Your guide to the latest and best power banks for Nintendo Switch in 2018 – our buyer’s guide and chart gives you the heads up on the top Nintendo Switch power banks available.
If you’ve bought a Nintendo Switch, by lunchtime it could be out of power. That doesn’t sound good, right?
According to Nintendo, the Switch’s 4,310mAh battery can handle between 2.5- and six hours of untethered gameplay, but that all depends on the game you play. In our experience with the likes of Zelda and Super Mario Odyssey, we’ve been getting around three hours – and that’s not enough.
So what can we do to extend Nintendo Switch battery life?
There seems to be a bit of confusion as to what power is required for charging the Nintendo Switch, and most of that seems to stem from the fact the supplied charger specifies an output of 5V/1.5A – 15V/2.6A. Portable power banks can usually handle the former, but not the latter.
However, the Nintendo Switch is not going to draw 15V/2.6A at all times. Most likely, this is reserved only for when it is combined with the dock and connected to a television.
We presume that in such a situation you will be using the Nintendo Switch at home and can connect its charger to mains power rather than a power bank. So when not connected to the dock the Switch will draw much less power, and refilling its battery with a power bank won’t be a problem.
If you don’t believe us look at the Nintendo Switch car chargers: some are specified at 5V/1.5A, which almost any power bank can handle these days, and others at a fast-charging 5V/3A. Some of the better power banks can handle this, too.
So what do you look for in a Nintendo Switch power bank?
First, capacity. Most power banks operate at a minimum of around 65 percent efficiency, which means to fully charge the Switch’s 4,310mAh battery you would need to have a power bank at least 6,630mAh in capacity.
The bigger the better, though, and if you aren’t worried about carrying it in a trouser pocket and pulling down your pants then you could get a higher-capacity bank that offers several recharges for many more hours of unplugged fun.
Second, ports. The Nintendo Switch has a USB-C port, but that doesn’t mean that your power bank has to have one.
You can use a USB-A to USB-C cable to connect the Switch to a power bank, but note that in the vast majority of cases the maximum output of a USB-A port on a power bank will be 2.4A.
You are more likely to find 3A output with a USB-C port, and in which case you may find a USB-C to USB-C cable offers a faster way of charging the Switch. Look out particularly for power banks that support USB-C PD (Power Delivery) – tech which allows them to output enough power to keep up with the demands of laptops or the Switch.
There are exceptions to this rule, of course, and the Omnicharge we outline below can offer up to 4.8A from each USB-A output. It does not have a USB-C output, so you’ll need to check which outputs the power bank you select has before you purchase any cables.
And, on that note, not all cables are created equal, and some USB-C cables use the slower USB 2.0 protocol. Look for a USB-C 3.1 cable for the fastest connection.
It may be useful to look for a power bank that can be refilled over USB-C, since this will allow you to use the same cable for both charging your Switch and charging your power bank.
Micro-USB is still largely the standard here, though, and most households will have several Micro-USB cables to hand.
Third, price. You can pay an awful lot of money for a power bank, and most of the time you will be paying over the odds for a fancy design or LCD screen or advanced features such as passthrough charging (which would allow you to charge the Switch and the power bank simultaneously from a single mains outlet).
Nine times out of 10 you can pay an awful lot less for a cheaper device that still meets your needs. All you really need to worry about is the capacity of the power bank and how fast it can charge the Switch, though you might also be interested in how quickly the power bank itself can be charged before you can use it again.
Perhaps we should say eight times out of 10, because there are two exceptions in this round-up. Both the RavPower PowerStation and Omnicharge Omni 13 will cost you around £100/$100, but each includes a DC power outlet that will allow you to plug in the Nintendo Switch adaptor that came in the box. (The RavPower has a UK three-pin plug and the Omnicharge a US two-pin plug.) The Omni 13 also offers up to 4.8A from a single USB-A output, and the Switch will draw only what it requires.
