Best Nintendo Switch accessories 2021: Essential travel kit, controllers and battery packs to consider

(Pocket-lint) - If you're the proprietor of a Nintendo Switch, oregon possibly adjacent the caller Switch OLED, determination are mountains of accessories to brace with your caller console.

The bits of kit that volition really heighten the acquisition is antithetic for each gamer, but we've covered the cardinal crushed successful this guide. So, whether you crave Switch question accessories, retention cards, artillery packs, further controllers oregon surface protection, we person you covered.

The Pocket-lint squad hasn't conscionable been investigating retired the supra peripherals, either. For those looking to instrumentality vantage of the console's newfound Bluetooth capabilities, find our dedicated Nintendo Switch headsets guide.

Below our picks, cheque retired our buying advice, too. If you're unsure of which Switch accessories to propulsion the trigger on, this provides immoderate indispensable things to consider. 

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Our existent Top Pick is the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. However, determination are plentifulness of different accessories we urge picking up, including the AmFilm Tempered Glass Screen Protector, 128GB Samsung Evo Select, Tomtoc Slim Case, PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless Controller and Joy-Con Charging Grip.

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Our Top Pick

Nintendo Switch Pro Controller

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For

• Official and good designed
• Excellent artillery life

Against

• Expensive for an further purchase

The Switch Pro Controller is casual to recommend, and we'd spell arsenic acold arsenic suggesting this is really our favourite first-party controller in-hand.

The crushed it's 1 of the astir indispensable pickups for Switch owners is due to the fact that it provides specified an upgrade implicit the regular Joy-Cons. There's a greater amended life, amended comfortableness and a much earthy fastener layout. 

For those who privation to grow however galore players they tin cater for, oregon those who simply privation to bask gaming sessions for longer, this is ever our archetypal proposal to Switch owners.

Other Switch accessories we recommend

Not each Switch accessory tin beryllium our apical wide recommendation, but that doesn't mean determination aren't tons of different bits and bobs to see if you ain a Switch. Here are immoderate of our favourites.

AmFilm Tempered Glass Screen Protector

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For

• Great value
• Easy to apply

Against

• Will cod dust

Many radical emotion solid surface protectors, and, having tried a fewer of them connected our Switch consoles implicit the past fewer years, AmFilm are our go-to pick.

In truth, there's not truly overmuch to abstracted the prime of the options we've tried, but we've ever recovered these casual to apply. They've besides survived good nether the unit of galore bumps and grazes. 

They're indispensable for each Switch owners who similar to instrumentality their console retired and about, and AmFilm present besides has options to acceptable the bigger Switch OLED screen.

128GB Samsung Evo Select

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For

• Solid value

Against

• Frustratingly required

If you ain a Switch, you request a microSD paper for storage. And portion that's a frustrating world - adjacent for Switch OLED owners with 64GB onboard retention to commencement with - the solution is astatine slightest comparatively cheap.

This Samsung enactment provides capable retention for adjacent the astir hardened Switch user, has ace accelerated random-read speeds and isn't excessively expensive.

It's been seamless to usage the full clip we've utilized the Switch, though determination are of people galore antithetic SD cards to consider.

PowerA Fusion Pro Wireless Controller

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For

• Top customisation options

Against

• Not indispensable for everyone

If you're getting superior astir Smash Bros oregon immoderate different competitory crippled connected the Switch, immoderate other buttons could marque a immense difference.

There aren't galore genuinely pro-level controllers for the Switch, but this is simply a superb summation that feels large successful your hands and elevates your crippled significantly.

There are swappable elements including its faceplate, and it's the cleanable instrumentality for getting levelled up connected your prime of game.

Tomtoc Nintendo Switch Slim Case

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For

• Slim with coagulated protection

Against

• Not rather arsenic robust arsenic a hard shell

A question lawsuit is among the apical priorities for galore Switch owners, and since the archetypal exemplary and the Switch OLED are beauteous overmuch identical successful signifier and dimensions, there's rather a wide excavation to consider.

We similar this Tomtoc enactment for the archetypal model, which keeps things slim and inactive offers a decent level of protection.

For those who conscionable request a airy archetypal enactment of defence from question bumps, this is charismatic and effective. 

Zagg Kita Grip 360

• View connection connected Zagg store

For

• Much much comfortable

Against

• Not eventual protection

This grip lawsuit from Zagg makes it mode much comfy to clasp the Switch for agelong play sessions, and besides protects it from drops.

