This Is How Long Nintendo Switch's Battery Life Will Last While Playing Zelda

There is a lot of excitement as well as concerns for Nintendo's hybrid console. One of the major concerns has been battery life

[skydragoonityx]

2 hrs? That's poor

[Neonridr]

2.5 hours, at least be accurate in your statement.

This was exactly what Nintendo reported, and this was using max brightness and all settings enabled (wifi, etc). It might be possible to squeeze more time out of it with settings normalized, but we will have to wait and see on that one.

[ChickeyCantor]

I don't understand why people assume 10 hours with handheld devices nowadays. This is a pretty powerful device on its own and yet people think there is some space magic involved.

[MasterCornholio]

I'm assuming I would get around 3 hours with Wifi off and a reduction in brightness. That's similar to the 3DS which is fine by me.

[bouzebbal]

I heard 3 hours with Wi-Fi off and 50% brightness

[Bimkoblerutso]

Both the 3DS and Vita have received some pretty vocal criticism for their 3-5 hour battery life as well, and Nintendo has been quite insistent that the Switch be categorized as a portable system, so there is no reason we should not hold it to the same scrutiny. Not enough time is not enough time, whether you're getting better graphics out of the system or not.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

Then leave it on the dock.

You get over 40 hours using Joycons or Pro Controller.

[bouzebbal]

Lol are you serious ??? What's the point then of having a hybrid console.

[rdgneoz3]

@bouzebbal. A chance for Nintendo to turn things around after the WiiU?

[jaymacx]

just use a battery pack. its what I use for my phone. It gives me 3x the normal battery use. so if Switch is 2.5 hrs then with my battery it will be like 7-7.5 hrs which is great until I get home or near an outlet.

[r2oB]

@jaymacx

How many times you can charge a device from a battery pack is determined by the mAh of the battery pack and device. The Switch's battery will most likely have a higher mAh than your phone battery, meaning you will get less charge cycles from the battery pack.

[OMGitzThatGuy]

Switch battery is 4310 mAh, there are 30,000 mah external batteries on amazon for 60 bucks if life is so important for some https://www.amazon.com/dp/B...
Thats over 16 hours of Zelda gameplay while charging.

[cartoonx1]

doubt if anyone will game that long on portable mode specially when playing zelda, that game deserves to be played in dock mode. seems like GOTY already.

[LexHazard79]

Then Nintendo should have made a traditional console. Whats the point of taking it on the go if I can only game on it for two hours? You're not gonna have access to charging all the time, so knowing it only holds up for 2.5hrs is a bit disappointing.

[OtakuDJK1NG-Rory]

@LexHazard79
Its an option.
They aren't forcing anyone to play in dock or handheld more.
The choice is the person to make.

[kopicha]

@LexHazard79

Being able to take it on the go is an option. If this is meant to be a full handheld,Nintendo could have just sold the switch itself as a stand alone while selling the dock as a separate accessory for people who wish to dock it to their TV. That way it can significantly drop down the price and make it even more attractive and affordable to more people. The intention is obvious if you use a bit more logic in your thinking. Besides the device is easily chargeable if you need more juice. It is not with some proprietary connectors. Standard USB type c which you can easily chargeable via a power bank if you need to just like any phones or tablets does these days. Why are people so ignorant these days. Complain just about anything that is not necessary

[Good-Smurf]

Go tell that to people who played The Minish Cap on GBA.

[_-EDMIX-_]

????

I don't understand? So do you guys not understand very basic math? 14 million Wii U sold while well over 60 million 3DS sold, it is safe to say Nintendo core installed base of fans actually games portable.

It is more than likely like overwhelmingly likely that the majority of consumers will game portable on the go.

Based on math bud

@kop- that doesn't really make any sense because what you're saying is the option also comes at the price

That in and of itself doesn't actually make a lot of sense.

If they sold the dock separately that would actually make it a real option simply because someone could simply purchase the physical portable itself and avoid buying the dock if they didn't have any plans to play it on the television.

