Extend Your Joy-Con Battery Life! Should You Buy the KMD Charge & Play Charging Grip for the Switch

In this video, we unbox and test out the KMD Charge & Play Grip for the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons.

One of the best features about the Switch is the capability to play handheld or on a TV right from the box. You can play on your TV with the included Joy-Con grip, however, the battery life will be reduced as you play and you'll need to recharge them occasionally. But what if you could keep your Joy-Cons charged as you play? That's what the KMD Charge & Play Grip promises to do, provide extra playtime for your Joy-Cons.

The KMD Grip comes out of the box with the grip itself and a micro USB charge cable. There isn't a power supply included, however, I was able to charge the grip up with KMD's Multi-USB Charge Hub for the Switch, which I've previously reviewed. Another missing piece is an instruction manual. No big deal normally, but there's a small slide switch next to the Micro USB port that isn't labeled for the On/Off Positions. This is something that really needed to be addressed, either via a manual, a call-out on the box, or both.

There are small windows, for lack of a better term, that indicate the the left and right Joy-Con are powered on in the grip itself. It's basically the same thing as the stock Nintendo Joy-Con Grip. At the bottom of the face of the grip are a few LEDs. One LED indicates that the grip is charging, while another indicates charge status. It didn't seem that the LED powered on when the Joy-Cons or Grip were charging, only when it was fully charged.

The Joy-Cons slid into place rather easily. Honestly, the overall layout and style seemed to pretty closely mimic that of the OEM Joy-Con Grip. There was one minor difference, and that was a series of ribs around the back radius of the grip. These provided a little better grip than the stock unit, but some may find it awkward feeling in the hand as well. Even though there is a battery built into the case, the weight difference was negligible in the hand.

Speaking of the battery, the box indicates that the battery has 1500mAh capacity, almost triple what the stock 525mAh battery in the Joy-Cons have. That's a huge difference as you should be able to play for hours and hours without needing to connect to the system or recharge the Charge and Play Grip.

Why It RoX:
- Nearly triples battery capacity over stock
- Works with aftermarket Joy-Con shells
- Under $20
- Replicates the feel of the stock Joy-Con Grip

What Could Be Improved?
- On/Off positions not labeled on power switch
- More color options
- Charge indicators didn't turn on when plugged in for charging
- Micro USB instead of USB-C

Should You Buy One?
I am, admittedly, not a huge fan of the Switch Joy-Con Grip. Part of the reason why is due to the battery life, or lack thereof, of the Joy-Cons. The KMD Charge & Play Grip addresses this, and then some. The 1500mAh battery nearly triples the on-board capacity, extending your playtime and reducing downtime. I do wish I knew which way the power switch was supposed to be for power, as the LEDs don't indicate one way or another if the Grip is on or off. While these are inconveniences, the Charge and Play Grip does what it promises, extends your playtime while keeping your batteries fully charged. Hopefully KMD can update their website and product pages with some instructions to help explain the switch positioning and other odds and ends, as this would improve the overall experience for me.

The footage used in this review are used under the Fair Use laws, referenced below:

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(Pub. L. 94–553, title I, § 101, Oct. 19, 1976, 90 Stat. 2546; Pub. L. 101–650, title VI, § 607, Dec. 1, 1990, 104 Stat. 5132; Pub. L. 102–492, Oct. 24, 1992, 106 Stat. 3145.)