Nintendo Switch’s Charge Time May Exceed Battery Life

The Nintendo Switch’s Battery Reportedly Takes 3 Hours to Fully Charge, Can Run out in 2.5

We know that running modern video games on 1280 x 720 is going to be taxing on the Nintendo Switch‘s battery life. But could the battery literally run out faster than it takes to charge? According to the most recent information we have on the transforming, portable console, the answer could be yes.

Nintendo Switch Specs

According to Nintendo’s Japanese website, the built-in 4310mAh rechargeable 3.7V Lithium-ion battery for the Nintendo Switch will take 3 hours to charge fully. During the official Switch announcement just a week ago we all saw that the battery, while in handheld mode, is supposed to last 2.5 to 6 hours. This huge disparity in battery life is due to the fact that different games will place different amounts of strain on the system. For instance, playing Zelda: Breath of the Wild or Skyrim will put a whole lot more stress on the Switch than a game like Mario Kart.

mario kart nintendo switch

The good news is that the Nintendo Switch can be charged while playing in handheld mode. So long as you have an electrical outlet nearby, you can plug in your USB type-C adapter and theoretically enjoy unlimited battery life while you game. Hopefully, plugging your system in will mean that the handheld draws power directly from the outlet, not through the battery. It would be a huge bummer to be stuck waiting at an airport for 6 hours and needing to keep powering down your Switch to let it charge. There are two distinct facts of life that make a scenario like this more likely; first, battery life declines over time, and second, video games are getting more and more demanding as developers continue to push the limits of what they can do.

Nintendo Switch friend codes

Right now, Breath of the Wild is reported to last a good 3 hours on the Nintendo Switch handheld, sometimes dipping down to 2.5. For those of us who want to play their Switch longer than that, the only option is to keep the system constantly plugged in or docked. Oh well, at least there will be a fertile market for auxiliary batteries… who knows, maybe Nintendo will come out with a solar powered charging station for the Switch that you can wear as a hat. That seems like something they would be into! Do you see yourself wanting to game for more than a couple hours at a time without access to an outlet? Are you looking forward to playing the Switch mostly while docked or while in handheld mode? Let us know what you think about the battery life of the Switch in the comments below!


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