- Nintendo is set to offer a new version of the Switch 2 for the European market.
- This version of the console will offer easier repairability, mainly due to its battery being more easily accessible.
- Nintendo’s decision comes after the European Union approved Regulation 2023/1542.
Great news has arrived for console users: Nintendo is preparing a new version of the Switch 2 system for the European market without raising prices.
What this Nintendo Switch 2 will feature is a removable battery, or rather, a battery that can be replaced by the user, which will extend the console’s lifespan. This design improvement will also apply to the Joy-Con controllers.
The controllers will also be redesigned so that users can quickly and easily replace their batteries.
Why it matters: Nintendo has yet to refresh the Switch 2, so this new model will mark the first hardware refresh from the company.
This decision is driven not by Nintendo’s own interests, but by its obligations to the European Union regulator. The Asian news website Nikkei claimed that Nintendo was already developing this redesign for its console.
This redesign will undoubtedly benefit users, not only by improving the console and controllers’ future repairability as the battery degrades, but also by potentially allowing for multiple batteries, resulting in a more enjoyable portable experience.
This Nintendo Switch 2 with a removable battery will be available after the European Union approves Regulation 2023/1542 on batteries. This regulation demands that portable devices with batteries be “easily removable and replaceable by the end user.”
The compliance deadline is February 18, 2027. As a result, Nintendo has less than a year to clear out its current system inventory and replace it with the new Switch 2 model before the deadline.
It’s worth noting that the European Union pushed Apple to abandon the Lightning connector in favor of the USB-C port. As a result, Apple not only began implementing this standard connectivity in Europe but also eventually made USB-C the new standard connector for all products, replacing the proprietary connector.
As a result, if Nintendo does not want its console banned across the European Union, it must likewise comply with the regulations. European rules and legislation require that the battery be detachable and changeable by the user with commercially accessible tools, rather than depending on specialized workshop techniques or artificial barriers to replacement.
In other words, the rule promotes a repairable design, but not necessarily a return to the ultra-classic “exposed battery” configuration found in some older handheld devices.
The current design of the Nintendo Switch 2 does not make battery replacement easy for users. To view this, simply visit iFixit’s professional tutorial. According to their battery replacement tutorial, you must remove numerous screws, heat the side stickers, and peel out several layers before reaching the battery module.
Furthermore, iFixit described the battery as being tightly cemented in place and rated the device 3 out of 10 for repairability, which is lower than the original Switch by their current criteria.
The story will change dramatically with the new Nintendo Switch 2. To replace the battery without destroying half of the console, the company must do a substantial hardware overhaul. This design upgrade would be regional; Nintendo would not introduce the new Switch 2 design in other markets.
This is not great news, as only Europeans would profit from a design intended solely to minimize costs and facilitate battery replacement.
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[Editor-in-Chief]
Sajjad Hussain is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of Tech4Gamers.com. Apart from the Tech and Gaming scene, Sajjad is a Seasonal banker who has delivered multi-million dollar projects as an IT Project Manager and works as a freelancer to provide professional services to corporate giants and emerging startups in the IT space.
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