I had to really think back to the Nintendo Switch launch 8 years ago to think about the Joy-Con grip in the box versus the one that you could buy separately, and with the Nintendo Switch 2, there’s even more of a difference between the one you get in the box versus the Joy-Con charging grip that’s available separately.
The one in the box is still improved on the original in the sense that the ergonomics have been improved and the Joy-Con controllers magnetically snap into the shell, but the one that you can purchase separately is better again.
This time around the Nintendo Switch 2 Joy-Con charging grip still comes with that incredible looking transparent shell, and it obviously still has the ability to charge your Joy-Con controllers whilst connected through the USB-C port (although no included battery like this PowerA one), but to my surprise when I got hands-on, the new charging grip also has customiseable back buttons just like the new Pro controller.
The GL and GR back buttons will apparently be able to be customised on a per game basis, and whilst these are smaller than the ones included on the Pro controller, it does seem like this will be a much cheaper way to get them ($49 versus $120), so if you’re wanting back buttons to see how Nintendo integrates this experience, it will likely be worth upgrading to the charing grip.
I do wish that this was included in the box, and I also wish that it had a battery to actually charge the Joy-Cons up without being connected, but it’s still very good to see Nintendo actually improving these designs, as adding back buttons isn’t something I thought we’d ever see from them.
The Nintendo Switch launches on June 5th and the Charging Grip alongside a host of other accessories will also launch on the same day.