The Two New Nintendo Switch Models & My Thoughts

Last week was a big one for Nintendo! They announced Switch Lite a handheld only trimmed down brother of the Switch. And now they announced Stronger battery version of the regular Switch.

Nintendo Switch Lite

Coming in September. This Switch is handheld only and has a new design and features optimized for handheld play.

It's a smaller Switch that can't get connected to TV. The system and controllers are in one unit instead of removable Joy-cons. The direction buttons got replaced with D-Pad. It also has better battery life than the old switch which is nice.

It's set to cost about $200 which makes it %30 cheaper than regular Switch.

Because of its lower cost, Switch Lite is a trimmed down version. Its controllers don't offer Rumble feature and don't have AR sensor. It doesn't support Docked mode and the performance improvements that go along with it.

This Switch is mainly aimed at kids and people who only want a handheld system and don't mind the drawbacks. I personally like it and consider it a good move of Nintendo!

New Regular Switch Revision

Just announced is a new version of the regular Switch. It will offer slightly better performance than the old version but the only big change is the battery life.

The regular Switch offers at least 2.5 hours of gameplay. Nintendo Switch Lite's battery allows at least 3 hours. This new Switch will have whooping 4.5 up to 9 hours of gameplay! Wow!

This version will probably replace the old Switch as it's expected to be at the same price at $300.

Along with this version, Nintendo also announced new Joy-con colors! One pair is Blue & Neon Yellow, the other new pair is Purple & Neon Orange colored. These Joy-cons will be released in October.

My Opinion

I don't own a Switch yet, and if my financial situation didn't improve I won't buy one. I'll stick to PC gaming. But these new Switch models re-ignited my wish to have one.

When I heard about Switch Lite I thought it's everything I wanted. I mainly want a Switch for the Library of games and for handheld gameplay. If it's cheaper I don't mind not having a Docked mode nor I'm interested in local multiplayer. So a cheaper and sturdier Switch that focuses on that is appealing to me.

But if I want more value for the money, the new larger battery Switch is awesome. Playing for 4+ hours without needing to recharge worth the extra $100, especially if you consider docked mode and larger screen size.

As I said above if my financial situation didn't improve I won't get any but if I'm gonna get one I don't know which yet. I'm still leaning on Lite side because it's cheaper and can run all the games I'm interested in. But we'll see.

What do you think?

Images are taken from the main Nintendo website.