So why is Nintendo making the decision for consumers to have the accessory packed in? That's technically no different than Microsoft packing in the Kinect and telling people that was required when many users were vocally outraged simply because they believed it was an option.

I actually believe Nintendo would have been quite fine simply selling the accessory separately like they actually currently are by the way and Simply Having a standalone unit with just a portable device for those that wished to use this as their primary portable platform.

I don't care what Nintendo's agenda is with this device, give the consumer choice and options in regards to how and where they play, also gave the option to clearly purchase the accessories separately if the user felt just, I believe if somebody wants to buy both they should just bundle it together as an option there is no reason why this is forced in other than to make the sale for Nintendo.

The PSP cradle was not forced in it was an option.

I don't see how it would hurt anyone to sell the portable stand alone at 199 (other than Nintendo)

[Summons75]

2.5 on MAX settings. It's like the 3DS on heavier games.

[arkard]

Bring a battery bar, problem solved.

[conanlifts]

Its 2 and a half hours using max brightness. Other sites using default brightness have the battery lasting 3 hours for Zelda.

[wolf_khan625]

That's not great.

[dparente74]

honestly, as a vita player i dont think i really game more than 2 hours a time on it. the switch is basically a vita replacement for me, so 2.5 hours battery on a AAA game is acceptable to me. plus we all will get those external chargers and other solutions, so we will be fine.

[YoungKingDoran]

I agree, also 99% of the time I EVER played my vita for more than 2.5 hours straight I had a power point nearby. For the other 1%, like on a plane, I had power banks anyway. So its not a deal breaker for me, but I do still wish it was better

[Altovoltage]

How many years later after the vita?

[EddieNX]

Its been tested by a few sources that Zelda lasts 3 hours, its even on Nintendo's website. The life is 2.5 -6 hours IPll be buying a powerbank which will extend my range to 5-12 hours + ;)

[GamePeace]

Nintendo not being able to compete with today's standards again, nothing new.

[Ickythump31]

nothing better to do with your life huh?

[GamePeace]

Nothing better to do with your life other than asking such stupid questions? 2.5 hours is just barely acceptable, blind fanboy.

[kopicha]

@Lex

All your comments really gives me headache. Setting standard is not about who did it first. It's about how the technology is being use and technology done right. Anyone can make me invention / innovation . But when I does not work well, that is not call setting a standard. Eg. I love the remote play from psv, while I works it's not practical. Cus I still has limitations. One being that I need a stable wi-fi in order to do it. And play the same games I had on my ps4. That alone is not really possible on the move. And switch actually eliminate this problem entirely. That is standard setting. Cus it works and in a more logical way. No additional hardware required. Remember the advertisement from Sony back then on psv? Playing on ps4 then resume on psv. They actually did it first. But they did it manage to fully resize the vision the way their ads show. And this time Nintendo got it done right. Now this is a new standard to how a similar thing like this is to be done in future. Cus comparing both obviously the switch method makes more sense.

[Vegamyster]

It's average for a handheld system under load, the Razer Edge which is probably the closest thing to the Switch was only able to get a hour a bit in AAA games. My 3DS XL is lucky to get 3 hours and my Vita 3.5 with everything cranked.

[Sirk7x]

What are these standards exactly? Battery technology has only come so far. Do you know that we're using the same 12V batteries in cars that we did in the 50s pretty much? If I turn the brightness on my phone up all the way, the battery will drain even if I have it plugged into a USB 3.0 port. My 3DS doesn't last longer than 3 hours when I'm playing it, my phone doesn't, and my laptop certainly doesn't either.

[V0LT]

What did you expect? This is more powerful than a tablet while running more intense games. 2 hours is plenty considering.

[Last_Boss]

Good lord!!! The reaching & defense.

[Darkfist_Flames]

so much for playing big games on the go, guess nintendo already planing a XL version so they can get that fanboy money xD.

