Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip Review

Overview

Nintendo ships every Switch 2 with a pair of Joy-Con 2 controllers and no grip to put them in — a deliberate change from the original Switch era, and a $39.99 decision for anyone who liked playing that way. The Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip is the official answer: slide the two Joy-Con 2 in, and they become a classic-style gamepad that charges over USB-C while you play, with the console recognizing it as a single controller.

It is a better accessory than its predecessor in one important way: the grips built into the Joy-Con 2 themselves are gone, which made long handheld sessions a cramp risk. The charging grip restores a fuller, controller-like shape for tabletop and docked play, and does it with the fit and finish expected of a first-party part.

The catch is the price. At $39.99, this is one of the more expensive plastic accessories Nintendo sells, and third-party makers have spent the console's first year undercutting it aggressively — $20–22 magnetic grips that snap the controllers in, charge over USB-C, and in several cases add a built-in battery pack the official grip doesn't have. The official grip's 4.8-star average across roughly 750 Amazon ratings says the people who bought it are happy. Whether the next buyer should join them is the real question.

Design and Build Quality

The grip follows the same industrial design language as the Switch 2 itself: matte black plastic, a center spine that bridges the two Joy-Con 2, and rails that accept them with the exact, satisfying precision of first-party hardware. Between the two controllers sits a small bridge housing two extra rear-facing buttons — GL and GR — mirroring the rear buttons on the Switch 2 Pro Controller. A USB-C port on the top edge handles charging; a cable is included in the box.

The GL/GR buttons are the genuinely interesting design decision. They can be remapped on a per-game basis through the console's controller settings, giving grip users the same extra inputs — mapped to jump, dash, heal, whatever a game demands — that Pro Controller owners get on the back of their pad. For competitive Fortnite or Splatoon Raid players, that has traditionally meant buying the $85 Pro Controller. The charging grip brings that feature to the Joy-Con 2 for less than half the price.

In the hand, it is comfortable for a mid-size gamepad: wider and more contoured than bare Joy-Con 2, though not as substantial as the Pro Controller. The plastic does not feel hollow, and the seam tolerances are tight in the way Nintendo's in-house accessories reliably are. Third-party grips vary from nearly-as-good to visibly flexible; the official one never does.

Performance

Functionally, the grip does three things and does them all without fuss. As a controller shell, the paired Joy-Con 2 register as one gamepad with no perceptible input lag over the rail connection — functionally identical to the console's own Joy-Con 2 grip feel. As a charger, it feeds both controllers over USB-C, top-light indicators showing charge state at a glance. As a button expander, GL/GR remapping works through the standard system settings, and games treat the remapped inputs exactly as expected.

Owner sentiment is strongly positive. Across roughly 750 Amazon ratings the grip averages 4.8 stars, with functionality and build quality the most-praised attributes in the review summary, and buyers repeatedly describing it as a natural fit for family multiplayer — a second or third controller for a fraction of a Pro Controller's cost. The negative sliver of feedback clusters on two themes: the price, and the absence of any built-in battery, with a handful of owners noting the grip only charges, never extends, play time. Both are fair. The charging circuitry tops up the Joy-Con 2's own cells; there is no supplemental pack inside the grip to lengthen sessions away from an outlet.

It is also worth being clear about what this grip cannot do: it does not enable mouse mode (that requires the Joy-Con 2 themselves, on a surface), and it does not work as a standalone controller — the Joy-Con 2 are the electronics; the grip is the chassis and charger.

Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Converts Joy-Con 2 into a comfortable, classic-style controller for tabletop and docked play
• Remappable GL/GR rear buttons — a genuine Pro Controller feature at less than half the price
• USB-C passthrough charging with indicator lights; cable included
• First-party fit, finish, and rail precision; recognized instantly by the console
• Strong owner satisfaction (4.8 stars across ~750 ratings)

Cons:

• $39.99 for a plastic shell with a charging circuit — the classic Nintendo accessory premium
• No built-in battery pack to extend play time, unlike several cheaper third-party grips
• GL/GR buttons are small and flat; players with larger hands may not love their placement
• Handheld mode is unaffected — this is strictly for detached-controller play

Who Should Buy This

This is the right purchase for a specific household: one where the Switch 2 gets played docked or in tabletop mode with Joy-Con 2 as the second or third controller, and where GL/GR rear buttons sound useful rather than gimmicky. Families adding multiplayer pads will find it the cheapest official path to a full-featured controller, and the charging function means the Joy-Con 2 are always ready when the next session starts.

Skip it if budget is the primary concern and official-ness is not: the third-party grip market has matured fast, and $20 buys a magnetic grip that charges over USB-C — several of which add a battery pack the official version lacks. Skip it too if play is mostly in handheld mode, where the grip is irrelevant.

Alternatives to Consider

• JSAUX Magnetic Charging Grip (~$22) — snap-on magnetic design, USB-C charging, LED status lights; 4.6 stars across nearly 1,000 ratings
• BGGUANG grips with battery pack (2-pack, ~$26) — adds 1,000 mAh per grip, extending handheld sessions rather than just topping up
• Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller ($84.99) — if the goal is a full-size controller rather than a Joy-Con 2 conversion, with the same GL/GR rear buttons and a proper D-pad

Verdict

The Joy-Con 2 Charging Grip is easy to recommend and hard to get excited about. It does everything it promises with first-party polish, its GL/GR buttons quietly make it the value pick for competitive play, and owners are clearly happy with it. But $39.99 buys a lot of grip in 2026, and rivals now offer charging plus battery extension for twenty dollars. 8/10 — Good. Buy it if first-party fit and the official ecosystem matter; buy the alternatives if they don't.