LAS VEGAS — You’re sitting down, beating up your best friends in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on your TV, but your Switch breaks it to you suddenly: Your Joy-Cons are low on battery, which means you’re forced to play in tablet mode or grab another controller. Powercast says no more to this at CES 2019.
Powercast is launching Wireless Charging Grips for Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Controllers, which means that you can keep your Joy-Con controllers juiced without ever having to slide them on to your Switch.
Here’s how it works: You have to first purchase the Powerspot RF Wireless Transmitter, which is currently available now for $99, and then hook up your Joy-Cons to Powercast’s Wireless Charging Grips (single or double).
The Transmitter will actually wirelessly charge the battery pack built inside of the grips which then charges the the Joy-Cons itself, so the grips will actually act as a backup battery when full. If your Joy-Cons and Wireless Charging Grips are both fully charge, you can get up to 38 hours of constant gameplay.
The downside is that the Transmitter will only work from at up to 2 feet away to charge the Joy-Cons, so you’ll have to place it somewhere close to you if there’s no charge in either battery.
I didn’t get to test the double Joy-Con grips, but the single Joy-Con felt pretty comfortable in the palm of my hands despite the odd design. The triggers were without a doubt the most tactile and responsive I’ve used on a single Joy-Con grip.
However, and this is more of a criticism of the Joy-Cons themselves, the alignment of the analog stick and face buttons will always be off center no matter which Joy-Con you use, which may get uncomfortable after playing for a long period of time.
In terms of the full double Joy-Con grip, it looks pretty identical to the grip that comes with the Nintendo Switch, which is good in that people don’t have to adjust to a different shape, but then again the original is a little too small to begin with.
Powercast hasn’t announced pricing as of yet, but the Wireless Charging Grips will launch sometime in Q3. You best believe that baby will be mine, so you can stay tuned for the full review down the road.
