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Nintendo Switch battery life tested for Zelda BOTW.

metalslimer said:
What the fuck are you talking about. I'm not sure where you expected this magical battery tech to come from. The only option would be to increase the size of the system for more battery storage space.
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I would expect 3 hours to be the minimum. We have this same conversation last gen where people pretend to be experts on battery tech claiming the 3DS was as good as was possible given modern tech only to be proven wrong just a few months later by the Vita.

This time there is no competition to come along to challenge them but it doesnt make the situation any less eye rolling. Asking for a minimum of 3 hours of battery life at max settings really is not asking as much as your over the top response implies. Certainly not "magical" at all.
 
At this point we could have a sticky PSA Thread explaining why the battery life is at it is, and we would still have people complaining the battery can't last 6 hours at full power
 
malfcn said:
That's sad.
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Ruud_Luiten said:
That is short...
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kRZzqx.gif
 
Minishdriveby said:
You personally, no? But I don't think you can dismiss others criticism and lack of interest in the device because of a poor battery life. It's the best they can do with the resources they have, but if the best isn't marketable, then maybe Nintendo would have been better off shelving the idea until battery technology improved. There are plenty of devices shown at tech-shows that are only there to show what is possible, but not meant for the mass market.


But maybe the average person thinks a ~3 hour battery is fine. I thinks its somewhat impractical and would cause me to never unhook it from the tv or charging station. Who knows? We'll see if a powerful handheld can be successful for once, it hasn't happened yet.
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The sad truth is battery tech isn't going to improve much any time soon. They could have done another traditional console, but that wouldn't have worked out for them imo, but I digress. I personally think Nintendo's execution of an idea and whether they should have tried the idea to begin with are two very different discussions.

Also the battery life is actually in line with the 3DS, and a modern cell phone or tablet will last as long or less while playing an intensive 3D game. Vy all accounts I'd say the market has found that battery life acceptable.
 
Minishdriveby said:
You personally, no? But I don't think you can dismiss others criticism and lack of interest in the device because of a poor battery life. It's the best they can do with the resources they have, but if the best isn't marketable, then maybe Nintendo would have been better off shelving the idea until battery technology improved. There are plenty of devices shown at tech-shows that are only there to show what is possible, but not meant for the mass market.


But maybe the average person thinks a ~3 hour battery is fine. I thinks its somewhat impractical and would cause me to never unhook it from the tv or charging station. Who knows? We'll see if a powerful handheld can be successful for once, it hasn't happened yet.
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Your concern trolling about the concept not being marketable comes off as rather bizarre considering all evidence suggesting that it will sell just fine in its first year on market.

But no, maybe you should write them a very concerned letter advising them that they remove their product from the market until someone invents a better battery.
 
Doesn't sound that bad. I didn't really have a problem with the 3DS battery life. I mean I would like the battery to last 50 hours, but battery tech is what it is.
 
airmangataosenai said:
I would expect 3 hours to be the minimum. We have this same conversation last gen where people pretend to be experts on battery tech claiming the 3DS was as good as was possible given modern tech only to be proven wrong just a few months later by the Vita.

This time there is no competition to come along to challenge them but it doesnt make the situation any less eye rolling. Asking for a minimum of 3 hours of battery life at max settings really is not asking as much as your over the top response implies. Certainly not "magical" at all.
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I'm not too sure about that. The 3DS came with a 1300 mAh, which compared to devices around its size, was pretty small. The Switch comes with a 4300 mAh battery which is far larger than most devices it's size, as well as each joycon having their own battery
 
airmangataosenai said:
I would expect 3 hours to be the minimum. We have this same conversation last gen where people pretend to be experts on battery tech claiming the 3DS was as good as was possible given modern tech only to be proven wrong just a few months later by the Vita.

This time there is no competition to come along to challenge them but it doesnt make the situation any less eye rolling. Asking for a minimum of 3 hours of battery life at max settings really is not asking as much as your over the top response implies. Certainly not "magical" at all.
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To increase the battery life you have to either:
  • Have a higher capacity (And physically bigger) battery
  • Reduce power draw
  • Invent a new type of battery all together

So, which is it going to be?

(Vita had a physically larger battery than the 3DS, fyi)
 
airmangataosenai said:
I would expect 3 hours to be the minimum. We have this same conversation last gen where people pretend to be experts on battery tech claiming the 3DS was as good as was possible given modern tech only to be proven wrong just a few months later by the Vita.

