Battery Life
Battery life is the biggest hurdle for any mobile device, especially ones that are tasked with displaying high resolution, performance-guzzling open world games such as Breath Of The Wild or Skyrim. Most handheld systems, such as the Nintendo 3DS or PS Vita, offer around 5-8 hours battery life, and even though battery technology has progressed significantly thanks to the mobile phone industry, we can’t see the Switch beating that under full steam. That isn’t to say it’s impossible though, given that the Nvidia Shield tablet, of which the Switch’s Tegra chip is based on, is good for up to 10 hours, albeit with more room for a larger battery.
[zergpaid]If the Switch can’t muster at least a similar battery life to previous handheld consoles though, that makes the mobile aspect of its design slightly less appealing, especially to potential handheld gamers that are jumping across from the 3DS. The handheld aspect to the Switch is going to be a big seller in Japan, a market in which mobile gaming is astronomically bigger than in the west, and battery life is going to be a determining factor as to whether the Switch can truly replace the 3DS, PS Vita and mobile phone as a viable handheld device.