[DarXyde]

Nintendo: "it's a console first. "

People here: "why is the battery life so terrible under strenuous conditions?!"

At this point, either you want a Switch or you don't. The "concern" of gamers here is amusing, if not predictable. Just under three hours when you're intentionally stress testing the battery is not bad. There are devices with better batteries, sure. But the Vita, which is a purely portable device, really isn't much better. Heck, the DualShock 4 is a controller for a stationary console with pretty bad battery life. Sure, you can charge it there, but you can also charge a Switch with a portable charger.

Because it often needs to be said, Switch is weak for a console, but powerful for a handheld. It's strengths and shortcomings are a pretty great reflection of that compromise.

[Strange_Evil]

Your argument doesn't make sense. This is supposed to be a hybrid console where you can take it anywhere and for example play it on a plane or give it to your kids on a road trip. You are never gonna take a PS4 on a plane and feel the pinch of a DualShock dying. Also, many people have dual controllers.

I think 4-5 hours is a decent run-time for a handheld, but 2.5 seems way too low honestly. Yes, it is a powerful handheld, but they could have beefed up the battery a bit more or launched it later during the year with slimmer more powerful battery packs.

[DarXyde]

Help me understand your argument here...

You say this is supposed to be a hybrid console. It is, but it is a console first. By calling it a "hybrid CONSOLE", you yourself, in your own words, acknowledge as much. So we agree that its identity as a console takes precedence.

No, you will never take a PS4 on a plane and feel the pinch of a DualShock dying. Agreed. But you see what you just did, right? "Also, many people have dual controllers". It sounds, to me, that you willingly compensate for the DS4's shortcomings in terms of battery life by having another on hand. In principle, you can bring portable chargers for the Switch. So what exactly do you consider the problem here? Both have bad battery life and both have ways around it at an added expense.

Now about the battery life being way too low...again, this is under very stressful conditions. Are you telling me that, when on the go, you will be maxing out brightness and turning on WiFi? If you say yes to the brightness, I'm inclined to say you're lying. I don't know a soul that maximizes that setting on their smartphones. As for Wifi, if you're in, say, a Starbucks, they also have outlets for you to charge the Switch. Luckily, it would not force you to buy a new cable in most circumstances since the cable is USB-C, a transition away from their proprietary cables. Nice, right? In my case, I can just do what I always do and carry my smartphone charger. Since most Android devices use USB-C and make up most of what consumers own, the odds of you carrying one already are pretty good.

[superchiller]

Wow, only 2 measly hours of battery life for a handheld released in 2017? Sounds like Nintendo cut corners on the internal battery for the Switch, just like they did with the Wii U gamepad. They just can't bring themselves to beef up their gaming hardware their modern standards, and the people that have to suffer with the cheapness are their fans. What a shame.

[OrbitingTheOrb]

The switch is such a poorly thought through console. Only massive nintendo apologists could even attempt to defend this thing. It'll sell well initially, and then drop off the face of the planet like the WiiU.

[feraldrgn]

Less than what was previously stated by Nintendo, which was 3 hours:
http://www.polygon.com/2017...

It sounds like it's too early to release this sort of hybrid, the technology's not there yet to please the people interested in long handheld sessions.
Games are only going to get better & more demanding going forward, so how long are handheld sessions going to last then?
May be why Nintendo advertised it as a "home gaming system first and foremost.".

[Good-Smurf]

You know we used to hold to much higher standard when it comes to battery life.
It almost as if the battery technology just couldn't keep up with all the horsepower of today's portable device.
GBA used to easily get double digit hours of battery life.
WonderSwan used to get up to 40 hours of battery life from one AA battery.
Switch set out to be another accessories driven product from Nintendo.
I mean look at all the accessories they can do to sell just improve the Switch non removable battery!
And then things like Amiibos,decals,controllers,45 different colored controllers,super pro controller,official case the list goes on!