This time there is no competition to come along to challenge them but it doesnt make the situation any less eye rolling. Asking for a minimum of 3 hours of battery life at max settings really is not asking as much as your over the top response implies. Certainly not "magical" at all.
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OK then. How would you redesign it to get better battery life?
 
airmangataosenai said:
I would expect 3 hours to be the minimum. We have this same conversation last gen where people pretend to be experts on battery tech claiming the 3DS was as good as was possible given modern tech only to be proven wrong just a few months later by the Vita.

This time there is no competition to come along to challenge them but it doesnt make the situation any less eye rolling. Asking for a minimum of 3 hours of battery life at max settings really is not asking as much as your over the top response implies. Certainly not "magical" at all.
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Well there kind of is. Take any top end tablet or smartphone at max brightness and volume, with wifi on. Play something like FF Mobius with high quality settings. How long does it last?
 
It's a full generation ahead of Vita and totally smokes the 360/PS3 while being portable. Some of you guys need to go plug your PS3s back in and go play Skyrim or Red Dead or some such. It's like you think they look like their remastered PC versions or something.

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-face-off-skyrim

Look at all that lush foliage and amazing draw distance. 😂

Battery life and price are pretty great on this thing given the available trade offs.
 
People are comparing this to their 3DS when they should be comparing it to their smartphones, laptops and tablets. The Switch seems pretty middle of the road. Don't think my laptop would last 3 hours of just browsing the internet, much less playing a game.
 
airmangataosenai said:
I would expect 3 hours to be the minimum. We have this same conversation last gen where people pretend to be experts on battery tech claiming the 3DS was as good as was possible given modern tech only to be proven wrong just a few months later by the Vita.

This time there is no competition to come along to challenge them but it doesnt make the situation any less eye rolling. Asking for a minimum of 3 hours of battery life at max settings really is not asking as much as your over the top response implies. Certainly not "magical" at all.
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Those people were crazy because the 3DS battery was small and smartphones were surpassing it even at the time. Unless you want a giant device I'm not sure how big you wanted them to go on the battery. I'm not saying that complaints aren't valid that the battery is pretty short for a mobile device. I just take issue with the idea that this is something that could easily be fixed. Your comparison about Switch in relation to Vita was also highly flawed in every aspect.
 
Nightbird said:
At this point we could have a sticky PSA Thread explaining why the battery life is at it is, and we would still have people complaining the battery can't last 6 hours at full power
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Its not about the battery life. When you tell these people they either deny reality and keep going or move the goalposts and say that Nintendo shouldn't have made a portable system if battery tech was bad. They don't like Nintendo and/or the direction of the Switch.

I've been casually glancing at post histories and many of the people calling this awful/terrible own Vita's. Original Vita? 3-5 hours Vita Slim 3-6? Doesn't fucking matter. Everyone in this thread owns a smart phone/laptop with similar battery limitations. Doesn't matter. There are many valid criticisms of the Switch. This isn't one of them.
 
airmangataosenai said:
I would expect 3 hours to be the minimum. We have this same conversation last gen where people pretend to be experts on battery tech claiming the 3DS was as good as was possible given modern tech only to be proven wrong just a few months later by the Vita.

This time there is no competition to come along to challenge them but it doesnt make the situation any less eye rolling. Asking for a minimum of 3 hours of battery life at max settings really is not asking as much as your over the top response implies. Certainly not "magical" at all.
Click to expand...

I've always known the 3DS underused it's space for batteries. They could have done much better if they didn't design it to be removable. This is not the same as that situation.
 
Genuine question because there are a lot posts in here saying it's the best possible battery they could have used: what battery does the vita use? I have an OG Vita that lasts 5+ hours of screen on, gaming time. Also, that's significantly better than my phone, so what's so special about the Vita battery?
 
BumRush said:
Genuine question because there are a lot posts in here saying it's the best possible battery they could have used: what battery does the vita use? I have an OG Vita that lasts 5+ hours of screen on, gaming time. Also, that's significantly better than my phone, so what's so special about the Vita battery?
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A comparison isn't that simple. Depends on the power draw of the hardware, too.
 
BumRush said:
Genuine question because there are a lot posts in here saying it's the best possible battery they could have used: what battery does the vita use? I have an OG Vita that lasts 5+ hours of screen on, gaming time. Also, that's significantly better than my phone, so what's so special about the Vita battery?
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Nothing, Vita is a lot less powerful. Vita has a 2200mAh battery, Switch has a 4130mAh battery.
 
Veitsev said:
Its not about the battery life. When you tell these people they either deny reality and keep going or move the goalposts and say that Nintendo shouldn't have made a portable system if battery tech was bad. They don't like Nintendo and/or the direction of the Switch.

