Nintendo has announced a new version of the original Nintendo Switch console that offers longer battery life.

Loading

Nintendo Updates the Switch With a Better Chip

The new version of the console, as shown on the Nintendo website , will offer a significantly improved battery life. The new version is said to offer approximately between 4.5 and 9 hours of battery life, compared to the 2.5 - 6.5 hours provided by the current model. Nintendo notes that battery life is dependent on the game being played. An example is offered in The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, which can run for 3 hours on current Switch hardware, and 5.5 hours on the updated console.The recently announced Switch Lite has an expected battery life of between 3 and 7 hours, putting it at a mid point between old and new versions of the original Switch design.Switch hardware units with the model number HAC-001(01) and serial numbers beginning with XKW will have the extended battery life.The new versions of the Switch, which can be easily identified by the new bright red packaging, will be available from mid August in the US in both grey and blue/red colours. The new model will go on sale in the UK in September, according to a Nintendo statement sent to Eurogamer There had been previous reports of a “modest” update for the Nintendo Switch , and it appears that this could be that upgrade. This is not, however, a ‘Switch Pro’, as some had expected. It retails at the same price, and is simply a newer hardware revision and not an enhanced variant of the console. All other functions appear to be the same as the regular Nintendo Switch.When Nintendo announced the Switch Lite, the company also quietly made a request to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to make changes to the previous Nintendo Switch hardware models. Nintendo asked to change the System-on-Chip, NAND Memory type, and CPU board on the older models. Sources familiar with chip technology reported that the new 10nm chips Nintendo wanted to incorporate into the new Switch models should translate to a battery boost. This is probably what we're seeing here.

Matt Purslow is IGN's News and Entertainment Writer. You can follow him on Twitter