Nintendo denies reports of trade-in program for new, upgraded Switch models

Earlier this week, a number of reports pointed to an exchange program for Nintendo Switch owners looking to upgrade from the original model. According to these reports, Nintendo would offer a free upgrade for those who purchased their Switch after July 17th, when the new model with improved battery life was announced. However, today the company says that these reports are untrue. In a statement to The Verge, a Nintendo spokesperson explained:

We do not have a Nintendo Switch exchange program. We always want players to enjoy their Nintendo Switch systems, and if anything ever gets in the way of that, we encourage them to visit http://support.nintendo.com for support, or to contact our consumer support team.

While the new model and the original look identical, there’s one major difference: battery life. According to multiple teardowns, the new model features between 4.5 and 9 hours of battery life, up from the 2.5 to 6.5 range of the original. Otherwise, the two devices appear the same. If you’re looking to pick up the new Switch, be sure to follow this guide.

Of course, there’s another new model of the Switch on the way as well, one with a much more drastic redesign. On September 20th the company is launching the Nintendo Switch Lite, a smaller and cheaper tablet built exclusively for portable play.