Nintendo Switch 2 Battery Life: Why it might be worse than original

Nintendo revealed many aspects of the new Switch 2 at the Nintendo Direct event, including the battery's capacity and backup. The new handheld has a 5220 mAh battery, which is 21% larger than the one in the original Switch. However, despite the larger capacity, the Switch 2's actual battery life is lower than that of every variant of the older model.

We analyze the battery aspects of both the new and the old Switch devices to determine if the battery life of the former is really lower than that of the latter.

Note: Aspects of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinions.

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The Switch 2's battery life is worse than the original

Nintendo Switch 2 is launching on June 5, 2025 (Image via Nintendo)

The battery life of the Nintendo Switch 2 is lower than the older Switch, which is ironic considering the former will have a larger battery physically. The original Switch had a battery life of 2.5 to 6.5 hours or higher, depending on the variant.

Here's the exact battery life of each variant of the original Nintendo Switch :

• Nintendo Switch with serial number starting at XA: 2.5 - 6.5 hours of battery
• Nintendo Switch: 3 - 7 hours of battery
• Nintendo Switch OLED and Switch with serial number starting at XT: 4.5 - 9 hours of battery

The newer variants of the original Switch had decent battery life. Even the older variants had acceptable battery life, but we can hardly say that about the Switch 2. The new handheld is rated to provide only 2 to 6.5 hours of battery life, which is worse comparatively.

The Switch 2 has a more advanced chipset and larger battery capacity, so we expected it to have a better battery backup, but that didn't turn out to be the case. This is partly due to the Switch 2's new screen, which has up to a 120Hz refresh rate.

Besides high-refresh-rate display, the chipset in the Switch 2 is significantly more powerful. These are the two primary reasons the new handheld has a worse battery than the original.

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How does Switch 2's low battery life impact gaming?

The original Switch was praised for its incredible battery life, especially the Switch OLED, which could last multiple hours. This meant users could take this console to a friend's home or play on flights for hours without worrying about charging.

With the Switch 2, users will need to carry a charger everywhere, which could tremendously impact its portability aspects. Finding a wall socket may not always be possible in airports, on long rides, in public places, etc.

Of course, a lot depends on the type of games you play. If you play a many first-party titles that aren't too graphically demanding, you should get a decent-enough battery life. However, the battery will struggle to deliver two hours on a single charge if you plan on playing one of the newly announced games, like Cyberpunk 2077, Elden Ring, or other AAA titles.

It will be interesting to see how Nintendo tackles this aspect in the future. Unlike other components, the battery will gradually degrade and reduce its total charging capacity, decreasing its life over time. Nintendo could optimize the power delivery via software updates and improve the overall efficiency of the console.