E3 2018: Hands on with Bionik Switch accessories
Getting a chance to check out some hardware at E3, is always exciting, accessories can be a mixed bag. Bionik were showing off their Switch accessories again this year, they were there last year, but now they have a distributor for Australia, so we should be seeing them this year.
Kicking things off with one of the coolest items I got to see was the TV Lynx, a portable dock for your Switch, but it is important to note that the device is not an approved accessory as of yet, so use at your own risk. What makes the TV Lynx cool though, is that it takes the dock and streamlines it into a single cord, with a small box in the middle, however, were some issues. The HDMI cable is only a foot long or 30 centimetres if you use real word measurements and the power cable, which is USB-C and the Switch cable max out at 3 foot, or 90 centimetres, which means the entire length of the cable is a little over 1.2 meters, so it’s not super long. For a portable dock, this might not be an issue, however.
The other issue is that the power cable is USB-C, which is fine and great, but it means you need to supply your own USB-C power adapter. You can’t use the one included with the Switch, because it has a fixed cable and the adapter that Nintendo sell, is only USB-A. In America, it will come with a power adapter that fits, but Bionik is not sure if they will be offering it in other countries.
One accessory that I saw is cool, but I am unsure how practical it would be and that is the Power Shield, a hard-plastic case for your Switch, that also comes packed with a 5,000 mAh battery. Now nothing there might seem too impressive, but there is one element that I found cool, if you have a Switch with a flat battery and the battery of the case is flat when you charge it up, the case will always charge the Switch first. The case comes with an included dock for charging, so you don’t need to keep plugging in a cable or removing the Switch from it, so that is nice.
In addition to that, you can even fold the top of the case over, pop your JoyCon out and turn it into a display stand for your Switch, if you want something a little larger than the Switch’s included kickstand. I don’t know if I would but you can also just play with everything inside of the case, though I suspect the extra weight might be a little much for long play sessions.
The final item that I feel is worth talking about, is the Commuter Bag, a carrying case for your Switch, which is loaded with pockets, for all your games, JoyCon and beyond, but has a feature that is quite cool. On the backside of the bag, is a zip, when you undo it, you just reveal a flap, but if you then wrap it around another bag strap and zip it back up, you can attach this bag to your other bag, a little bag-ception if you will. While it might not appeal to all, I think it is a great idea and if you are travelling on a plane, it is one way to avoid the one bag limit some airlines love to enforce.
The bag actually comes with two varieties as well, the base model and the battery model, which is the same, but comes with a massive 8,000 mAh battery packed in on the side. Unlike the Power Shield, this battery can output to both USB-C and USB-A, meaning you can use it to recharge any of your devices, not just the Switch. The only downside is that the price doubles when you add the battery, what starts at $35USD becomes $70USD, so if that holds true, it could be an expensive bag here in Australia.
Bionik has crafted some accessories that are designed with the user in mind, but also the Switch, while I hope that TV Lynx gets the Nintendo Seal of Approval, the Power Shield and Commuter Bags are still items to keep an eye out for.
