With E3 being long behind us, and many of the biggest announcements in gaming having already been revealed for 2019, you would think that companies would have little to no surprises left up their sleeve. Well, that doesn’t seem to be the case for Nintendo.
Earlier last week, the company took the internet by storm after announcing a brand new “Lite” model of their Nintendo Switch console. A portable only version of the system which is sleeker, smaller, and optimized for handheld play only. While the system doesn’t have any significant improvements over the standard version of the Switch (aside from longer battery life) the Lite model is a nice gesture for someone looking for a strictly on-the-go Switch experience, whilst perhaps finding an permanent replacement for their Nintendo 3DS.
Now, with the Switch Lite announcement behind us, Nintendo has surprised us once more with yet another update to the Switch hardware, but this time – for the standard model of the system. Unfortunately, this isn’t the heavily rumored “Switch Pro” or “Switch 4K” that we all had been hoping for. Instead, this updated model of the Nintendo Switch simply is the same standard version we’ve all known and love since release, however, sporting a longer battery life. This is due to the system sporting the same updated “Mariko” version of the Tegra XI chip that the Switch Lite uses, helping the console run at lower voltages.
Overall, while this information does not completely out-rule the possibility of a improved Switch model with more graphical power coming sometime down the line, it does seem like Nintendo is focusing strictly on software for the most part as of now.
The updated standard model of the Nintendo Switch sporting longer battery life is set to hit shelves this August, with the Switch Lite arriving September 20th.
