The ULTIMATE Nintendo Switch And Switch OLED Dock from Unitek
68Out of the box, it includes the dock itself, a USB-A to USB-C cable (which is vitally important and we will cover more on in a bit), and a puck-shaped remote control. Instead of an instruction manual, a card is included with a QR code for you to scan for the instruction manual. Unfortunately, this doesn't take you to the manual, it takes you to the product page, something I wish they would tweak and take you right to the manual. If I already have the product do I really need the product page versus the document I'm actually looking for?
The materials feel of good quality, and there are several LED lights around the doctor to indicate what's going on. It seems they've branded this with X's and O's, with a white LED backlit x and o on the face of the dock itself, and a two-tone colored x and o on the top of the unit. A button is located on the back left of the dock as you are looking at the front of it, with multicolored LEDs behind it. Press this button to manually change what cartridge you are accessing, and the LED also changes colors to let you know which cartridge you are on.
The Unitek Switch dock includes three USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and an ethernet connection so you can hardwire the dock to your router. on both sides of the unit, there is a female USB-C port. One with a battery icon, the other one that says PD 3.0. You will need to utilize both of these. Plug in your power supply, I highly recommend sticking with the OEM Nintendo power supply, into the PD 3.0 port. From here, connect the USB-C from the included pigtail into the battery side and plug the USB-A into one of the ports on the back of the dock. You must connect things like this to provide both power and enable docked mode for your Switch. If you do not, the Switcher will work but it will not connect to the TV or if you connect power to the opposite side you can connect to the TV but the Switcher will not work.
Upon connecting to my capture card, I will be honest I did not notice any difference in the video quality compared to my OEM Nintendo Switch dock, and I am talking the original Nintendo Switch dock. That's a good thing as you would hope that there would be little if any difference between the two. Games looked good, they played crisply, and I did not feel any additional lag or delay.
I started my gameplay test with Kaze and the Wild Masks, a game that Jay over at @YTSquarePegs recommended. When I was done I was able to simply hit the button in the center of the remote to go to New Super Mario Bros deluxe, and I had the exact same experience. It just worked. I toggled through and played some Crash Bandicoot, finally ending up with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Cowabunga Collection, and everything worked great.
My final test was Street Fighter. I was easily able to pull off the spinning side kick & hadouken, but at least in my very first play that I captured I did not pull off the dragon uppercut. Part of it was DeeJay was just kicking my rear end and I was playing more defense than offense. I played more later and was able to pull off all the moves without a problem.
Why it RoX:
- Amazing combination of features
- Very slim and portable
- Features three USB ports and a networking connection
- Allows you to store up to five Nintendo Switch games
- Remote control works wonderfully
- HDMI 2.0 video output standard
- Eliminates concerns for scratching of your Switch display when inserting or removing into a dock
What could be improved:
- The instructions do not indicate that you need to plug in the USB-A to USB-C cable
- The LED for the cartridge selector is completely blocked by the system
- Having the front LEDs change colors instead would be more beneficial
- More cartridge slots would be awesome
- More color options would be great
- Leaves the display exposed to collect dust.
Should you buy one?
First and foremost I know there's going to be someone in the comments that's going to say never use a third party dock because it's going to break your Switch. Listen, that's referencing something that occurred almost 7 years ago at this point, and the issue was drilled down, for the most part, to AC power supplies that were out of spec. I spent a lot of time talking with electrical engineers who build these things for a living and multiple engineers said the same thing. If you use the OEM Nintendo Switch AC adapter and you should be fine in most cases. That being said...
This thing is flipping awesome! It condenses everything down into a much smaller package than having the clip-on cartridge adapter and a separate Nintendo Switch dock. Overall functionality is absolutely wonderful, and the things I would like to improve are minor. If you are in the market for an extra or portable Switch dock, this needs to be at the very top of your list. Kudos to Unitek for making an absolutely wonderful piece of tech that will have a permanent home under my TV.