Powercast lives up to its name with wireless charging grips for the Nintendo Switch

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I admit, when the Nintendo Switch first came out I wasn’t enamored by the transforming console. The form factor looked awkward to me, the Joy-Cons seemed too small for my huge hands, and I was dubious about the screen. Then I bought one and all of my preconceived “issues” went away – except for one. How do you charge the Joy-Cons without sliding them onto the console?

For games like Mario Kart, Mario Party, or any of the local multiplayer games in the catalog, you’ll need more than two Joy-Cons. That brings a major issue, as the only way to charge them is to slide them onto the console or buy a separate dock to charge them. Docking them means only single-player use until you un-dock them though, putting a damper on your fun.

Now, thanks to Powercast, you don’t have to worry about this. Their Wireless Charging Grips let you use the Joy-Cons wirelessly, while still recharging the battery. That’s almost magic, right?

Check it out

How it works

This all works thanks to Powercast’s over-the-air power tech. A rectangular base unit sends RF energy in the direction of the Charging Grip, which then converts the RF energy into DC power using a clever receiver chip. This DC power then charges the inbuilt battery in the Charging Grip. When your Joy-Con needs charging, it recharges off the power stored in the Grip’s inbuilt battery.

This means you never have to dock your Joy-Cons ever again, provided that you stay within a couple of feet of the base unit. Even better, no more wires to tangle or look unsightly. I know there are other charging grips on the market but those all need wires plugged-in to work.

The Wireless Charging Grips from Powercast should be available in Canada and the U.S. in the third quarter of 2019. No pricing is available yet, we’ll update when we hear something.

What do you think? Is this a must-have for your Nintendo Switch? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Joe Rice-Jones

Maker, meme-r, and unabashed geek with nearly half a decade of blogging experience at KnowTechie, SlashGear and XDA Developers. If it runs on electricity (or even if it doesn't), Joe probably has one around his office somewhere, with particular focus in gadgetry and handheld gaming. Shoot him an email at joe@knowtechie.com.