The battery life was hilariously bad, it was almost the defining trait. It was made especially prominent since it was being compared to the OG Game Boy which could go 20 hours on four AA batteries. The GG could only go about five, if you were lucky, on six AA. Mine basically lived plugged into the wall with a long extension code so I could use it from anywhere in my bedroom.
The GG could only go about five, if you were lucky, on six AA
Which, while of course requiring exponentially more power, the Switch 2 only goes for about 6 hours on less demanding games, funny how battery life hasn’t really changed much for advanced handhelds.
Rechargeable batteries were common, but in my experience they tended to not hold up as long as normal batteries and took 6-8 hours to recharge. At that time they also degraded quickly, were expensive, and overall just a massive hassle to try and manage.
The biggest problem with rechargeable dry cells is that each one supports 1.2 volts, while alkaline are 1.5. Some devices wouldn’t even run, most run more poorly and run out of battery even faster.
Fwiw, should you need it, there are AA lithium batteries with a usbc slot for charging and they deliver 1.5v. I bought a pack out of curiosity and was very pleasantly surprised.
The battery life was hilariously bad, it was almost the defining trait. It was made especially prominent since it was being compared to the OG Game Boy which could go 20 hours on four AA batteries. The GG could only go about five, if you were lucky, on six AA. Mine basically lived plugged into the wall with a long extension code so I could use it from anywhere in my bedroom.
Which, while of course requiring exponentially more power, the Switch 2 only goes for about 6 hours on less demanding games, funny how battery life hasn’t really changed much for advanced handhelds.
If you tried to run the switch on AAs, you’d need a separate suitcase to house them.
You dont have to replace your switches batteries every time they run out tho
Sure but the switch 2 has a rechargeable battery unlike the game gear which had to be supplied with new batteries every time which cost money.
I’m not sure if rechargeable AA were common in those days.
Rechargeable batteries were common, but in my experience they tended to not hold up as long as normal batteries and took 6-8 hours to recharge. At that time they also degraded quickly, were expensive, and overall just a massive hassle to try and manage.
The biggest problem with rechargeable dry cells is that each one supports 1.2 volts, while alkaline are 1.5. Some devices wouldn’t even run, most run more poorly and run out of battery even faster.
Fwiw, should you need it, there are AA lithium batteries with a usbc slot for charging and they deliver 1.5v. I bought a pack out of curiosity and was very pleasantly surprised.
It was more like 30 minutes with the Super Heavy Duty AA’s my dad could afford.
But that’s okay, he hand soldered me a DC adapter that only threw sparks sometimes.