PowerA’s Nano Enhanced review: a Switch Pro for smaller hands – The Verge

Nintendo’s Swap Skilled controller is wonderful, nonetheless it completely’s also form of gigantic. Whenever you fight to win a just valid grip on it or whenever you just need a smaller controller to tuck into your win, PowerA’s unique Nano Enhanced wireless controller for the Swap (also smartly suited with Windows 10) is an efficient resolution. It’s a extra compact version that shaves a pair of third off the dimensions of Nintendo’s legitimate controller. Most of its assemble and sides are devoted, along side USB-C charging, dash controls, and LED lights on its bottom to say connectivity station. On the map back, it lacks rumble beef up and NFC for Amiibo.

The Nano is $49.99, which is greatly lower than the $69 Swap Skilled, and it’s miles available in two colorways: sad with grey info across the sticks and triggers or grey with neon blue and crimson info sprinkled in.

Even supposing the controller is shrunken, the analog sticks, face buttons, and triggers are abundant and simple to search out. Rather than for the directional pad, each and every of those parts fits the responsiveness of Nintendo’s occupy controller. That’s no longer to bellow the D-pad isn’t serviceable, nonetheless it completely requires a extra concerted effort to press each and every course, almost as if the membrane isn’t properly aligned underneath the plastic. Small childhood would perchance moreover fight to with out complications press it, and I’d rule out this model whenever you primarily play classic games that count on the D-pad.

This exiguous controller has two mappable buttons on its rear that you simply received’t safe on the Swap Skilled, and they permit you to remap, bellow, a trigger and a face button to the rear, which will likely be extra convenient for you whenever you play games that require retaining down a button to flee or one thing else equally leisurely. It’s form of luxuriate in having a extra restricted version of Sony’s Aid Button attachment on a Swap controller. This just doesn’t surely cease powerful for me, as I’ve accurate gotten acquainted with utilizing the no longer unusual face buttons, nonetheless it completely adds ease of use and a few further impress.

Controls aside, you’ll safe a USB-C charging port on the Nano’s top, and PowerA claims that it ought to final 20 hours between each and every impress. Many third-birthday celebration Swap controllers use replaceable batteries, so it’s large that this one’s in-constructed and rechargeable. It also lasts for a pair of weeks at a time whenever you just play for a transient while day after day. There’s an LED discontinuance to the port that indicates when the battery level is seriously low. Within the field, PowerA involves a 10-foot USB-C to USB-A cable along with a drawstring pouch for the controller.

By approach of reliability, it’s up there with the Swap Skilled, which is to bellow it’s elegant. I stumbled on it accurate as straightforward to join to the Swap, requiring accurate a press of the pairing button discontinuance to the USB-C port for it to be connected. (The approach for pairing it to a Windows 10 PC with Bluetooth is the same.) It never dropped signal with the console, and PowerA’s 20-hour battery existence claim holds up properly. The Nano’s assemble quality is large. It has a rugged, matte-textured surely feel across the controller’s physique that surely works for a smaller controller. I haven’t any issue finding a chuffed grip with the no longer unusual Swap Skilled, though I stumbled on myself gravitating toward this one half of the time when I accurate wished one thing somewhat extra low-profile to lift.

The PowerA Nano is an efficient complement for the Swap Skilled. Reckoning on your hand size, it would perchance with out complications be your major Swap controller. Though, for me, I’m less enthused to win it my major because it lacks the HD rumble solutions. Aloof, I’m in a position to believe bringing this with me on the plug or conserving it handy for both my associate or me to use at some level of a multiplayer game so that neither of us is caught with the maligned (as a minimal in my house) Joy-Con grip. As prolonged as you most almost definitely can moreover look past the omission of rumble, this shrunken controller is a solid addition to your Swap setup.