It’s been about one week since Nintendo first unveiled the Switch Lite, a portable-only version of the hybrid console that takes away what makes the Switch so special. It’s $100 less, the detachable Joy-Con are gone, and the screen is a little bit smaller. One of the only “good” things about the Lite version, is that is the battery life has been extended compared to the OG model, but now, that’s not even true… kind of.
Just this morning, Nintendo announced that new Switch models that ship after mid-August or so will be slightly revised, and will have an advanced battery that will last upwards to nine hours, give or take.
The original Switch’s battery life ranges from 2.5 to 5.5 hours of playtime on the go (depending on what game you play) and the Switch Lite will improve upon the battery life, giving players 20 to 30% of extra playtime.
This announcement from Nintendo sort of takes the spotlight away from the Switch Lite, especially since the extended battery life was one of the more exciting tidbits of info to come out of the reveal, but now Nintendo has seemingly shot themselves in the foot, giving consumers yet another reason to stick with the original Switch model.
If Nintendo wants to sell Switch Lite units when it launches in September of this year, they should’ve really kept this revision of the Switch under wraps for a little bit longer, or they should not have even made an official announcement.
Just stealthily release these updated Switch models and let people find out about the battery life themselves. They’re taking attention away from the Switch Lite and telling consumers “hey, the Switch Lite did have the best battery life, but now it’s going to be stuck in the middle once August comes around.”
I was thinking about purchasing the Switch Lite for my partner, simply because they need their own Switch and we already have one in our home, but now I can just purchase a new Switch in a few weeks and give him my old one. I get a souped-up Switch for myself and he’ll have a normal Switch that can still be taken on the go.
I really don’t understand what Nintendo is hoping to achieve by announcing yet another version of the Switch one week after literally revealing new hardware, but hey, Nintendo is still going to sell units regardless, but I just assume that they want to sell Switch Lite units this holiday season, and this mini announcement this morning really doesn’t help the cause.
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