TL;DR
- The Nintendo Switch 2 will include a feature to cap battery charge at 90%.
- A similar feature debuted on Pixel phones in 2020, and is included in Android 15.
- Turning the feature on in settings could extend Switch 2 battery health by years.
The Nintendo Switch 2 is less than a month away from launching, but Nintendo is still announcing new features. The latest announcement comes via the Nintendo Today! app, and it’s one of the most valuable features implemented on Android in the past few years.
It’s essentially a toggle in the Settings app that caps the maximum charge of your Switch 2 to 90%. This might sound counterintuitive, since you’re sacrificing game time while away from a charger, but it’s the best way to keep your battery healthy for years. Capping your maximum charge can delay phone battery replacement for a year or more, so expect similar results on the Switch 2.
A similar feature that slows charging after 80% was added to Pixel phones in December 2020 as part of the Adaptive Battery toolset. Last year, it was expanded to allow a manual 80% cap, matching a feature implemented on iOS with the launch of the iPhone 15.
Capping max charge can extend Switch 2 battery health by years.
Check out our battery optimization guide for more details, but the short version is that most people should turn this feature on. For devices like the Switch 2 that will sit in a dock plugged in for days at a time, it’s even more imperative.
To find the feature on the Switch 2, open the Settings app and look for a toggle that says “Stop Charging Around 90%.” Hopefully the feature will find its way to the original Switch, too, although it’s likely years too late to make a difference for most gamers.
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