Charge Your Joy-Con Controllers Without Even Knowing It!

August 26, 2020 Off By Naveen Victor

Have you had to pause a gaming session because your controller ran out of power? It’s one of the most annoying part of owning a wireless controller. Many of us delay the charging process to avoid the tedium of having to fiddle about with charging cables. Well, if you’re a Nintendo Switch gamer, there’s a solution for your charging woes.

A company called Powercast has developed a wireless charging grip for the Nintendo Switch’s Joy-Con Controllers. The device has a built-in battery that keeps the controllers’ batteries topped up for about 26 hours of gameplay. But when its own battery is low on power, the device is able to charge wirelessly and over-the-air.

It utilizes RF (radio frequency) energy to recharge its batteries when placed in close proximity to its PowerSpot transmitter. This negates the need to place the Joy-Con controllers on their docks or connect them to something. Once you’re done with a gaming session, just place the controller near the charging transmitter, and it will do the rest.

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The grip’s LEDs flash to indicate one of several states:

  • Green LED double blinks: Grip is fully charged
  • Red LED double blinks:Grip is low on power and needs to be charged
  • Green LED Blinking: Fast charging enabled
  • Yellow LED Blinking: Moderate charging rate
  • RED LED Blinking: Controller needs to be plced closer to the transmitter for a faster charging rate.

When the grip is low on power, it is able to communicate with its PowerSpot transmitter through Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE), to enable the over-the-air charging process. there’s even an app for the device that provides monitoring of the charging status of the grip and other powerSpot-enabled devices.

Powercast’s new controller grip is a breath of fresh air. Not only does it make the chore of charging your controllers less burdensome, but its ability to charge at any time, and offer gamers a new level of convenience.

That’s not all, in the future the company plans on implementing the following:

  • Consumers to be able to place all their PowerSpot-enabled devices in front of a PowerSpot transmitter to enjoy far-field (up to 80 feet, or 24 meters) over-the-air wireless charging.
  • Thirty or more enabled devices in the charging zone will automatically connect and receive power, sharing the transmitter’s three-watt (EIRP) output emitted in the 915 MHZ band.
  • A device’s power consumption determines its charging range and rate; power-hungry products charge best at close range, while low-power devices such as sensors can operate at the maximum distance.
  • Each device’s instructions will recommend its charging distance and time.

The Powercast grip and wireless power transmitter are available to purchase on Amazon for $149.99. But there is limited stock left, so if you’re interested, it would best that you decide quickly.