For months rumors have been swirling about the Nintendo Switch getting a shiny new version and today it’s finally been unveiled! A sleek little stand-alone number designed for the Nintendo fan on the go has been announced, but not just that, the original Switch is getting a bit of an alteration to its hardware.
First up, let’s take a look at the new Switch Lite!
This brightly coloured addition to the family is planned to retail for $329.95AUD, which is a bit of a high price tag and not too far off the original, but what do you get? The answer is a beautiful little Switch designed to be played on the go! The Switch Lite doesn’t have detachable joycons (though it will work with them if the game requires it), and it can’t be docked to a TV. It also has a smaller screen, clocking in at 5.5 inches as opposed to the original’s 6.2 inches. Though you do get improved battery life and a bunch of shiny new colours! All this is scheduled for a worldwide September 20 release.
The Switch Lite will come in turquoise, grey and yellow as well as special editions, with the Pokemon Sword and Shield special Switch (scheduled for November 8th). It also boasts a hugely improved D-Pad for those who like to play oldschool, as well as a lighter weight (not that the Switch was that heavy to begin with). However it does lack the original Switch’s automatic brightness sensors, but Nintendo assures us brightness will still be able to be adjusted manually.
The other drawback is this Switch will only work with games that can be played in handheld mode, with the eShop informing users if they try to buy a game that only works when the Switch is docked. And don’t worry, physical Switch games will also be required to display if they only work docked as well, so you won’t make a mistake next time you go to buy a game in store.
Now I also promised news about the classic Switch hardware alteration. This one isn’t huge news that will change your life, but it’s still pretty interesting. The Verge has reported on documents filed by Nintendo with the Federal Communication Commission to adjust a few features which mentions the NAND memory (the sort of flash storage you find on a solid state drive), the CPU board and the system-on-chip (SoC), which is the Nvidia Tegra processor that contains the CPU and graphics.
So what does this mean for you? Well, it’s not a brand new ultra powerful Switch Pro that was also rumored with the Switch Lite, but it could mean improved battery life, the console not running as hot, running a little quieter, a lot of smaller improvements. It also means pirates might be in trouble as the Switch piracy exploit was reliant on the hardware, as it wasn’t something Nintendo could simply patch out.
So get excited!