If you’re buying a Switch this holiday season, look for the newly improved battery life model

Better battery life

The other day someone asked me how to tell “the different Switches apart?” Wait, what? After pondering that inquiry for a few minutes it hit me like a Professor Layton puzzle solution. I got it! The Switch Lite. Wait no that’s not it, there’s another Switch. Oh yeah, the mysterious “better battery life model!”

Just in case you’re looking to pick up a regular non-Lite Switch, you really should know what you’re buying. It’s actually pretty simple: the new model is in a red box, and the old one is housed in the classic white background box. The old one is “HAC-001,” and the new one is “HAC-001 (-01).” You’ll sometimes see “HAC-001 (-01)” listed specifically on marketplaces like Amazon, which denote the better Switch.

Now this isn’t a “Switch Pro” or a “Switch 2.0” or anything like that. The only notable upgrade is relegated to battery life, and that’s specifically “4.5 to nine hours” in the -01 compared to “2.5 to 6.5 hours” in the 001. Sadly, Nintendo hasn’t made a big effort to differentiate them at all, so ordering online can be a gamble unless it specifically mentions the -01 model. Some retailers may even provide the red box image but not actually sell the -01. In-store visits with price matching might be the best option.

Be vigilant and happy holiday shopping! Here’s a handy graphic for you below.

[Thanks for the idea Rick!]