My Switch 2 thinks the $40 S10 Lite is Nintendo’s $90 console

coronation EasySMX S10 Best Switch 2 Controller Last fall was easy. This $60 wireless gamepad, which is often much less than $50, emulates or improves on many $90 games Switch 2 Pro Best console features. The S10 has a great gaming feel, a TMR joystick that will last longer than Nintendo’s, amiibo support, and comfortable grips, buttons and triggers that provide satisfying clicks. The new S10 Lite trims back some of these features, but it builds on EasySMX’s lead with a big new feature that I expect other companies will copy.

The EasySMX S10 Lite is the first third-party controller to offer native support for the Switch 2. It’s an improvement over all non-Nintendo wireless controllers, which rely on macros to execute system-wide commands, like GameChat, and require a strange but common setup process for first-timers (EasySMX’s S10 included) to be able to wake the Switch 2. The S10 Lite is instead treated as a first-party controller by the console (the system interface even thinks it’s a Switch 2 Pro). It can quickly pair with your console and activate it remotely by tapping the home button, just like an expensive Nintendo console. It is also compatible with the original Switch, Although the EasySMX website says otherwisealthough the native OS-level integration and GameChat button on the S10 Lite do not work on this platform.

This native support also allows you to configure the rear paddles for the S10 Lite GL and GR through the Switch 2 OS by pressing the controller’s home button while in game. It’s the only console not made by Nintendo that can do this. This allows the S10 Lite to take advantage of the fact that the controller can remember custom GL/GR mappings on a per-game basis, which is easier than manually configuring button mapping every time you change games on other external controllers.

Native support is the S10 Lite’s most obvious advantage over the S10 and other consoles. However, it has a few omissions that make choosing between it and the original S10 more difficult than it should be. For example, the S10 Lite lacks amiibo support, and doesn’t sound as high-quality as the S10 (although the Lite still sounds better than what 8BitDo’s Switch 2-compatible controllers offer). Finally, it features Hall effect sticks, not the S10’s more efficient TMR sticks, though the stick technology is superior to the $90 Switch 2 Pro controller.

The $39.99 S10 Lite simplifies connectivity and customization — two pretty big accomplishments — at the expense of some simple features, but they’re nice to have. If easy setup and seamless integration mean more to you than amiibo support and superior rumble effects, the S10 Lite is the better and cheaper option compared to the S10. However, it would be ideal to have one EasySMX controller that’s good at everything – maybe that day will come.

Photography by Cameron Faulkner/The Verge