In response to the EU's new battery regulations that will take effect in mid-February 2027, Nintendo recently announced that starting from the summer of 2026, it will gradually launch Nintendo Switch 2 and a variety of controller modified models in the European market equipped with user-replaceable batteries.
New EU regulations require that batteries in consumer electronics products must be easily disassembled and replaced by users using ordinary tools, aiming to improve equipment maintenance convenience and extend product life cycles. Nintendo officials stated that there is no functional difference between the revised product and the current product, and only the internal design has been adjusted accordingly.
The first batch of revised products will be available in the summer of 2026, followed by more models in the fall, winter and early 2027. Due to manufacturing and distribution factors, the revised product will not be available in all European countries simultaneously. In addition to more than 30 countries in Europe, Saudi Arabia, Oman, the United Arab Emirates and South Africa will also be released simultaneously.
Hardware changes bring minor spec tweaks.The battery capacity of the revised Nintendo Switch 2 host is 5172mAh, which is slightly smaller than the current model by about 1%. The host body has gained about 10 grams in weight. When paired with the Joy-Con 2 controller, the total weight has increased by about 14 grams.
Each controller also has corresponding changes:
Joy-Con 2:Each weight increases by about 2 grams, and the battery capacity remains unchanged.
Switch 2 Pro Controller:The battery capacity is reduced by 16% to 897mAh, but the overall weight is reduced by about 7 grams.
N64 controller:Gain 1 gram
GameCube Controller:Battery capacity increased by 5% and weight increased by 5 grams
Battery replacement kits for the above products will be sold separately through the European Nintendo Store in the future.
It is worth noting that Nintendo decided not to launch the replaceable battery version of the original Switch console in the European market, but chose to gradually withdraw the Switch, Switch Lite and Switch OLED models from the region. After mid-February 2027, retailers and Nintendo Stores will stop selling the original Switch hardware.
Products such as NES, SNES, SEGA Mega Drive Control Pad and Pokémon GO Plus+ are not included in this revision. Nintendo emphasized that when the existing inventory is sold out, only revised models will be left on the market, and consumers will not be able to choose between the old and new versions.