I've been casually glancing at post histories and many of the people calling this awful/terrible own Vita's. Original Vita? 3-5 hours Vita Slim 3-6? Doesn't fucking matter. Everyone in this thread owns a smart phone/laptop with similar battery limitations. Doesn't matter. There are many valid criticisms of the Switch. This isn't one of them.
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Hmmm... well as someone who is criticizing the battery life and practicality of the system. I guess I'll just say that while I don't think the Switch is a practical device and there is a sparsity in the library yet again, I am a fan of Nintendo and never owned a vita because of the library and felt my PSP was a waste of money, 2 things I couldn't say about the DS or 3DS.

However, I wouldn't say that I'm denying reality because again the counter argument that "battery technology is what it is" is just acknowledging that the battery life is quite short and shrugging it off. I'm pointing out that their best attempt isn't good enough for myself.
 
BumRush said:
Genuine question because there are a lot posts in here saying it's the best possible battery they could have used: what battery does the vita use? I have an OG Vita that lasts 5+ hours of screen on, gaming time. Also, that's significantly better than my phone, so what's so special about the Vita battery?
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You must have a very special OG Vita then since every test I have seen has it dying at around 3-4 hours playing intensive games.
 
airmangataosenai said:
I would expect 3 hours to be the minimum. We have this same conversation last gen where people pretend to be experts on battery tech claiming the 3DS was as good as was possible given modern tech only to be proven wrong just a few months later by the Vita.

This time there is no competition to come along to challenge them but it doesnt make the situation any less eye rolling. Asking for a minimum of 3 hours of battery life at max settings really is not asking as much as your over the top response implies. Certainly not "magical" at all.
Click to expand...

You're comparing a system with 2 screens to one with a single screen. Pretty sure that's going to have a considerable effect on battery life.

3 hours I feel like is a long time. I'm sure if I tried gaming on any of my laptops or phones, apple included, they would all die within a couple hours at most. I know, apples and oranges and all.
 
BumRush said:
Genuine question because there are a lot posts in here saying it's the best possible battery they could have used: what battery does the vita use? I have an OG Vita that lasts 5+ hours of screen on, gaming time. Also, that's significantly better than my phone, so what's so special about the Vita battery?
Click to expand...

The Vita is significantly weaker than the Switch and the Switch has a battery around ~2x the capacity of the Vita's. Oh, and many Vita games rendered below the actual screen's resolution (at 540p) which helped save power
 
Honestly I think the most telling part of people complaining about 2.5-3 hour battery life is that they actually play a handheld that long in one sitting. I think you should find something better to do than stare into a small screen for 3 hours straight, but that's just my opinion. Not to mention you can plug in the charger at any point if you just sit by an outlet while you play or you can put it to charge in-between sessions while working/whatever.

But besides that, the handheld mode of the Switch is clearly meant for on the go regular people (i.e. not people who play all day everyday) who'll switch from TV to handheld for their hour-long commute or while a roommate/spouse/child wants to use the TV. Maybe I'm too "casual" but three hours is more than enough time for me and, I suspect, the majority of humans on the planet.
 
I guess some GAFers here don't have an understanding of portability specs. 3DS has low batter too but you can plug it in to play while it recharged. I expect the Switch will have an indepedent chargig via plug rathet yhan just docking to recharge as I can see alot of people sitting in bed playing Zelda while the screen recharges
 
duckroll said:
Well there kind of is. Take any top end tablet or smartphone at max brightness and volume, with wifi on. Play something like FF Mobius with high quality settings. How long does it last?
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I kind of see how comparisons could be made to battery tech in phone/tablet devices but the draw is that those are not bought as gaming devices first where the Switch is pretty much only gaming (at least for now - no Netflix, browser, etc.). So for a gaming only device there are some expectations that the battery life be longer. Also - at least from pictures the Switch doesn't look that slim compared to an Apple Ipad (at least).

But honestly - Zelda looks incredible and I would love to play it even it was for 2.5 hours in tablet mode. However, I'd rather docked mode it looks sooo good. Switch owners will enjoy it.
 
Bleh said:
Honestly I think the most telling part of people complaining about 2.5-3 hour battery life is that they actually play a handheld that long in one sitting. I think you should find something better to do than stare into a small screen for 3 hours straight, but that's just my opinion. Not to mention you can plug in the charger at any point if you just sit by an outlet while you play or you can put it to charge in-between sessions while working/whatever.
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You know, some people love to complain for reasons. Some guys want an ps4 pro/scorpion with a nuclear plant into a handheld. I mean, some people will love it and some won't but I just don't understand some posts in this thread.
 
