The Nintendo Switch 2 is offering players more than they ever could have expected. Not only is it now capable of running massive games like Cyberpunk 2077 and Elden Ring, but it’s getting triple-A titles on day one, and even a new FromSoftware exclusive.
It’s not only powerful enough to run these games, but even output them in 4K resolution when docked, with HDR capabilities in handheld. All this without the console getting any wider, meaning its portability is preserved.
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The Switch 2 Has Worse Battery Life Than The Base Switch
But one major tradeoff that wasn’t mentioned in the Direct is that, according to a spec sheet shared on Nintendo’s website, the console will have a battery life of two to six and a half hours in handheld mode, depending on what you’re playing. For comparison, the original Switch lasted two and a half to six and a half hours. The Switch Lite lasted three to seven hours, and the OLED and newer Switch consoles lasted four and a half hours to nine hours.
To be fair, equivalent consoles that run similar hardware and resolution (i.e. the Steam Deck) have similar battery life. The LCD model, for example, lasts two to eight hours, while the OLED runs for three to 12 hours. Battery life in powerful handhelds is a problem that hardware designers and manufacturers have never managed to solve, and it seems that for all its improvements, the Switch 2 hasn’t found a solution either.
But it’s still disappointing to see battery life take a back burner, and it has me wondering about how people are going to be using the Switch 2 given this returning limitation. Considering that the Switch 2 seems to now be positioning itself as a console not just for smaller indies and Nintendo games, but as a platform to play modern triple-As in high resolution, it feels like it’s expanding its potential as a docked console as opposed to a handheld.
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The Switch 2 Works Better Docked
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. These improvements, as I’ve written elsewhere, are making the Switch 2 increasingly viable as a console in its own right and not just as a machine for Nintendo games and mediocre ports of older triple-As. It’s becoming easier than ever to recommend a Nintendo console in lieu of a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox – while those consoles undeniably have better technical capabilities and wider access to triple-A games, the Switch 2 is a slightly more affordable machine that seemingly has the hardware to run these games now.
But then again, the entire appeal of the Switch and the Switch 2 is that they’re hybrid consoles, made to be used both in handheld mode and docked. With less than half the battery life of the Switch OLED and comparable resolution to other consoles only when docked, the Switch 2 will function at its best only when connected to a television set.
Its selling points, too, are pegged to a static set-up. All the things that are new about it – the larger technical capabilities and its Joy-Cons being able to be used as mice – don’t really work when you’re on the go. Apart from the HDR capabilities of the screen, there hasn’t really been much added for players who mainly use the console in handheld mode.
The battery life will likely be improved down the line as Nintendo releases upgraded and more expensive versions of the Switch 2. But as things lie right now, the Switch 2 feels more like a docked console and less like the powerful handheld we all know and love. It sucks, because what makes the Switch special is precisely that it’s a hybrid. Without being a powerful handheld, where does the Switch go from here?
- Brand
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Nintendo
- Operating System
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Proprietary
- Storage
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256GB internal / MicroSD
- Resolution
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1080p (handheld) / 4K (docked)
- App Store
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Nintendo eShop
- Wi-Fi
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Yes