RetroSix GBA SP Battery
Image: Nintendo Life

You can keep your fancy-pants Switch OLED Models, chum – for retro fans, the news that the GBA SP is getting a battery upgrade is arguably more exciting ('arguably' being the operative word here).

While older Nintendo systems like the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance have been subject to some really cool unofficial mods over the years – usually focused on overcoming inherent limitations with the crude screens they shipped with – these updates have often had a negative impact on the power consumption of the machines.

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Case in point; we have a modded GBA SP in the office which has a gorgeous IPS panel fitted that offers brightness that's beyond even what the legendary AGS-101 model is capable of, but the stock battery we had installed gave up the ghost after around an hour.

After around 15 years of use, the battery was probably ready for the scrapheap anyway, to be honest, but you get the picture – mods often result in reduced stamina. Even if you don't have a modded console, the promise of extra battery life is clearly tempting – and while there are larger batteries available online, they often don't match up with the advertised capacity.

Thank goodness then for UK company RetroSix, which not only supplies modded consoles but also sells a wide range of mods and accessories – including a new 900mAh battery for the GBA SP. We've been putting one of these through its paces recently and have come away very impressed; we managed to get over six hours of use out of a single charge on our IPS-modded GBA SP, which is far in excess of what we'd managed with previous aftermarket batteries purchased from the likes of eBay. If you're running it on a standard GBA SP without a fancy new screen, RetroSix says you can expect as much as ten hours of use:

This Rechargeable Battery Pack delivers up to ten hours of non-stop fun on your Game Boy Advance SP system. Heavy duty real 900mAh rating and easy to install in your handheld. This is not a typical Chinese replacement with fake mAh ratings, but our very own battery from a reputable battery factory we get our CleanJuice batteries from.

The RetroSix battery is roughly the same size as the original, although we did note that it's a tight squeeze getting it in and out of the GBA SP's battery compartment – but it's worth the effort, as it really does give your ageing handheld a new lease of life.

RetroSix is selling the 900mAh batteries for £10.30. If you're in North America, then you can get them from RetroSix's partner site, Handheld Legend, for $10.99.