Nintendo’s own dock is a non-nonsense device that just works. You slide your console in, crack the Joy-Con off, and boom, you’re off to the races. Given the larger size of Switch 2, though, its dock is a substantial slab of black plastic and various third-party firms have stepped in with offerings that are a little more portable.
Antank is one such company, and the S3 MAX TV Dock Station for Nintendo Switch 2 — also known as the SIWIQU Dock Station in some parts — is certainly smaller than the dock that comes with the console. Weighing in at 109 grams (compared to 383 grams), you’ll barely notice you’re carrying it in your satchel, backpack, or anywhere else you care to secrete your hardware.
Antack sent me the standard model for review, although they have another one that includes an Ethernet port for wired internet connection. Otherwise, on the back of the dock, you get the expected ports: two USB-A slots, a USB-C port for the power, an HDMI port going to your TV, and a button to switch between TV-out and the Switch 2’s own display. Beyond the dock itself, in the box you get a little foldout manual with the tiniest text I’ve ever seen, and that’s your lot.
For $35.99 / £28.99, it should come as no surprise that you’re not getting Nintendo-level build quality and materials, and the lightness here doesn’t help sell the S3 as a premium bit of kit, either. But it’s fine; the red and blue end caps match up with the accents around the Joy-Con, and sitting beside your TV, it looks pleasant enough.
You’re also not getting an AC power adapter, the requisite cable, or an HDMI cable, and Antack recommends using Nintendo’s official gear. If you’ve got a Switch 2, you’ll obviously have that already, but if you’re buying this as a cheap dock for a second room, you’ll need to factor into your budget another $34.99 / £24.99 for the power adapter, plus an HDMI 2.1 cable (the ultra high speed variety).
Setup is as simple as you’d expect. Connect the cables, turn your TV on, and boom. It works. In fact, I had to reconnect the console a couple of times — apparently a quirk that’s been ironed out with a firmware update I’ve subsequently run according to the instructions on Antack’s website — but then it just functioned as advertised.
A little blue LED on the front indicates that everything’s powered up. The S3 supports 4K (8K, in fact, according to the blurb, although you won’t get that out of your Switch and I’ve got no way to display 8K content) and up to 120Hz output – although the Switch 2 can only manage 120fps at 1080p, and you’ll need a 120Hz+-capable TV, naturally. Several hours of Donkey Kong Bananza, UFO 50, and Drag x Drive delivered image quality on a 55-inch LG OLED that looked indistinguishable from the official dock to my eyes. HDR fired up just as with the standard offering, and everything just worked.
Back to the unit itself, Antank’s website blurb mentions a “spring-buffered docking port”, although I can’t see any evidence of a spring on my unit. The connection at the bottom is totally rigid and fits the console port snugly once you seat the thing correctly, which can take a couple of tries.
Having the system ‘unsheathed’, you’ll definitely note the heat it’s pumping out in a way you may not when it’s resting in Nintendo’s dock. The S3 effectively blocks the console’s air intakes along the bottom edge, which gave me pause, but temperature-wise, the fact that the system isn’t wrapped in black plastic helps disperse heat from the casing and “provides better cooling than the original charging dock”, according to Antank. I don’t have the equipment to measure that, unfortunately, and I’d question if the cooling is ‘better’ than Nintendo’s dock, but it seemed roughly the same to me from a volume and temperature perspective.
Switching to handheld mode by hitting the round button on the rear, I noticed the console’s fan whirring up more in the summer heat. Given the fact that you can charge via the top USB-C port anyway, I’d prefer to have those intakes uncovered in tabletop mode, personally. Yes, a cable sticking out the top isn’t aesthetically pleasing, but I’d rather not tax my still-relatively-new system more than necessary when it’s not outputting to the TV. Perhaps I’m being overly cautious, but honestly, I don’t see much point in the tabletop button when that’s built into the console as-is.
The size reduction is a boon, certainly, but the S3 does come with some minor irritations. Firstly, you’ll need to hold the dock down before pulling to remove the console – there’s no slide-in/slide-out here. The tight fit means that the S3 doesn’t work with third-party cases, either, so you’ll need to remove them beforehand. Also, the dock doesn’t seem to communicate with the TV to wake it from standby, if that’s something you’re used to with the standard dock.
While three rubber ‘feet’ prevent it from slipping, the dock relies on the power and HDMI cables being connected to provide stability and prevent everything toppling backwards at the slightest touch. Obviously, the Switch 2 has its own kickstand, so using the S3 as a makeshift stand doesn’t make sense anyway – just be cautious when you’re setting things up and don’t put your system in the dock until the cables are connected.
And that’s it. It’s definitely more of a travel accessory in my eyes; if I were in the market for a second dock for the home, I’d probably pay the extra for the slide-in/out convenience (and the necessary cables) of the official option. If you’re the kind of person eager to travel as light as possible, or who feels a missed opportunity when playing your Switch 2 in the shadow of a big hotel-room TV, the S3 might be for you, though.
And even factoring in the necessary extras, you’re still a fair way off the $124.99 / £92.99 that Nintendo wants for a second dock with those essentials included. For the budget-conscious gamer, then, or travellers who fancy being able to hook up on the fly, it’s a good option.
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Thanks to Antank for supplying the sample used in this review.
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