Accessory maker Bionik is launching a couple of new Switch products in Europe this week, including a portable charger capable of charging your Switch and Joy-Con separately or together.
The product has been available in the US for some time now, but this is the first time that those in Europe can pick it up for themselves. Called the Power Plate, this device allows you to attach your Joy-Con to each side, just like you would on your Switch, and takes the form of the Joy-Con grip so that you can keep playing at the same time. The Switch tablet itself can also be charged via a USB Type-C cable.
You can check to see how your devices are doing in terms of battery power with the LED indicators on the front, and it comes with a carry case and charging dock for the unit itself. You can see it in action in the video below.
If you want one for yourself, you can pick one up from Amazon UK (£32.79), GAME (£24.99) or Amazon US ($49.99).
A smart solution for on-the-go gaming? Would a product like this suit your needs? Let us know if you plan to grab one in the comments below.
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Comments 33
Still not paying $50 for that thing. Maybe if it's dropped to around 29.99
Not being able to charge the switch and mount it in an upright position to play seems like an oversight. The USBc to USB c cable should be longer so that you could at least sit your switch on a stand and play it while charging
It's cool, I guess. I would just as well get the charge grip and be satisfied, but it all boils down to what setup works best for you.
Nice! One more device that could brick my switch!
@zever It is $35 on Amazon right now.
Lol this is just stupid
Is the joy con losing battery charge a problem for anyone really? The console sure, I can get about 3 hours and no more. Even when the joy con are being used heavily, super Mario party, they always seem to last forever.
If it was also a desk charging dock for the Switch it would have been a buy.
@redwingleader Yep I've not had a problem either! I did pick up my pro controller last night though for the first time in a good while to play Zelda, cos... two years old n all that. And I discovered the controller was out of battery. Absolutely affronted by this development, I had to play with the charger plugged in. It was fully charged in like an hour and will last an estimated 3 million years before requiring another charge.
The undocked system itself is another story of course...
@frabbit @redwingleader I was just coming here to say the same thing... I can't think of a single time my joy-cons have ever run out of juice on their own.
@MysticGengar Nintendo should have implemented industry standard USB-C.
@MysticGengar @okeribok it's baffling that Nintendo did not update the switch prior to launch to have industry standard USB-C, they had time and it's abysmally shortsighted.
Like others, my joycons have never run out of battery.
Had anyone mentioned Brick?
Oh yeah good....
This has been out ages in America and has it actually bricked anything or people just scaremongering?
Apart from that one incident with that one type of device have any others actually bricked any? Or is it just a internet snark myth?
This is a great travel solution for people who plan to dock their Switch up, but I never seem to do that when I am on the go.
It the 3rd party docks that brick the Switch. Too much power to try and meet the requirements to run in TV mode.
One thing I would definitely like about this setup is not having the HD Rumble obscured by the plastic of all the other traditional grips out there, and the wider spacing would probably feel better too. That said, those two aspects alone a worthwhile purchase do not make.
@okeribok @MaSSiVeRiCaN the switch itself is close enough to the type-c standard with charging that it will work with any type-C compliant charger.
the type-C standard also allows for proprietary dock functionality, which the switch makes use of for video output.
the only problems are with non-compliant devices being used with the switch:
non-compliant cables that let the wrong amount of power through due to an incorrect or missing resistor, these will fry ANY type-C device.
and docks that force video output with incorrect signals as they use a badly reverse-engineered version of the switch proprietary dock communication method.
from Wikipedia regarding non-compliant cables:
Many cables claiming to support USB-C are actually not compliant to the standard. Using these cables would have a potential consequence of damaging devices that they are connected to. There are reported cases of laptops being destroyed due to the use of non-compliant cables.
Some non-compliant cables with a USB-C connector on one end and a legacy USB-A plug or Micro-B receptacle on the other end incorrectly terminate the Configuration Channel (CC) with a 10kΩ pullup to VBUS instead of the specification mandated 56 kΩ pullup, causing a device connected to the cable to incorrectly determine the amount of power it is permitted to draw from the cable.
from Wikipedia regarding extra modes(used primarily for video out):
As of 2018, five system-defined Alternate Mode partner specifications exist. Additionally, vendors may support proprietary modes for use in dock solutions. Alternate Modes are optional;
I don't see the point of this accessory. Power banks exist, and, besides that, the joy-cons have, like, 20 hour battery lives, so I can't imagine why you'd need to charge them separately from the Switch itself.
@Ralizah Exactly!
Isn't that what the Charging Grip does already charge the battery? I think this one works if you have the Nintendo NES controller version where it won't fit onto the Charging Grip. That I can see getting but then GameStop has a version that seems that it will fit the NES Switch controller as well.
@Azzdama Not an oversight. It would be very difficult to make the switch dock charge the console if the charging port were in any other spot. I can't imagine any other place the usb-c port could be that would make it comfortably fit in a dock. If the usb-c port were on top, where the headphone jack is, you would have to slide the switch in upside-down. Maybe that's the only way I could think of but it would make removing the joycons a little more irritating.
I watched the full video to figure out the purpose of this accessory... there's none! Can I have my 3 minutes back please.
@Totaldude911 just having a longer cable so that you could use another third party stand would be the solution.
@Azzdama I apologize. I see what you're saying. I thought you were saying what I've seen many others say about the console itself, that the charging port should be on top instead of bottom.
No need to apologise you have a valid point.
@thedicemaster Educated and great response. thanks for the info and definitely changes my outlook on things.
@NintendoFan4Lyf <-- What this guy said.
@thedicemaster so the switch only being able to output hdmi with the original dock when used with the Nintendo adapter is OK? To a consumer it is rather vexing that even though connectors converge on one physical form (USB C), devices won't work together if they fit together. Bring back the old days of proprietary connectors. At least that was clear.
@okeribok it's ok according to the type-C standard.
hdmi output is an optional part, and there are 5 different "alternate mode" options all with different video output methods so it's not like this "confusion" is created by Nintendo.
as long as Nintendo advertises that video output requires a Nintendo switch dock(which is what they're doing) I see no problem.
@Shade_Koopa
I just watched that entire video and I have no idea what this thing does.
@Ralizah also set up with such a short USB C to C cable woukdn't you just have the Joycons on the Switch where they charge them self?
Only reason for this would be if you carry and charge multiple sets of Joycons when out as long as this doesn't brick your Switch
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