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Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2: One-minute review
The Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2 is far from being one of the best Nintendo Switch 2 controllers, but it gets a lot right, and in my testing I found it to be a solid—if unremarkable—stand-in for the official Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller.
After I reviewed the frankly terrible Horipad for Steam, I didn’t have high hopes for the Wireless Horipad Turbo. I’ve been rendered pleasantly surprised, as there is plenty to like about the brand’s latest Nintendo-facing controller. There are a decent number of features for the price, and build quality is generally solid. It’s just a shame that a few limitations and design quirks stop it short of an outright recommendation.
Let’s frontload the review with the good, though. Hori has opted for anti-drift thumbsticks that feel great and ensure longevity. That’s something the Wireless Horipad Turbo has over the Switch 2 Pro Controller, which utilizes traditional analog sticks and is thus more likely to develop stick drift over time.
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Build quality is generally nice, too. While larger than the Pro Controller (and thus better suited to big adult hands), it feels solid enough, and a selection of colorways is always really nice to see.
I’m a fan of the feature set, too, with the Wireless Horipad Turbo offering a robust Turbo button option, as well as two remappable rear buttons and a button lock switch that disables utility buttons like Start, Select, Home, and Capture (for taking screenshots). There’s even a GameChat button for quick access to social gaming sessions.
It’s a shame, then, that the Wireless Horipad Turbo doesn’t quite stick the landing in a few key areas. Battery life is paltry, falling well short of the Switch 2 Pro Controller’s 40- to 50-hour gold standard. The d-pad and triggers, specifically, aren’t the best—feeling incredibly mushy during play, which really isn’t something you want for digital triggers in particular.
Lastly, a lack of PC compatibility means this is strictly a Nintendo Switch 2 controller. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if that’s solely what you’re after (and it’s likely a result of this being an officially licensed Nintendo product). But it does make it a less versatile controller than the likes of the 8BitDo Pro 3.
Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2: Price and availability
- Costs $64.99 / £54.99 (around AU$93)
- Available to buy now at Hori’s store page, Amazon, or local retailers
- Cheaper than the Switch 2 Pro Controller, and offers several colorways
The Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2 is available to buy now, and you’ve got options as to where you purchase it from. You can get it directly from Hori, Amazon, or local retailers based on your region, such as Best Buy in the US and Argos in the UK.
It’ll run you $64.99 / £54.99 (around AU$93), which is a good deal cheaper than the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller ($89.99 / £74.99 / AU$119.95). You’ll also find a healthy amount of colorways to choose from. Hori sent me the standard Black and Frost variants for review, but there’s also an Aqua model, as well as special liveries based on Nintendo properties like Kirby and Super Mario.
Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2: Specs
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2 |
|
Price |
$64.99 / £54.99 (around AU$93) |
|
Weight |
8.3oz / 235g |
|
Dimensions |
5.7 x 4.5 x 2.2in / 145 x 114 x 57mm |
|
Compatibility |
Nintendo Switch 2 |
|
Connection type |
Wireless (Bluetooth) |
|
Battery life |
10 hours |
Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2: Design and features
- Eye-catching translucent design
- Handy Turbo and button lock features
- Generally solid build quality
One way for a controller to win me over is if it sports a translucent design. It’s a style I’m happy to see come in vogue again over the last few years, at least when it comes to controllers, and it helps the Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2 really stand out. I’m a huge fan of the crystal-clear Frost colorway, especially.
It doesn’t just win out in the looks department, though. Build quality is really solid here; a huge step up from the listless Horipad for Steam, which I reviewed prior to this. It’s not as premium as the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller, but the Wireless Horipad Turbo feels really solid and secure in the hands, with just the right amount of weight to it.
The titular ‘Turbo’ feature is niche; not everyone will find a use for it, but it’s a nice-to-have for retro games or ones that require frequent, rapid button presses. Holding down the central Hori logo button in tandem with ‘A’ will then let you assign a button for the Turbo input. You can also press the Start and Select buttons to adjust the speed of the Turbo setting by three increments, too.
Another feature I quite like (but again, it is probably quite niche) is the button lock switch. It’s off by default, but one setting completely disables the Hori, Home, and Capture buttons, while another turns those off in addition to Start and Select.
