Accessories have always been hugely important when it comes to gaming. The Nintendo Switch is an accessory maker’s dream. With the moving parts such as the dock and joy-cons, there is plenty of scope for invention and creativity. Since day one people have been desperate for power banks. The console’s battery pack isn’t exactly brilliant, anything that gives you more playtime is ideal. Something else that isn’t exactly brilliant is the joy-con grip that Nintendo provided. Fret not, Bionik has ridden in to save the day with this: the Bionik Power Plate.
Starting with the design, it’s pretty great. This is a really sleek and fancy product that immediately conveys a sense of quality. The plate itself is a decent size making it really comfortable to hold when you play. It means the joy-con is about the same distance from each other than the DualShock’s joysticks are. At first, I thought it would be really awkward but after several hours of Tetris, I was pleasantly surprised. The dock is also of solid build and it offers a neat and practical way of displaying the plate.
In terms of features, there are two fantastic selling points here. The first is the fact that you have a new, sleek power bank to use to charge your console wherever you may be, be it planes, trains or automobiles. The second is that you’ve got a product that you can use as a joy con grip and display stand for extra joy-cons. A consistent problem I’ve had is just having a couple of controllers lying around, no charge in them and no real purpose. I keep the same joy-cons at all time, so not all four get charged.
The LCD screen on the Bionik Power Plate lets you know how much charge it has as well as how much charge the equipped controllers contain. Again, this is a super sleek product and this screen is no exception. The battery has a capacity of 5500mAh and Bionik claim this can charge the console three times over as well as the joy cons. From my experience, the console claim is 100% true. It is so small that it easily slots into most Switch carry cases meaning you can charge the console using the included USB Type-C cable any time.
The Power Plate is a pretty fantastic addition to the Nintendo Switch. It beats a lot of the tests that other accessories fail with absolute ease. Start with a good idea, build a quality product, then layer on a beautiful aesthetic and genuinely helpful features and it all comes together to create something that I’m very confident to recommend to other Nintendo Switch owners.
You can buy one right here.
