Those making gaming handhelds need to execute a complicated juggling act between how powerful they are and how long you can use them without a charge. With a new screen and more powerful processor, players plugging away on the Switch 2 are finding it hard to strike the right balance. Nintendo claims users should be able to get between 2 and 6 hours of playtime from its 5,220mAh battery. Some players say that number is skewing far too much toward the low end or that their console’s battery levels aren’t telling the truth.
Some Switch 2 owners have complained their consoles are not getting nearly as much juice as they should and that their consoles are dying before the battery indicator goes into the red. This week, Nintendo posted a few recommendations if “the battery indicator or percentage displays incorrectly on Nintendo Switch 2.” The Mario maker suggests you check if your AC adapter is adequate enough to charge the Switch 2. Otherwise, you can enter recovery mode and reset the battery level meter.
The recovery mode is a good thing to have in your back pocket if you ever encounter future issues with Nintendo’s new handheld. Nintendo says you should be able to get between 2 and 6.5 hours of playtime on Switch 2. As is always the case with battery life, companies usually test these devices in the best-case scenario. Even if all you’re doing is playing + Expansion Pack retro games on the Switch 2, you’d be lucky to truly get 6.5 hours of battery out of the device.
The YouTube channel TechCravers did a side-by-side test of the Switch 2’s battery life compared to a Switch OLED and Switch Lite, and the newer hardware barely managed to get 2 hours and 45 minutes out of Super Mario Odyssey. A Switch OLED managed to go past 5 hours before conking out. The problem with these tests is the Switch 2 has more screen options than the original console. Nintendo has settings for both variable refresh rate (VRR) up to 120Hz and HDR. If you turn both off, you could get a longer play session from your handheld, at the cost of potential screen tearing issues and less-pretty in-game scenery.
In Gizmodo’s own tests, we haven’t encountered any issues with battery levels not displaying accurately. With all the settings turned on and at relatively high brightness, we’ve found Switch 2 will hit precisely two hours of playtime on Switch 2 games, including demanding titles like Cyberpunk 2077 as well as first-party launch game Mario Kart World. The situation is much better if you’re playing older Switch games or less-intensive 2D titles. On Super Mario Odyssey, I found I could get a little more than 3 and a half hours before needing to charge. While playing Hades, I found the battery would last a little more than four hours.
On a Steam Deck OLED, you normally expect to play for a little more than 3 hours on a game like Cyberpunk 2077. Other handheld PCs, like the Asus ROG Ally X, will let you play for longer thanks to their bigger battery capacity. But this is where you have to factor in the price. A Steam Deck OLED sets you back $550 at the base model. It’s $100 more than the base Steam Deck LCD model, which has far worse battery optimization. An ROG Ally X costs $800.
If you compare that to the original Switch’s 4,310mAh battery, the Switch 2 seems about on par. That system could routinely get between 2 and 3 hours on most 3D titles. The $350 Switch OLED, with its larger, 7-inch display, maintained the same battery capacity as the original Switch, but it was a far more efficient device, which could play upwards of 3 hours when the original Switch could barely squeak out 2 hours.
If you’re concerned about your Switch 2 battery long-term, Nintendo includes a hidden setting to stop charging your console at 90%. This may keep your battery fresher for longer, even if it limits play time now. There are several different accessory makers, like Genki, that are planning to release external battery packs, and we’ll be looking to test those and other peripherals in the near future. For now, all you can do is make sure you have your power brick handy.
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