Review: PowerA’s new Switch Controller Charging Dock and Nano Wireless Controller are worth considering

PowerA recently launched a new controller charging base for the Nintendo Switch. This cradle can charge up to a pair of Joy-Con and a Pro controller at the same time and is USB-powered, so you can plug it directly into your Switch’s dock. PowerA was kind enough to send me one of these charging cradles and a Nano Enhanced wireless controller for the Switch to review. I will go through both elements in this article first with the charging base and then after the scoring, I will continue with the controller review.

The new Switch Charging Cradle is a great buy for anyone with controllers other than the Joy-Con that came with the console. It has some LED lights in the front which are easy to see which is always a plus. An interesting aspect is that to charge the Pro Controller (also compatible with PowerA Wireless rechargeable controllers) you have to connect a special dongle (or is it an adapter?) To the USB-C port of the controller and then it slides well into the slot on the base to the recharge. At the end of the recharge, you can disconnect the dongle and on the bottom of the base there is a special storage compartment so as not to lose it. This extra touch is very nice. For $ 29.99, this charging cradle is versatile, clear to read, simple to use, and thoughtful with that dongle situation. I would recommend this charging cradle if you have an extra pair of Joy-Con and / or a Pro controller. You can buy it from PowerA now.

As for the nano controller, it’s a great option for kids and / or people with smaller hands. I would say I have medium sized hands and he looks a bit small to me, although he is not unusable. However, my young daughter loves it! She started using it right away and it fits her much better than the full-sized Pro Controllers we have. The nano controller has programmable buttons on the back although I haven’t used it on this particular model, I’ve used them in the past and they just aren’t for me. I understand that some people like these buttons and they work well, I just don’t use them. I have not encountered any problems with the controller connecting to the console and the rechargeable battery (compatible with the base above) is really nice. Also, it comes with a very nice drawstring pouch for storage.

There are a couple of drawbacks to the controller. First, the middle buttons (+, -, home, share) seem a little tall to me, although my wife and daughter don’t seem to share this complaint with me, so I won’t be subtracting points for that. Also, I wish it had rumble capability. It has motion controls, but the rumble is really nice in some games and there are others where it’s almost indispensable. For instance, Luigi Palace it will vibrate the controller if the Boos are nearby and therefore having no rumble makes it harder to be aware of it than other controller options. I understand that’s probably part of the small footprint trade-off, but that’s a shame nonetheless. Overall, the nano controller is great if you feel the standard controllers are too big and don’t need the rumble function. You can purchase one for yourself via PowerA or GameStop (affiliate link) for $ 54.99.