Nintendo Switch 2 Gets a Repair-Friendly Upgrade: User-Replaceable Batteries Are Coming

It has been over a year since the Nintendo Switch 2 hit the scene, and now Nintendo is rolling out a significant design shift for its flagship console. Starting this autumn, new Switch 2 units shipped to the European Union, UK, Switzerland, Norway, and several other regions—including Saudi Arabia, Oman, the UAE, and South Africa—will feature user-replaceable batteries.

In an official update, Nintendo confirmed the hardware tweaks. The revised Switch 2 will house a 5,172mAh battery. While that is a hair smaller than the original 5,220mAh cell—a roughly 1% decrease—it is a smart trade-off for longevity and serviceability. Note that the updated console will be slightly heavier, tipping the scales at 401 grams, an increase of 10 grams over the previous model. The best part? This design philosophy extends to the bundled Joy-Con 2 controllers as well.

You might be asking why Nintendo is making such a big change now. It comes down to two major EU mandates: the Right to Repair Directive (kicking in on July 31) and the broader EU Batteries Regulation. The latter, which takes full effect in February 2027, explicitly requires that portable consumer electronics be designed so that users can easily remove and replace batteries using common tools.

Nintendo is clearly staying ahead of the curve here. Beyond the core console, they are also refreshing their Pro, N64, and GameCube controllers to feature removable batteries. The new Switch 2 Pro controller is slated for a winter release, featuring a redesigned internal battery that is roughly 16% smaller in capacity than its predecessor.

For gamers, this is a massive win. Being able to swap out a degraded battery without shipping your console off for repairs or buying a brand-new device is exactly the kind of consumer-focused engineering we love to see.