You get a surface protector successful the bundle, and it inactive works with the Switch's dock, truthful it's a nary brainer if you privation a slimline mode to support your console and marque it much comfy to use.

RAVPower Portable USB-C Battery

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For

• Great for travel

Against

• Cheaper artillery packs available

This tin complaint your Switch portion you play it, offering 30W via USB Power Delivery with further ports for charging further devices.

It's not the cheapest oregon slimmest artillery battalion disposable to buy, but it does truly boost the basal magnitude of clip you get to play erstwhile distant from a partition socket. 

PowerA Nano Enhanced Wireless Controller

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For

• Perfect for smaller hands

Against

• Niche

If you privation a large controller for your Switch that's a small much affordable, but, much to the constituent is designed to beryllium a bully woody smaller, this is the answer.

It's a well-made pad with a mates of customized buttons, and is truly compact. That makes it large for travel, but besides cleanable for kids oregon anyone with smaller hands. 

Nintendo Joy-Con Charging Grip

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For

• Excellent mode to boost battery

Against

• Not the astir affordable option

We whitethorn beryllium pushing the 'essential' taxable of this database a spot utmost here, but this is simply a large enactment to see for those who privation to widen the beingness of their Joy-Con controllers without shelling retired for a Pro Controller oregon a third-party option.

The Joy-Con Grip that comes successful the container doesn't complaint your controllers, but this 1 does. It's somewhat much costly than different charging grips, but we've recovered that it is much reliable - some successful presumption of the clip it takes to complaint and accordant delivery.

How to take Nintendo Switch accessories

There are truthful galore Switch accessory categories to dive into, it tin beryllium a small overwhelming figuring retired which you really should see buying. That's wherefore we've created this conception of FAQs.

What presently bothers you astir your Switch?

The Switch is versatile and amusive for each the family, sure, but it's not without it's issues. We'd suggest that beauteous overmuch each peripherals tin bring thing caller and antithetic to the table, but we'd ideate you lone person a constricted fund - and that means picking your battles.

If you question a batch with your Switch, a surface protector and artillery battalion of immoderate benignant are large places to start. If it spends a batch of clip successful a bag, getting a lawsuit mightiness besides beryllium a bully investment. If you're much into sofa play, a much precocious controller mightiness beryllium the champion mode for you to walk your money. 

Either way, we urge starting with a gripe and moving backwards.

Do you really question overmuch with the Switch?

This is 1 question members of the Pocket-lint squad person struggled with - and it tin often pb to immoderate less-than-ideal buying decisions. 

Since the country is truthful populated with question accessories, and undocking the instrumentality is 1 of the astir tangible benefits, it tin lure you into reasoning that you'll beryllium whipping your console retired each clip you measurement retired of the house.

This is each good and bully if you bash truthful consistently - possibly connected the commute into enactment - but we'd suggest reasoning cautiously astir precisely what occupation you're trying to hole earlier picking up a question lawsuit for the involvement of it.

Consider however you privation to usage the controller

Due to the Joy-Con's signifier factor, arsenic good arsenic the Switch itself, determination are truthful galore antithetic ways to play. However, this besides means that immoderate games are amended enjoyed docked with a accepted controller, immoderate are amended successful handheld mode with the Joy-Con attached, and others erstwhile they're detached. 

The contented with this is that the console lone comes with Joy-Con, and that means those who don't person a traditional-style controller bash sometimes miss retired connected comfortableness and highest performance. It's wherefore a controller is our apical accessory to consider; it opens up a full caller satellite of ways to play.

More astir this story

Every Switch accessory successful this database has been tested successful real-life situations, conscionable arsenic you would usage them successful your day-to-day life.

For this peculiar guide, we collected the experiences of the wider Pocket-lint squad and tallied which accessories we deemed astir essential. We've been investigating galore of these accessories retired for respective years - and person utilized them connected the Switch OLED and modular Switch consoles. 

Since determination are truthful galore peripherals to prime betwixt - possibly much than with immoderate different console - conscionable however important they are to the wider Switch acquisition was a large origin successful however we decided connected the items successful this list. Build prime and worth for money, arsenic they ever are, were besides main among our concerns.

In our buyer's guides, we're not funny successful fig crunching oregon selling spiel; we conscionable privation to supply an casual to recognize reappraisal that gives you an thought of what it's going to beryllium similar to use. Our verdicts are concise, but this is successful the involvement of brevity - remainder assured each the things connected this database person been afloat tested.

In each our guides, determination are besides plentifulness of models we see that don't marque the cut.

Writing by Conor Allison. Originally published connected 26 November 2018.