That's fine for full brightness. My phone doesn't do great either and I don't play on it.

Also, external batteries to the rescue
 
3 hours is good enough for me if I take it to work. 40 minute commute one way and 1 hour lunch and that's If I take it to work. Most of the time I bet it's gonna be docked for me. Good enough.
 
NolbertoS said:
I guess some GAFers here don't have an understanding of portability specs. 3DS has low batter too but you can plug it in to play while it recharged. I expect the Switch will have an indepedent chargig via plug rathet yhan just docking to recharge as I can see alot of people sitting in bed playing Zelda while the screen recharges
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Did I sit in bed playing my 3DS while it was charging a lot? YES. However, why would I do this with the switch when I could just plug the switch into my TV and play in bed? If I'm just playing in bed what's the point of the handheld?
 
vin-buc said:
I kind of see how comparisons could be made to battery tech in phone/tablet devices but the draw is that those are not bought as gaming devices first where the Switch is pretty much only gaming (at least for now - no Netflix, browser, etc.). So for a gaming only device there are some expectations that the battery life be longer. Also - at least from pictures the Switch doesn't look that slim compared to an Apple Ipad (at least).

But honestly - Zelda looks incredible and I would love to play it even it was for 2.5 hours in tablet mode. However, I'd rather docked mode it looks sooo good. Switch owners will enjoy it.
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Do you expect a gaming laptop to last as long (while gaming) as a MacBook Pro/ZenBook would while performing normal tasks?
 
Thanks for the responses re: vita, guys. I don't think playing 2.5-3 hours straight is bad or weak at all (and never play that much in one sitting anyway) but I was just curious.

I'm not getting one at launch but those who are should be pretty excited about Zelda for 3 hours on the go :)
 
Bleh said:
Honestly I think the most telling part of people complaining about 2.5-3 hour battery life is that they actually play a handheld that long in one sitting. I think you should find something better to do than stare into a small screen for 3 hours straight, but that's just my opinion. Not to mention you can plug in the charger at any point if you just sit by an outlet while you play or you can put it to charge in-between sessions while working/whatever.
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I mean Nintendo wants to market longform/console experience games for this system. Zelda for the 3DS was designed around short play sessions. Zelda for the Switch was designed around sitting in front of your tv for hours, i.e. Skyrim.
 
Has only outlet done a test on minimal settings? It's useful to know the lowest end for the battery life is 2.5 hours, but how about on low brightness with headphones and no wifi?
 
Contralto said:
Do you expect a gaming laptop to last as long (while gaming) as a MacBook Pro/ZenBook would while performing normal tasks?
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No I don't expect that but It's still a laptop and it can be used for many different tasks other than gaming. The point I was making was that the Switch is ONLY a gaming device (at least for now).

Im just playing devil's advocate to those who aren't happy with the battery life. I kind of see why they would be a little unhappy.
 
Just get one of these.
04SrjVT.jpg
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Car jump battery

Suaoki T10 12000 mAh 400 Amp Peak Portable Car Jump Starter Battery

I got one for Christmas. It has a couple USBs on it. Would be funny if you drained and then needed a jump though lol. My brother got one too and plans to use it with his Switch.
 
vin-buc said:
No I don't expect that but It's still a laptop and it can be used for many different tasks other than gaming. The point I was making was that the Switch is ONLY a gaming device (at least for now).

Im just playing devil's advocate to those who aren't happy with the battery life. I kind of see why they would be a little unhappy.
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It's actually the other way round. Your logic is all wrong. Given the same amount of battery life, it is more efficient on a dedicated device than a general use one. When you only play games on a system, 3 hours is quite a bit. When you are using a general use device, especially one that is essential for other things rather than entertainment, the last thing you want to do is drain it on dumb shit. That's why mobile games tend to be designed around 2-10 min play sessions. Just look at what something like Pokemon Go did to the powerbank market for example. That's not efficient at all.

If you run out of juice on the Switch while outside, at worst you can't play games. If you run out of juice on your laptop/tablet/phone while outside, you could be unable to communicate or work until you can charge.
 
Hmmm, so any online game on battery power is going to drain it even faster.
Anyone bitching about battery life should check the Switch disassembly thread. There is no room for a bigger battery. It is what it is.
 
Has anyone tried a less intensive game? I'm assuming bomberman would be the least intensive of the launch lineup.

I can maybe forgive a ~2 hour Zelda time if this thing can pull out ~6 hours on Pokemon.
 
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