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Pros
- Keeps Joy-Cons charged while playing when the Switch is docked.
- As comfortable as the standard grip.
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Cons
- Unnecessary unless you have more than one pair of Joy-Cons, or plan to play for more than 20 hours at a time.
The Nintendo Switch ($299.99 at GameStop) comes with several accessories for its Joy-Con controllers. Included is the useful Joy-Con grip, a plastic shell that holds both included Joy-Cons so you can use them like a conventional gamepad. It feels comfortable, but you can't charge the Joy-Cons while you're using it; for that, you need to connect them to the Switch itself. If you want to keep playing while the Switch in its dock, you need to get the optional $29.99 Joy-Con Charging Grip. It's useful, but it's the type of utility that should have simply been included with the Switch itself.
Design
The Charging Grip ($29.99 at Dell Technologies) looks and feels identical to the regular Joy-Con grip, sharing the exact same proportions and weighing less than half an ounce more at 3.5 ounces (without Joy-Cons). The only clear difference between the two grips is the Charging Grip's USB-C port on the top, and small indicator LED next to it.
Because the Charging Grip is physically the same as the grip that comes with the Switch, it feels identical in the hand. This is perfectly fine; the Joy-Con grip already feels comfortable with two Joy-Cons attached, and the Charging Grip offers no discernible difference. It turns the Joy-Cons into a single controller that feels like a conventional gamepad, which is ideal for playing most Switch games.
Charging
While it's called the Joy-Con Charging Grip, the charging aspect must be done through a cable. The grip itself doesn't have any battery to boost the life of the Joy-Cons. Instead, it only provides a pass-through to charge the Joy-Cons with the included USB-C-to-USB-A cable, connected to the Switch Dock or any other powered USB-A port. When plugged in and powered, the indicator light next to the USB-C port will light up, showing that the Joy-Cons are charging.
The charging function feels like less of a benefit in an optional accessory and more like a bizarrely omitted feature in the system's included accessories. The Switch's Joy-Con grip is so physically similar to the Charging Grip that its lack of a charging pass-through seems strange. It means that the Charging Grip is the only way to charge the Joy-Cons without connecting them to the sides of the Switch itself.
Why You Might Need It
Joy-Cons have a battery life of about 20 hours, so assuming you aren't going to spend nearly a full day marathoning Switch games, and that you attach them to the Switch when not in use to keep them charged, there isn't much reason to get a Charging Grip as a solo player. If you get additional Joy-Con pairs, however, the need becomes more clear. Without the Charging Grip, you can't charge more Joy-Cons when the Switch is in use. If you want two players with their own pairs of Joy-Cons, you're out of luck if you're caught with a dead battery in one of those Joy-Cons.
PowerA is shipping an alternative at the end of the month, however. The PowerA Nintendo Switch Joy-Con Charging Dock doesn't let you play with your Joy-Cons while you charge them, but it can charge up to four Joy-Cons at a time and has the same $29.99 price tag as the Charging Grip.
The Joy-Con Charging Grip isn't a vital purchase for Switch owners who usually play online or otherwise by themselves. If you regularly play local multiplayer, however, it's a compelling accessory. It would have been much, much better if Nintendo simply included this version of the grip with the Switch itself, but that's a minor disappointment that doesn't change the Charging Grip's specific, but distinct, purpose.
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