Why I’m begging Nintendo for a Switch 2 dock with no TV connection

With the Nintendo Switch 2 set to arrive in gamers’ hands this Thursday, June 5, there’s no better time than now to reflect on an oft-forgotten original Switch accessory: the official Adjustable Charging Stand from Nintendo. The Japanese gaming giant released this peripheral in May 2018, a year and some change after the launch of its first-generation Switch console.

Unlike the standard Switch Dock — which powers the gaming system while simultaneously outputting video to a TV or monitor — the $20 Adjustable Charging Stand serves a different purpose entirely. It’s designed to be a supplementary gadget for use when the Switch is in Tabletop Mode, allowing you to top up the unit’s battery while gaming in this posture. It also provides a frictionless kickstand for angling the Switch’s screen forward and backward.

With the original-model Switch, this first-party accessory remains a no-brainer purchase for the price. If you’ll recall, the first iteration of the Switch ships with a terribly incompetant built-in kickstand, and its bottom-mounted USB-C port makes it impossible to charge the console while resting on said kickstand. 2021’s Switch OLED model improved the kickstand situation with a more robust Surface Pro-like design revision, without solving the core issue of charging while propped up.

With this year’s Switch 2, Nintendo has gone ahead and rectified both of these issues in one fell swoop. The upcoming hybrid device features a secondary top-mounted USB-C port for charging in Tabletop Mode, while retaining the OLED model’s frictionless kickstand. On the surface, then, it appears that there’s no logical need for Nintendo to engineer and release a Switch 2-compatible Adjustable Charging Stand. I disagree.

A second-gen Switch Charging Stand would be ideal

The original Adjustable Charging Stand for Nintendo Switch leaves something to be desired

It’s very probable that I’m in the minority here, but I never purchased Nintendo’s Adjustable Charging Stand for use in Tabletop Mode. In fact, in my several years of owning a Switch, I can count the number of times I’ve used the console in this orientation on one hand. Rather, I bought the accessory for use as a dedicated charging cradle. I only occasionally dock my Switch to my TV, and so I wanted a seamless solution for keeping the unit topped up during my more frequent bouts of handheld gameplay.

As such, I sought out the Adjustable Charging Stand as a cheaper non-dockable alternative to the full-fat Switch Dock. Unfortunately, this peripheral has some issues. It’s too small and lightweight to allow for one-handed docking and undocking, and it doesn’t tap into the Switch’s alignment indentations for a smoother in-and-out transition, either. The peripheral’s side-mounted USB-C port also isn’t ideal: it leads to a cable that awkwardly juts out the side of the stand in an unsightly fashion, and when the Switch isn’t docked onto it, the entire setup regularly slips off my nightstand.

What I’m trying to say is that Nintendo’s own first-party Switch Charging Stand isn’t a very good product, and a second-generation stab at the peripheral would be a golden opportunity for the company to transform it into a full-fledged charging cradle solution. While maintaining its compact form factor and its affordable price point, I’d love for a revised variant to offer a weighted body for ease of use, a wider kickstand, a rear-mounted USB-C port, and the same single-handed plug-and-play design found on the standard TV Dock.

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Charging cradles are my preferred top-up method

As a makeshift solution, I’ll probably have to settle for the Switch 2’s TV Dock

In my humble opinion, there’s no better combination than a mobile tech gadget and an accompanying charging dock. Psychologically, there’s something satisfying about having a bespoke home for my devices to charge up and remain stationary at, which is why I’m so fond of the Google Pixel Tablet’s Speaker Dock, for example. For this very same reason, I’ve outfitted my home with several magnetic Qi2 wireless charging stands to supplement my domestic smartphone experience, too.

When it comes to handheld video game consoles, I’ve been a fan of charging cradles since the days of the Game Boy Advance SP — the very first Nintendo console to ship with a rechargable power pack. My GBA SP’s Hip Gear charger has the battle scars to prove its worth, and my original Nintendo 3DS’s first-party charging cradle remains a consistent fixture within my home, too.

Alas, I’m afraid I’m in the minority here in wanting a dedicated charging stand from Nintendo. In all likelihood, the company won’t ever release a charging cradle (or a second-generation Adjustable Charging Stand of any kind) for the Switch 2. I imagine the company will be reluctant to muddy the waters with a separate non-TV-compatible dock model for a cheaper price, and so I hope to see third-party accessory makers step up to the plate in lieu of the Big N.

For the time being, and as a decidedly non-TV gamer, I’m considering the idea of simply setting up my Switch 2 Dock on my nightstand and foregoing the HDMI cable and TV connection altogether. In a sense, I value the convenience of one-handed dockability next to my bed to a greater degree than I value the ability to play games on my living room flat screen television. For better or worse, I expect the most viable charging cradle for the Switch 2 to be the TV Dock itself, complete with its built-in fan, its A/V out circuitry, its two USB-A ports, and its Ethernet jack.

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