Nintendo won't compare the Switch 2's battery life to the OG Switch, but admits it's got a way bigger battery to make up for its beefier CPU

The Nintendo Switch 2 battery capacity is likely to be a major talking point as the console starts making its way into players' hands, but Nintendo itself wants you to know that you shouldn't really compare it to the original Switch.

During a developer Q+A after yesterday's Nintendo Switch 2 Direct, three senior Switch 2 creators attempted to put early concerns about Switch 2 battery life to rest. Asked about how long the Switch 2 will last on a single charge, general manager Tetsuya Sasaki explained that "in terms of battery tank, [...] it really depends on the environment and conditions that you use it." Any battery life estimates for the original Switch, for instance, were built from playing a specific game.

Senior director Takahiro Dohta explained further, saying that "with the Nintendo Switch 2, because of things like Game Chat, the system side of workings is a lot more complex." That means that "the variability of battery life is even wider than it was for Nintendo Switch. So the act of comparing battery life between Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2 is difficult to do because of the variables of each of those two systems."

If you're desperate to compare the two, however, producer Kouichi Kawamoto did explain that "the CPU for the Nintendo Switch 2 does take a lot more energy. But to accommodate and adjust for that, the battery size has increased on the Nintendo Switch 2." Of course, exactly how much juice you get from that battery "depends on the conditions you're playing in," so Kawamoto says it's "really difficult to give a final answer" about capacity.

Switch 2 plays Switch 1 games through something "in between a software emulator and hardware compatibility," so don't expect the same backward compatibility we got on 3DS and Wii U.