Today the Japanese arm of Nintendo announced a revision of the original Switch console.
The new model will have a longer battery life, extended from 2.5 to 6.5 to 4.5 to 9.0 depending on the usage. The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild will last you approximately 5.5 hours instead of 3. This is a significant increase compared to the original model.
The new model will start shipping in Japan in late August, and the box will showcase a specific logo to help people recognize it. The model number will be HAD-S-KABAA for the neon blue and red variant and HAD-S-KAAAA for the grey one.
The recommended retail price isn’t changing, as Nintendo is holding it steady at 29,980 yen plus taxes. Size and weight of the console also appear to be remaining the same.
Incidentally, the limited edition dedicated to Dragon Quest XI will be part of this new batch as well.
At the moment of this writing, Nintendo of America and Nintendo of Europe have not made equivalent announcements, but the new model is already showcased on the official page of the console for North America, with model number HAC-001(-01) and product serial numbers beginning with “XKW” (as opposed to “XAW”). Shipping should begin in mid-August.
This comes hot on the heels of the announcement of the Nintendo Switch Lite, which also includes a slight increase in battery life from the original model while being considerably smaller and lighter.
It’s possible that this helped the house of Mario and Zelda create more efficient batteries or hardware that have then in turn been applied to the original model. That being said, this is just my speculation.
