Now that Nintendo has announced the Switch Lite, you’d think that the the company will announce the other variant immediately. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened yet, but this could be good news for those who have thought of getting the Switch but haven’t made the leap yet. The Japanese games company is reportedly giving its handheld console a slight upgrade.
The Verge reports that filings with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) indicate that the original Nintendo Switch is getting a new chipset, as well as flash storage chips. Nintendo submitted a “Class II Permission Change”, or a request to make minor changes without the need to be recertified for sale in the US.
What does this mean? It’s anyone’s guess at this point. That said, chances are the new chip may marginally improve battery life. The Nintendo Switch Lite features a very slightly better battery life than the original, so this minor update may be so that both Switches have the same battery life. The flash storage chip upgrade may also come from the new Switch Lite, to improve the loading times of the original.
This is all conjecture, of course, so there may ultimately be no actual difference between Switch iterations. That said, it wouldn’t hurt to look out for the updated version when you go shopping for a Nintendo Switch. That is, if you’re not sold on the Pokémon special edition of the Nintendo Switch Lite, of course.
