Friday, March 20th 2026 Nintendo Plans Switch 2 With User-Replaceable Batteries for EU by Cpt.Jank Friday, 12:24 Discuss (34 ) Recent right to repair laws passed in the EU demand that, starting in February 2027, electronic devices have batteries that are user-replaceable with commonly available tools and without risk to the end user—that is to say, they shouldn't require proprietary tools or tools that aren't available to consumers. Nintendo, for its part, already preparing an update to the Nintendo Switch 2 to comply with this law, according to a report by Nikkei (via Covergeek), although the exact details of the more repairable battery model is unknown at the time of writing. According to the report, the more repairable Switch 2 will only launch in Europe, but Nintendo would expand the hardware to different regions as required by law. In iFixit's teardown of the Nintendo Switch 2 and its battery replacement guide for the Switch 2 Joy Cons, the organization noted that the battery for both the Switch 2 and its Joy Cons were adhered in place, and a spudger was required to remove the batteries from the devices. While this isn't necessarily a specialized tool, it could be argued that needing to either dissolve an adhesive or pry a battery loose could add additional risk to the end user. To this end, it seems likely that both the Switch 2 and its Joy Cons could see a revision with weaker adhesive or no adhesive at all, which would make battery replacements easier and safer. It could also mean that Nintendo will need to replace the tri-point screws that hold the Switch 2 together. 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I doubt I'd ever need to replace the battery until the console was well past its useful lifetime but it'd be nice nonetheless #3 _JP_ INb4 Nintendo will actually come-up with a proprietary battery instead of lugging 4x18650 batteries in there with the proper power management electronics onboard the console. #4 Operandi Everything, literally just all of our modern portable electronics should have easily serviceable removable batteries. There is no excuse for it to be as hard as it is to get to the battery of current smartphones. You could easily make them just as durable and weather proof and only give up maybe a 0.5mm of depth by going with machine screws instead of adhesive to hold everything to together. Even things like BT headphones and earbuds (I must have 4 sets of $200+ BT earbuds that would work perfectly fine if not for the battery) could be serviceable if manufactures were forced to adhere to some kind of set standard. #5 Event Horizon Another win for consumers in the EU. It should have been designed that way from the start. #6 Craptacular OperandiEverything, literally just all of our modern portable electronics should have easily serviceable removable batteries. There is no excuse for it to be as hard as it is to get to the battery of current smartphones. You could easily make them just as durable and weather proof and only give up maybe a 0.5mm of depth by going with machine screws instead of adhesive to hold everything to together. Even things like BT headphones and earbuds (I must have 4 sets of $200+ BT earbuds that would work perfectly fine if not for the battery) could be serviceable if manufactures were forced to adhere to some kind of set standard.The excuse is the water resistance and dust resistance. By using adhesive, it massively helps make the device more resistant to being submerged in liquid or dust,. #7 _JP_ OperandiYou could easily make them just as durable and weather proof and only give up maybe a 0.5mm of depth by going with machine screws instead of adhesive to hold everything to together.Samsung with the Active/Xcover series, which design mentality always harks back to this juggernaut, imo: #8 bonehead123 _JP_INb4 Nintendo will actually come-up with a proprietary battery instead of lugging 4x18650 batteries in there with the proper power management electronics onboard the console.Yep, cause as we all know, PROPRIETARY is THE WAY to go in all things electronic, hahaha :)Event HorizonAnother win for consumers in the EU. It should have been designed that way from the start.Except it's not, cause: A) The replacement batteries will be uber-mega-expensive.. AND B) Nontendio will use the rules to justify yet ANUTHA reason to jack up the prices of the console, you know, to recoup all the R&D required to make this change..... But, yea, it should have been this way since day 1, instead of after the fact and being forced to comply with recent/new government regulations, which also should have been in place since day 1 !!! #9 TheinsanegamerN bonehead123Except it's not, cause:Except it IS, because:bonehead123A) The replacement batteries will be uber-mega-expensive.On what basis? When is the last time you looked up a replacement 3ds battery? $15....wooo so uber, so expensive...bonehead123AND B) Nontendio will use the rules to justify yet ANUTHA reason to jack up the prices of the console, you know, to recoup all the R&D required to make this change.....This will happen regardless. #10 nullington lol That "Recent" regulation was adopted in 2023. They have had ages to comply. Pretty sure this will not need any major redesigns. They could have done it before releasing if they wanted to. Overall the most complex part of the product is probably the software and the main chipset. #11 RedBlackAka Hopefully they finally getting rid of the strong glue. That really has been the biggest concern for the Switch, with them else being relatively repairable #12 Operandi CraptacularThe excuse is the water resistance and dust resistance. By using adhesive, it massively helps make the device more resistant to being submerged in liquid or dust,.They may use that as an excuse but its not a valid reason. You can achieve the same level of dust and water resistance with gaskets and machine screws. The only reason everything is assembled with adhesive is because its cheaper to manufacture and by by making it difficult to get apart it increases the likely hood that the consumer will just buy something new instead of keeping what they have going. #13 nullington OperandiThey may use that as an excuse but its not a valid reason. You can achieve the same level of dust and water resistance with gaskets and machine screws. The only reason everything is assembled with adhesive is because its cheaper to manufacture and by by making it difficult to get apart it increases the likely hood that the consumer will just buy something new instead of keeping what they have going.I agree. This is exactly the reason. Without these regulations they have practically no incent...