I know I’ve accidentally hit the Home button instead of Start more times than I care to admit on the Pro Controller, so this is a thoughtful addition. The button lock switch doesn’t extend to the pair of remappable buttons on the rear, but you can just leave these unassigned if you prefer.
Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2: Performance
- Performant TMR thumbsticks
- Poor battery life
- Weak-feeling triggers and mushy d-pad
Controllers that make use of TMR (that’s tunneling magnetoresistance) thumbsticks are a dime a dozen in today’s gaming hardware marketplace. It’s more common to find them than not now, but this is the first time I’ve tested a Hori controller with TMR. And I’m glad the brand has opted for them with the Wireless Horipad Turbo. They feel fantastically smooth during play, and as it’s a form of Hall effect technology, it should ensure the pad’s longevity for years to come.
Otherwise, this is a fairly unremarkable but inoffensive controller purely from a play standpoint. It lacks things like HD Rumble, an NFC touchpoint for amiibo scanning, and ‘press to wake’ functionality for the console itself. However, as these are niceties reserved for Nintendo’s own hardware, it’s hard to leverage this as a complaint at Hori. The lack of a 3.5mm port for wired headphones does irk me, though, because wireless audio via Bluetooth on Switch 2 is shoddy at best.
I’m also not a big fan of the controller’s d-pad. It feels rather mushy to press, which at worst can often lead to inputs very occasionally not registering. Much the same is true of the triggers, which are supposed to be digital, but kind of feel like they’re made of sponge.
Thankfully, connectivity isn’t an issue. The controller paired immediately to my Switch 2 console, and I never experienced dropouts or noticeable input delay. And that’s for the best, as this is a wireless-first controller.
You can still plug in the controller via the included USB-C for charging purposes and carry on playing. And you might be doing that frequently, as the Wireless Horipad Turbo tops out at just 10 hours of charge. That’s not much better than PlayStation’s DualSense Wireless Controller, and falls well short of the Switch 2 Pro Controller’s monster 40-hour battery life.
Lastly, it is unfortunate that the Wireless Horipad Turbo can’t be used for PC gaming. The Switch 2 Pro Controller can’t either, so I suspect this is a Nintendo-issued requirement, as the Turbo bears the company’s seal of approval. It just means that it’s not as versatile as third-party pads from the likes of 8BitDo and GameSir.
Should I buy the Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2?
Buy it if…
Don’t buy it if…
Also consider…
If the Wireless Horipad Turbo has a few too many issues for your liking, consider the following alternatives.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 |
Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2 |
Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller |
8BitDo Pro 3 |
|
Price |
$64.99 / £54.99 (around AU$93) |
$89.99 / £74.99 / AU$119.95 |
$59.99 / £40 (around AU$84) |
|
Weight |
8.3oz / 235g |
8.3oz / 235g |
8.5oz / 242g |
|
Dimensions |
5.7 x 4.5 x 2.2in / 145 x 114 x 57mm |
5.8 x 4.1 x 2.4in / 148 x 105 x 60mm |
6.1 x 3.9 x 2.6in / 154 x 101 x 65mm |
|
Compatibility |
Switch 2, Switch |
Switch 2 |
Switch, Switch 2, PC, iOS, Android |
|
Connection type |
Wireless (Bluetooth) |
Wireless (Bluetooth), Wired (USB Type-C) |
Wireless (2.4GHz, Bluetooth), Wired (USB-C) |
|
Battery life |
10 hours |
Around 40 hours |
15-20 hours |
How I tested the Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2
- Tested for one week
- Tested on Nintendo Switch 2 with a variety of modern and retro titles
- Used features like the Turbo functionality and button lock switch
For this review, I tested the Wireless Horipad Turbo for Nintendo Switch 2 on the console of the same name for about a week. I played a good mix of modern and old-school titles with the controller, including Star Fox, Street Fighter 6, Rhythm Heaven Groove, as well as Ridge Racer 64 and Super Mario 64 via Nintendo Switch Online’s N64 library.
During testing, I made use of the Turbo functionality to enable easier, rapid button presses in classic titles like Metal Slug 3. Meanwhile, I went back and forth with the button lock switch, and I can confidently say it stopped me from accidentally backing out to the Home dashboard on a few occasions. I’d love to see this feature make a comeback for future Hori products.
First reviewed July 2026
