Genki Covert Dock Mini

Hardware Type: Dock

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Review:

For the longest time, I didn’t want to review the Genki Covert Dock and its successor, the Genki Covert Dock Mini. It’s not that I don’t like these devices, but I honestly didn’t have much to say about them. Because they’re very clear about what they do, and what they aim to do… they do it (without “bricking” your Nintendo Switch). Truth be told, I still don’t have much to say about these alternatives to the official first-party Nintendo Switch Dock. However, I also didn’t want to remain silent about them either, as they are some of the best accessories you can get for your Nintendo Switch.

And just to be clear, by this I mean the original model Nintendo Switch and the Nintendo Switch OLED model – like all docks, this dock will not work with the Nintendo Switch Lite. However, it will work with your Steam Deck, your laptop, or even your Android or iOS device, something Nintendo’s dock won’t do.

Writing my review of the Genki Covert Dock, I kinda’ felt like the situation was a bit unfair to that device, because I was writing that review after the release of the Covert Dock Mini, which I honestly feel is superior to the Covert Dock in almost every way. As with the Covert Dock, the Covert Dock Mini aims to address some common complaints about Nintendo’s official Nintendo Switch dock – it’s too expensive, not very portable, and won’t let you keep your Nintendo Switch in a protective case while you play. However, the second attempt at doing this succeeds far more than the first.

As with the original Covert Dock, the Covert Dock Mini comes in the form of a small adapter that plugs directly into a wall using its built-in foldable two-prong plug (with alternate versions of this device sold for UK and EU plugs). A USB-C cable (included) is then plugged into both the dock and the Nintendo Switch, and an HDMI cable is plugged into both the covert dock and your television. After this, you’re all set to play on your TV.

When it comes to portability, the Covert Dock Mini measures 1.35″x1.66×1.3″, just over half of the size of the original model Covert Dock, and roughly 1/20th the size of Nintendo’s own dock. There is a good chance your phone charger is bigger than this thing. While the need for a few cables to hook everything up isn’t quite as portable-friendly as that tiny size seems at first, it is nevertheless a far superior option for those looking to bring a dock with them on the go. In fact, as of this writing I think it’s fair to say this is the undisputed champion for most portable Nintendo Switch dock.

Also, naturally, since you’re not hooking up your Nintendo Switch within the dock, but instead connecting it via a cable, there’s no need to worry about taking your Nintendo Switch out of your case. However, a bit of a warning on this – I stupidly used the original Covert Dock to play my Nintendo Switch while it was fully-enveloped in a carrying case, and eventually this caused my Nintendo Switch to overheat and shut down. However, I can hardly blame the Covert Dock for this – clearly this was not how the dock was intended to be used. The lesson here is to make sure your Nintendo Switch has decent ventilation, a lesson I am sure applies to the Covert Dock Mini as well.

When it comes to price, the Covert Dock Mini is absolutely better than both its predecessor and Nintendo’s pricey dock, coming in at $50, making it $20-$30 cheaper than those alternatives.

What about downsides? The biggest and most obvious downside is the lack of any extra USB ports to charge controllers or other accessories. However, this hardly seems like a major issue since you can simply use an off-the-shelf USB-C charger to power up those devices separately. This does have another negative side-effect though, and that is that the lack of an additional USB port means that there is no way to plug in a wired network cable for a better online connection. And then of course there’s the personal preference stuff – some people may simply prefer to slide their Switch into Nintendo’s dock, and the way Nintendo’s dock wraps around the handheld does mean it’s better-protected and less likely to be knocked down.

In a perfect world, we would be able to do all of this and more. However, given the tiny size of the Genki Covert Dock Mini, how much it can do well, and how low its price tag, all of these complaints seem petty. The truth is, Genki Covert Dock Mini is an absolutely amazing device for doing what it sets out to do – to provide a quality docking solution for players looking to take a Nintendo Switch dock on the go, at an affordable price. To that end, I feel that Genki succeeded brilliantly with this device.

tl;dr – The Genki Covert Dock Mini is a Nintendo Switch dock that is as small as a phone charger, and that costs much less than Nintendo’s own official dock. It works quite well, although it lacks USB ports for connecting and charging other devices and controllers. However, as a portable docking solution for the Nintendo Switch, this is an absolute rousing success.

Grade: A

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