Nintendo’s personal dock is a non-nonsense gadget that simply works. You slide your console in, crack the Pleasure-Con off, and increase, you are off to the races. Given the bigger measurement of Swap 2, although, its dock is a considerable slab of black plastic and numerous third-party corporations have stepped in with choices which are somewhat extra moveable.
Antank is one such firm, and the S3 MAX TV Dock Station for Nintendo Swap 2 — also called the SIWIQU Dock Station in some elements — is actually smaller than the dock that comes with the console. Weighing in at 109 grams (in comparison with 383 grams), you may barely discover you are carrying it in your satchel, backpack, or wherever else you care to secrete your {hardware}.
Antack despatched me the usual mannequin for evaluate, though they’ve one other one that features an Ethernet port for wired web connection. In any other case, on the again of the dock, you get the anticipated ports: two USB-A slots, a USB-C port for the ability, an HDMI port going to your TV, and a button to modify between TV-out and the Swap 2’s personal show. Past the dock itself, within the field you get somewhat foldout handbook with the tiniest textual content I’ve ever seen, and that is your lot.
For $35.99 / £28.99, it ought to come as no shock that you simply’re not getting Nintendo-level construct high quality and supplies, and the lightness right here does not assist promote the S3 as a premium little bit of package, both. However it’s superb; the purple and blue finish caps match up with the accents across the Pleasure-Con, and sitting beside your TV, it seems nice sufficient.
You are additionally not getting an AC energy adapter, the requisite cable, or an HDMI cable, and Antack recommends utilizing Nintendo’s official gear. For those who’ve obtained a Swap 2, you may clearly have that already, however for those who’re shopping for this as an affordable dock for a second room, you may must issue into your price range one other $34.99 / £24.99 for the ability adapter, plus an HDMI 2.1 cable (the extremely excessive velocity selection).
Setup is so simple as you’d count on. Join the cables, flip your TV on, and increase. It really works. The truth is, I needed to reconnect the console a few occasions — apparently a quirk that is been ironed out with a firmware replace I’ve subsequently run in accordance with the directions on Antack’s web site — however then it simply functioned as marketed.
Somewhat blue LED on the entrance signifies that all the pieces’s powered up. The S3 helps 4K (8K, in truth, in accordance with the blurb, though you will not get that out of your Swap and I’ve obtained no strategy to show 8K content material) and as much as 120Hz output – though the Swap 2 can solely handle 120fps at 1080p, and you will want a 120Hz+-capable TV, naturally. A number of hours of Donkey Kong Bananza, UFO 50, and Drag x Drive delivered picture high quality on a 55-inch LG OLED that regarded indistinguishable from the official dock to my eyes. HDR fired up simply as with the usual providing, and all the pieces simply labored.
Again to the unit itself, Antank’s web site blurb mentions a “spring-buffered docking port”, though I am unable to see any proof of a spring on my unit. The connection on the backside is completely inflexible and suits the console port snugly when you seat the factor appropriately, which may take a few tries.
Having the system ‘unsheathed’, you may positively be aware the warmth it is pumping out in a method chances are you’ll not when it is resting in Nintendo’s dock. The S3 successfully blocks the console’s air intakes alongside the underside edge, which gave me pause, however temperature-wise, the truth that the system is not wrapped in black plastic helps disperse warmth from the casing and “offers higher cooling than the unique charging dock”, in accordance with Antank. I haven’t got the tools to measure that, sadly, and I would query if the cooling is ‘higher’ than Nintendo’s dock, nevertheless it appeared roughly the identical to me from a quantity and temperature perspective.
Switching to handheld mode by hitting the spherical button on the rear, I seen the console’s fan whirring up extra in the summertime warmth. Given the truth that you possibly can cost by way of the highest USB-C port anyway, I would choose to have these intakes uncovered in tabletop mode, personally. Sure, a cable protruding the highest is not aesthetically pleasing, however I would moderately not tax my still-relatively-new system greater than essential when it is not outputting to the TV. Maybe I am being overly cautious, however truthfully, I do not see a lot level within the tabletop button when that is constructed into the console as-is.
The dimensions discount is a boon, actually, however the S3 does include some minor irritations. Firstly, you may want to carry the dock down earlier than pulling to take away the console – there is no slide-in/slide-out right here. The tight match signifies that the S3 does not work with third-party instances, both, so you may must take away them beforehand. Additionally, the dock doesn’t appear to speak with the TV to wake it from standby, if that’s one thing you’re used to with the usual dock.
Whereas three rubber ‘toes’ forestall it from slipping, the dock depends on the ability and HDMI cables being linked to supply stability and stop all the pieces toppling backwards on the slightest contact. Clearly, the Swap 2 has its personal kickstand, so utilizing the S3 as a makeshift stand does not make sense anyway – simply be cautious if you’re setting issues up and do not put your system within the dock till the cables are linked.
And that is it. It is positively extra of a journey accent in my eyes; if I have been available in the market for a second dock for the house, I would in all probability pay the additional for the slide-in/out comfort (and the required cables) of the official possibility. For those who’re the form of particular person desperate to journey as gentle as doable, or who feels a missed alternative when enjoying your Swap 2 within the shadow of a giant hotel-room TV, the S3 could be for you, although.
And even factoring within the essential extras, you are still a good method off the $124.99 / £92.99 that Nintendo desires for a second dock with these necessities included. For the budget-conscious gamer, then, or travellers who fancy having the ability to hook up on the fly, it is a good possibility.
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Because of Antank for supplying the pattern used on this evaluate.
