Some people are fantasizing about the processing power comparable to the iPad Pro (10307 mAh battery, 38.8 Wh) or Nvidia Shield TV (not mobile, power consumption ain't a big issue) in an handheld form factor. The more powerful the device, the more power it will consume, and there are limits (size + weight) for the battery capacity in a small formfactor like an handheld. The theoretical output of an technically advanced SoC is not the only limitation, the handheld should as well have a decent battery life while rendering and displaying millions of pixels or polygons.
Sure, there will be still improvements in efficiency, but the A9X and A9 (which Apple won't sell to third parties) already are using the 14/16 nm process... 10 nm is still years away, so the efficiency improvements in the next years will probably slow down.
So what battery capacity (and battery life) can we expect from Nintendo for their next handheld? If we look at their now available newest devices, it doesn't look good:
- Even the New 3DS XL has merely a 3.7 V, 1350 1750 mAh battery rated at 6.5 Wh: https://ifixit.org/blog/7028/nintendo-3ds-xl/
- They still ship their newest Wii U revisions with a Wii U tablet 3.7 V, 1500 mAh with an abysmal battery life although the battery compartment has enough space for their "high-capacity" battery (3.7 V, 2550 mAh)
For their new handheld they will have no choice than to enhance the battery capacity (the iPod touch 6th gen with the quite efficient A8 SoC will only last for 1.5 hours on demanding games due to its small 1043 mAH battery)... the question is: how much?
The Apple A9 SoC is probably the most efficient SoC on the market (at least in devices smaller than 7-inch-tablets)... if you play some demanding games (still below 360/ps3 fidelity) on an iPhone 6S or 6S Plus (1800 mAh), the battery life can go down to 2 - 2.5 hours. With graphics on 360/PS3 level, the battery time would go further down. Would such a battery life be acceptable for a 2016/2017 handheld (which main purpose is playing games)?
With bigger batteries (2500 - 3500 mAh), a battery life between 3 and 4.5 hours is possible for a similar graphic fidelity (the Nexus 6P has a 3450 mAh battery, probably the biggest size you can still fit in the handheld form factor, even if Nintendo keeps the "XL size").
But can you see Nintendo include a 3000 - 3500 mAh battery in their handheld to get the best possible mobile graphics and acceptable battery life? Or will they put in a smaller battery and keep the battery life acceptable with less demanding grapics (less weight + size issues, less costs)?
