model will last between 4.5 and 9 hours. The old model taps out after 2.5 to 6.5 hours. In «Zelda Breath of the Wild» this amounts to 5.5 hours compared to 3 hours. That's even more than the Switch Lite can manage. Whether Nintendo has also improved its performance or whether the entire hardware revision will fail in favour of runtime will only become apparent after initial tests.
The new Switch is expected to go on sale around mid-August. Two new Joy-Cons colours will also come out two months thereafter: Blue/neon yellow and violet/neon orange – at least in the USA. As soon as I know more about prices and availability, I'll update this story.
Philipp Rüegg
Senior Editor
philipp.rueegg@digitecgalaxus.chBeing the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur.