After the Switch Lite announcement Nintendo announced an updated version of the original Switch. I will be similar in every way except the battery life is longer. You can check the new model in the products page.

Here’s a comparison:

  • Nintendo Switch (model: HAC-001): 2.5 to 6.5 hours
  • Nintendo Switch (model: HAC-001-01): 4.5 to 9 hours
  • Nintendo Switch Lite (model: HDH-001): 3 to 7 hours

So that’s 2 to 2.5 hours more. A game like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will last around 5.5 hours. Those extra hours must be a big improvement to a lot of people. It was one of the biggest criticisms of the Switch.

No one really knows how the company was able to do it but it could be that this new model is using a smaller Tegra X1 SoC (16nm or 12nm), which would be more energy efficient. Increasing battery capacity would probably require a bigger console so that’s unlikely.

The console will be available in mid August 2019 and will cost the same as the original, $299.99. Yes that’s right, the cheap stakes only give one free cent, not a dollar. That’s not even good enough for 1 piece of square candy.