Nintendo Switch: 10 Improvements It STILL Needs

When you get into the groove it's hard to stop gaming. When the Switch is docked, you don't have to worry about the console dying. When you're playing it in handheld mode, however, this is where it becomes an issue.

Let's get the basics out of the way. The original Switch model, HAC-001, has a battery life of 2.5 to 6.5 hours, with the updated HAC-001(-01) model having between 4.5 to 9 hours. The Switch Lite, a handheld only console, has a battery life of 3 to 7 hours. The battery is also lithium-ion, and according to Nintendo, after approximately 800 charging cycles the battery life can decrease by about 80%.

The easiest and seemingly only way to help with the battery in the console is to lower the brightness, but this is very minimal, to say the least. Playing a game like Breath of the Wild can drain the battery in around 3 to 4 hours, as it is a demanding game internally. Less taxing games, such as indies or older generational games require less power from the Switch. That being said, it's still hard to have the battery last more than 5 hours while playing most games in handheld mode.

Most people play the Switch in handheld mode, so a longer-lasting battery would be ideal.