GoKawiilOliver Cragg / Android Authority
TL;DR Nintendo has shared details of the upcoming Switch 2 hardware with user-replaceable batteries.
The Switch 2 with a replaceable battery will be available this autumn and will be 10g heavier than the regular Switch 2.
The Joy-Con 2 and Switch 2 Pro controllers with replaceable batteries will be available this winter.
Last month, Nintendo said it’s working to introduce user-replaceable batteries in the Switch 2 to bring its Switch hardware in line with the EU’s right-to-repair bill and battery regulations. Now, we’re finally getting some news about when users will be able to purchase devices with replaceable batteries.
The company has shared a detailed roadmap of which Nintendo products will get replaceable batteries and when they’ll be available to buy. First to hit the shelves will be the Joy-Con pair in select colors, as well as the left and right Joy-Cons in Neon Blue and Neon Red, respectively.
The new Switch 2 with a replaceable battery will be available this autumn. It will feature a slightly smaller, 5,172mAh battery compared with the 5,220mAh battery in the current Switch 2. The console itself will also be 10g heavier than the original Switch 2. With both Joy-Con 2 controllers attached, the new Switch 2 with replaceable batteries will weigh 548g. That’s 14g heavier than the Switch 2 without replaceable batteries.
Joy-Con 2 controllers with replaceable batteries will also be available this winter. Nintendo has confirmed that the battery capacity of Joy-Con 2 controllers will remain unchanged. However, the controllers will be 2g heavier than before.
Other Switch 2 accessories are also on the way. The Switch 2 Pro controller will be available in the winter as well, with a smaller 897mAh battery compared to the 1,070mAh battery in the Switch 2 Pro controller, which lacks a replaceable battery. The Nintendo 64 controller and GameCube controller for the Switch 2 will be available in 2027.
Nintendo has also confirmed that starting mid-February 2027, it will no longer sell the Nintendo Switch, Switch Lite, and Switch OLED in the EU.
... continue reading