Nintendo confirms minor hardware revision of original Switch console

Nintendo confirms minor hardware revision of original Switch console
Ben Borthwick Updated on by

Posted in News

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Nintendo in Japan has confirmed that a long rumoured update for its original Nintendo Switch console will indeed be coming out later this year.

There's been a few rumours of the revision kicking around since at least February, and naturally speculation ramped up after the Nintendo Switch Lite reveal last week when new FCC filings were found, but now Nintendo's Japanese arm confirmed an original Switch model with a slightly improved battery life will arrive there 'late August'.

Then, Nintendo UK confirmed to Eurogamer that the new model would be making its way to these shores too, with a representative saying 'Consumers should start seeing the new packaging on store shelves starting from early September, but that will vary by individual stores and locations.'

It's not going to be a massive change, and of course results may vary depending on the game, but apparently while the current model has a battery life of approximately 2.5-to-6.5 hours on a single charge, the new one will boast from 4.5-to-9 hours – with The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild as an example game given promising around 5.5 hours. For comparison, the upcoming Nintendo Switch Lite is promising around a 3-to-7 hour battery life. You can see a comparison of the all three of the machines on the Nintendo Japan website.