Nintendo will give Switch 2 owners the option to sacrifice a little per-session playtime in the interest of battery health longevity. The company announced, via its Nintendo Today news app, that the console will have a setting to slow the console’s charge as it approaches 90 percent capacity, then maintain it around that amount.
Such a feature has made it to smartphones in the past, and is even something Valve is testing for the Steam Deck. The reason for such a feature is that rechargeable lithium batteries like those found in so many gadgets can have their lives shortened if they’re kept in a charge state outside of a sweet spot — either too much charge or too little — for extended periods of time.
When you get your Switch 2 — assuming you were lucky enough to snag a preorder — after it launches on June 5th, it looks like you can access the new charging option by navigating to System Settings > System and scrolling to “Stop Charging Around 90%.” Tap the toggle to turn it on, and you’re set!
Nintendo included a simple video of the feature, which it doesn’t appear to have posted to the wider internet. Not to worry; I grabbed a screen recording, presented here as a GIF, to show you what the feature will look like. Interestingly, the video reveals a little tidbit: The Switch 2 will let you set a PIN to unlock the screen. It looks like a much nicer way to handle a PIN than the original Switch’s implementation, which requires you to set up parental controls and use a separate smartphone app.
