Antank S3 Max TV Dock Station

Hardware Type: Dock

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Review:

(Note: Review product provided by the kind folks at Antank.)

(Note: This product is also sold under the brand name Siwiqu.)

(Note: I have heard that a recent Nintendo Switch 2 update has caused problem with third-party docks. I should note that this review was written before this update was released. I have now tested this with a post-update Nintendo Switch 2, and can confirm that it does still work. In fact, as of this writing, it is the only third-party Nintendo Switch 2 dock I have encountered that does still work.)

When Nintendo announced the Nintendo Switch 2, players eager to play Nintendo’s hardware were both delighted and concerned. One reason for this concern was the price tag that would come attached to Nintendo Switch 2 products, especially the games and accessories. The Nintendo Switch 2 Dock, necessary for the “switching” part of the Nintendo Switch 2, is emblematic of this problem: at $120, it costs over 25% of the price of the console itself (which comes with the dock). What’s more, it’s pretty large, even more than the original Nintendo Switch Dock, making it less than ideal for something to take with you when you want to bring your portable system on the go.

With all of this in mind, it was surely only a matter of time before third-party manufacturers filled the gap left by Nintendo to try and address one or both of the major issues Nintendo’s official dock has. One such manufacturer, Antank, has produced what they claim to be the first third-party Nintendo Switch 2 Dock. Let’s have a look and see how it stacks up to Nintendo’s own dock, shall we?

The first thing you should know about the S3 Max is that it comes bare-bones. There’s no Nintendo Switch 2 AC adapter, no HDMI cable, or any other sorts of cables. It’s just the dock itself and a small instruction manual. This means that you’ll need to provide your own AC adapter and cables to use it. The good news is, if you got a Nintendo Switch 2, you already have all of this – it came in the box with the console. However, if you’re looking at this as a secondary dock, you’ll have to pay extra. Just for Nintendo’s AC Adapter alone, that means adding an extra $35 to the price tag.

I should also mention that there are two versions of the S3 Max – one with a built-in ethernet port, and one without. These docks sell for a standard price of $50 and $60, respectively, though as of this writing they are currently on sale for $34 and $40. If you’re factoring in the cost of the AC Adapter as well, that can still mean prices approaching $100, which is still a bit pricey, but in all cases it’s still quite a bit less expensive than Nintendo’s dock.

For the purposes of this review, I was using the version of the S3 Max without the ethernet port.

On the back of the S3 Max, other than the ethernet port in the more expensive version of the dock, you have pretty much all of the same ports found in Nintendo’s dock. From left to right there’s an HDMI port, a USB-C port to plug the Nintendo Switch 2 AC adapter into, a USB 3.0 port, and a USB 2.0 port (the instruction manual claims they’re both 3.0, but the black color of one of the ports says otherwise). And of course in addition to these, you also have access to the USB-C port at the top of the Nintendo Switch 2, which remains unobstructed when docked in the S3 Max.

While the Max S3 is reasonably less expensive than Nintendo’s dock, I actually think one of this dock’s biggest selling points is its size, as it is far smaller than Nintendo’s dock. If you’re looking at these two and wondering which is going to be more convenient to bring on a trip, I think I can safely say you won’t be wondering for long. All other qualities aside, I would argue this one feature puts Antank’s dock head and shoulders above Nintendo’s.

Sliding the Nintendo Switch 2 into the dock, I found I had to be careful it was properly centered and press down a bit firmly to get it to connect. Once I did, I found it functioned properly, allowing it to charge and play just fine (but more on this in a moment). Once connected, it seemed fairly stable, and would not separate from the dock without me holding down the dock itself. The Joy-Con 2 controllers still separated fine too. I’m a tad disappointed that the tiny LED light in front of the dock only glows blue when powered and doesn’t change color or otherwise indicate when the Nintendo Switch 2 is properly connected, but this is a relatively minor complaint.

On the back of the dock between the HDMI and USB-C ports is a button that allows players to switch between on-TV play and play using the Nintendo Switch 2’s screen, which is convenient and lets this double as a simple charger if you want to play your Nintendo Switch 2 in tabletop mode. I feel like this is a decent tradeoff for the fact that this dock doesn’t encase the screen the way that Nintendo’s dock does, and as such won’t be as protective.

When it comes to the quality of the image, I couldn’t really distinguish the image quality from what I saw in Nintendo’s own dock – the two seem pretty much on par to me. And Antank assures that this dock is fully capable of outputting at a full 4K/120FPS, though currently there aren’t any good games to test this claim (there’s one small part of Nintendo Switch 2 Welcome Tour that supports both 4K resolution and 120FPS framerates, but I don’t think this is a good way to judge that, nor do I have the proper equipment to analyze resolutions and framerates that high).

Antank is also quick to point out that while some have voiced concerns about their dock’s ability to cool the Nintendo Switch 2, the unit’s open-air design is not only as good as Nintendo’s dock’s fans, they argue it’s even better, with temperatures testing even cooler than those that Nintendo’s dock produces. Again, I don’t have the equipment to judge this, nor have I made use of this dock over the extended period of time it would take to see how this dock performs in the long-run. But in my time using the Max S3, my Nintendo Switch 2 did not seem to get particularly hot at all, so I’m not terribly concerned about overheating.

Finally, the Max S3 purports to feature Supports up to 100W PD fast charging to power the Nintendo Switch 2 quickly even while it is in use. While I’m not able to properly chart this, I will say this fits my experience with the dock, which charged my Nintendo Switch 2 just fine as I used it for play.

Finally, I want to note that the Max S3 is only for use with the Nintendo Switch 2 – out of curiosity I tried both my Nintendo Switch OLED model and my Android phone to see if either would work with the dock, and neither could physically fit (and Antank specifically states on their website that this dock is only for use with Nintendo Switch 2 anyway).

All of this is to say that in pretty much every area, I found the Antank S3 Max TV Dock Station to be superior to Nintendo’s own dock for the Nintendo Switch 2. It’s less expensive, smaller and more portable, more versatile with its ability to change back and forth between TV play and tabletop mode at the press of a button, and it doesn’t seem to be lacking anything Nintendo’s dock has, apart from the encompassing design that protects the screen and the lack of an AC adapter included with the dock. It also doesn’t have any extra bells and whistles you might look for in a dock, such as compatibility with other platforms.

However, as a replacement for Nintendo’s dock, or a secondary dock that works well for travel, any complaints I have about the Antank S3 Max TV Dock Station are minimal – this is a fine choice for Nintendo Switch 2 owners looking for third-party dock alternatives for Nintendo Switch 2.

tl;dr – The Antank S3 Max TV Dock Station is a Dock for Nintendo Switch 2 that’s better than Nintendo’s own dock in just about every way, it’s less expensive, smaller and more portable, and does everything Nintendo’s dock does and just as well (if not better). It doesn’t have any fancy features and it doesn’t come with the necessary AC adapter and HDMI cable, but otherwise this is an excellent dock that’s well worth getting if you’re looking for a replacement for Nintendo’s own dock, or a second dock (particularly for travel).

Grade: B+

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