It’s always convenient when the many portable devices we use on a daily basis interact with and complement each other. Fitness apps on a smartphone and a smart watch, for instance, are just one very logical and natural pairing. More outlandishly, though, the Nintendo Switch’s small but mighty Joy-Con controller can serve as a controller for something else: your smartphone’s camera.
If you’ve ever tried to use your camera’s timer feature and then rushed into a group shot, only to get questionable results, you’ll appreciate this rather obscure functionality of the Joy-Con. Here’s how it works.
In September 2021, Bluetooth audio was added to the Nintendo Switch for connecting headphones. However, months prior to that, a Reddit user named Byotan showcased the Bluetooth functionality that the system already had. It’s a niche feature but impressive nonetheless.
In Byotan’s demonstration, a single Joy-Con is used (via the “A” button) to activate the shutter of an Android phone’s camera, which is set up on a stand at a short distance. You can easily set this up for yourself too.
Android and Bluetooth Versatility Strikes Again
Here’s how to set up your Joy-Cons for remote photography on an Android device:
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Open your Android smartphone’s Bluetooth settings.
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Press the Sync button on your Joy-Con. It’s the small circular button between the SL and SR buttons. The indicator will quickly cycle through the player positions, indicating that the Joy-Con is searching for a Bluetooth device to pair to.
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On your smartphone, you should see either Joy-Con R or Joy-Con L (depending on whether you’re using the right or left Joy-Con) in the Available Devices list. Tap it, and your Android will start pairing with the Joy-Con automatically. If you’re connecting both Joy-Con, repeat this process for the second one.
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Open your smartphone’s camera app.
With the connection set up like this, pressing up on the D-Pad (left Joy-Con) or the A or B buttons (right Joy-Con) will take a photo on a Samsung Galaxy smartphone, while pressing down on the D-Pad (left Joy-Con) or the X button (right Joy-Con) will close the camera app.
The specific functionality may vary depending on your device (for example, pressing A on the right Joy-Con will take a photo on a Pixel device), and the easiest way to utilize it is to configure the photo settings to your preferences using the app as usual first, and then experiment with the Joy-Con buttons afterwards. With their movement-tracking capabilities, the Joy-Cons are very capable little controllers.