Human Things – the company responsible for the Genki Covert – is unveiling its new mini Switch dock alternative. Much like its larger, slightly more powerful, and more expensive predecessor, the Genki Covert Dock Mini delivers a compact solution to “docking” your Switch and enabling its HDMI output to the big screen without having to lug around the larger, included first-party variant. While there have been some horror stories of products like this bricking Switch consoles in the past, Human Things has proven itself in this space with the original version and is now ready to unleash its miniature variant with the Genki Covert Dock Mini. Head below for more details.
New mini Switch dock alternative from Human Things
The Switch has some hidden tech, so to speak, that essentially requires the included dock to enable its USB-C jack to successfully route the console’s video output to the HDMI port and subsequently to your big screen. While we have seen some working alternatives in the marketplace, not many have been as reliable or as popular as the original Human Things Genki Covert Dock at replacing that functionality for the hybrid Nintendo console.
The orignal will run you $75 on Amazon with a 30W USB-C and a USB-A port to join the headlining HDMI jack. While the new Genki Covert Dock Mini drops the USB-A port entirely and only delivers 20W of power over the USB-C jack, it also comes in at $50, with what is presumably a similar treatment on the HDMI side of things in terms of successfully offering a video output solution for a Switch connected to a big screen.
The new Genki Covert Dock Mini can also support 4K video at 30FPS. While that’s not going to be much use for the current-generation Switch consoles, it means it might come in handy for other gaming and video applications like, say, the Valve Steam Deck or laptop rigs that need a little bit of extra help in this department.
The only real drawback (for some) here is that the new mini Switch dock alternative is only available right now as part of a recent Human Things crowdsourcing campaign. The usual purchase at your risk applies, much like it does with just about any crowdfunding campaign, but the previous model certainly made its way to market if that helps the cause at all. The Genki Covert Dock Mini is currently available pre-order there with a $50 donation.
9to5Toys’ Take:
The new mini Switch dock alternative is really only useful for Switch owners that need big-screen functionality on-the-go when lugging around the included dock is a little bit inconvenient. But with the pedigree the company created with the original in terms of being quite trustworthy, it is one of the only particularly reliable options in the game right now. The new model is certainly less versatile overall by comparison to the tried, tested, and true original – there is no USB port for charging controllers and other peripherals for example – but it is and presumably will be available at a more affordable price tag as well.
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