Right now, dealing with Nintendo battery woes involves having to grab one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 accessories like a power bank, sending your pricey handheld off for repair, or calling it quits and buying another. However, a newly revised Nintendo Switch 2 with a replaceable battery might be on the cards.
According to the Japanese site Nikkei, Nintendo is looking to "modify the console's specifications to allow consumers to easily replace the battery" in accordance with European Union legislation.
The "Right to Repair" legislation was announced way back in 2023, but won't be enforceable until February 2027, and requires that all devices (like that of the Switch 2) must have a battery that is easily removed and replaced by consumers. Basically, it's to help prolong the life of our tech and to avoid adding to the increasing amount of e-waste in the world. But sadly for US gamers, this Nintendo Switch 2 would only be available in Europe.
There's no release date shared on when this newly revised Switch 2 may be a thing, and which European countries will be gaining the high honour of access to one. However, Nikkei states that Nintendo could wish to implement a similar policy in Japan and the United States if "consumer awareness of the right to repair increases."
If you're stuck wondering what the benefits of a replaceable battery are, that's why I'm here. For one, it'll make the Switch 2 far easier to repair, which can save you a lot of cash in the long run. Older Nintendo hardware, like that of the Nintendo 3DS, was well-known for having easily replaceable batteries, which simply took unscrewing the back plate and prying out the old Lithium-ion battery inside.
With the Switch 2, the battery is held in place with a strong adhesive that requires a lot of tinkering and know-how to remove. While I fully trust myself to replace the batteries of my 3DS collection, I wouldn't dare attempt to even touch the one in my Switch 2, as it involves a level of expertise I simply do not have. Once it's out of warranty, if the battery were to die on me, this leaves me with having to buy an entirely new handheld, a situation this new European model would be trying to avoid.
Lithium-ion batteries can be fickle beasts and degrade over time. The Nintendo Switch 2 has barely been out for over 9 months, so that shouldn't be an issue for anyone right now. Yet, an easily replaceable battery would mean consumers and third-party repair centers would have an easier time fixing these future issues, resulting in fewer handsets ending up in the bin over time.
As there's been no official announcement yet from Nintendo, I'd take this news with a tiny grain of salt. The original Nikkei report was paywalled and in Japanese, and so I'm mainly going off what Nintendo Everything was able to decipher. However, if it does end up a reality, it appears that both the batteries of the handheld and the Switch 2 Joy-Con controllers will be able to be removed, and easier to fix.
In the meantime, if you're generally fed up with the battery power, or lack thereof, of the Switch 2, I recommend grabbing the Belkin Charging Case that's available for $69.99 at Amazon, or picking up a powerbank for gaming on the go.