[_-EDMIX-_]

It's not too early to do something like this simply because the PSP actually did something like this years ago

Nintendo was just cutting Corners there's no reason why the battery should be so cheap...

[corroios]

2.5 for hours is not bad, but for more demanding games that is the real test

[Apocalypze]

Battery technology has been the slowest of any developing tech advances. We need Tesla POWAH!!!

[Angeljuice]

Cloud tech is taking its time too.

[Strange_Evil]

Cloud tech is here. The problem isn't processing power in the cloud, but the lack of ways to get the latency down (and keep it consistent) so the computed values can be sent real time without much lag. This is why I laughed at people when MS were proclaiming that the Cloud will make the Xbox One on par with PS4 in terms of power.

Cloud will always be bottlenecked by the lack of network infrastructure to reduce delivery latency. Even if you got it down to a constant few milli-seconds, RAM and Cache will always be faster by a factor of > 1000.

[Angeljuice]

Yeah, sorry, should have been clearer. I was referring to the XB1 cloud processing tech.

[Good-Smurf]

If there's the thing that will speak some sense and money into these big and some underfunded battery manufacturers,it's EV!

[DialgaMarine]

I guess that's not the worst, all things considered. They can be a bit pricey for the good ones, but I'm sure a portable charger could get at least 6 + more hours out of that.

[ElementX]

I bet Nintendo comes out with a hardware revision in a year or two with better battery life. I'll wait for that.

[yezz]

Would've definitely added couple more cm in thickness to achieve better battery life. 2 hours is going to fly by incredibly fast in open world games.

[XStation4pio_Pro]

so the battery dies faster than it charges. aside from nintendo's IP, what exactly is good about the Switch? seems the negatives vastly outweigh the positives. i'd rather play zelda on superior hardware that can make the experience truly amazing.

[AuraAbjure]

When I was a little kid, I would always buy accessories for my gameboy. I can see a lot of kids buying portable battery charge pack thingys like jaymacx said.

[Doge]

Considering the Switch is packing a 4310mAh battery and Zelda being a massive open world game, I'd be shocked if it didn't.

[Klonoa-dreamtraveler]

Remember they were trying to play it off playing it on a plane lol 2 hours is bad.. when playing a game time flies by and those two hours will be up before you know it. though i did read on another article that the pro controller lasts 40 hours or something that's pretty kick ass.

[Gemmol]

it use USB C, you can use a portable battery and extend it to 12 hours for 50 dollars on max settings, yes its an extra cost, but its a one time cost for as long as you have the system, just like buying headphones for ps4 or ps4 pro, you buy it once and thats it..........having a wire connected to it while you on a plane will not be that horrible

[Gemmol]

people complain about the littlest thing....it use USB C, you can use a portable battery and extend it to 12 hours for 50 dollars on max settings, yes its an extra cost, but its a one time cost for as long as you have the system, just like buying headphones for ps4 or ps4 pro, you buy it once and thats it..........having a wire connected to it while you on a plane will not be that horrible.......now it would of been horrible if Nintendo tried to force us on its own chargers like the 3ds, ds, and etc.......they made it easier for us by using the same port that other Cellphones use so the same portable charger can charge your phone too

[jonivtec]

2.5 hours is more than enough considering the visual fidelity of the game...i rarely play a game more than 2 hours straight,let alone on the go....

[DMgHalt]

That's BS, I would expect the battery life of a laptop or a cellphone at the very least. 7-9 hours.

[ChickeyCantor]

The battery of a laptop playing games also goes down in 3 hours if you play it on max. What exactly do you people expect?

[ILostMyMind]

This is the time when you realize that the concept of a hybrid console does not allow you to play any game in both modes. Some games you can play "on the go" and others just sitting on your couch. And it is fine to me.

[Perjoss]

Its not as huge deal, if you're serious about gaming on the go the Switch supports those small portable chargers so you could extend those 2.5 hours by a lot.