Genki Covert is a $75 ultra-portable dock for Nintendo Switch
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Clockwise from the top: a Nintendo Switch resting in an official Nintendo dock, a Switch Joy-Con, and the Genki Covert third-party dock. [credit: Jim Salter ]
Today we're taking a look at the just-released Genki Covert Dock, a $75 third-party dock for the Nintendo Switch console. It's the size and shape of a compact USB charger, with folding 120VAC prongs for US electrical power (slide-on adapters for other countries are included in the box). We know everybody's worried about third-party docks right now—but Genki's lead engineer is the one who first discovered why Switch consoles tended to brick in third-party docks. So the Covert feels like a safe bet.
Although Covert Dock does come with a manual, you aren't going to need it—usage is very simple. You plug the Covert Dock directly into the wall, just as you would any compact phone charger. Plug an HDMI cable from the Covert Dock into your display, and plug the included USB-C 3.1 charge cable from your Switch to the Covert. Voila—a few seconds later, your Switch's video and audio are routed over HDMI to your display, and it's charging.
Simple device, real engineering
It's effectively impossible to buy a Nintendo Switch right now—I know, I keep looking. When I bought our family's Switch, I really just wanted to play Untitled Goose Game—at which the kids and I spent eons laughing, bonding, and discussing why we really shouldn't carry pranks learned from Goose Game over into real life. But these days, for my family as for many others, the Switch has effectively become a dedicated Animal Crossing: New Horizons console, and it has become worth its weight in gold.