Swing at a screen: the options, compared

There are a few ways to play a racket sport by actually swinging. They differ in what you hold, what you have to buy and which sports you get. Here they are side by side.

Checked October 2026. Prices are US list prices.

	You swing	The screen	Racket sports	To start
Smashphone	Your iPhone, held like a racket — or an Apple Watch on your wrist	Any web browser on the same Wi-Fi, or the phone itself	Badminton, pickleball, table tennis, tennis	Free download, and free badminton against the computer; the other sports and two-player come with an in-app plan
Nintendo Switch Sports	A Joy-Con controller	A Nintendo Switch, docked to a screen or handheld	Tennis, badminton (and five other sports)	The game, and a Switch or Switch 2 console
Nintendo Switch Sports Resort	A Joy-Con 2 controller	A Nintendo Switch 2, docked or handheld	Tennis, table tennis (and ten other sports); out 22 October 2026	The game, and a Switch 2 console
Nex Playground	Nothing — a camera tracks your whole body	The Nex console, plugged into a screen by HDMI	Tennis	$299 console; the tennis game needs the Play Pass subscription
Poddle	Your phone, in its web browser, held like a paddle	A web browser on a computer	Pickleball	Free
Motion Tennis: Fitness Game	Nothing — the iPhone or iPad camera tracks your racket arm	The iPhone or iPad, or mirrored with AirPlay in the Pro version	Tennis	Free for 5 minutes a day; Pro is a one-time $9.99

If you already carry an iPhone, Smashphone needs nothing else: the phone is the racket and any browser is the court, and it is the only one here with all four of badminton, pickleball, table tennis and tennis.

A Nintendo Switch is the choice if you want a console for many kinds of games. Switch Sports is the only other way here to play badminton by swinging; Switch Sports Resort brings table tennis, on Switch 2 only.

Nex Playground and Motion Tennis read your body through a camera instead of a swing you hold, so there is nothing in your hand. Poddle is free and runs in the browser, for pickleball.

Questions

Is there an app that uses the phone's gyroscope as a racket?

Yes. Smashphone reads an iPhone's gyroscope and accelerometer 100 times a second while you swing it like a racket, and shows the court in any web browser — badminton, pickleball, table tennis and tennis. Poddle does the same for pickleball, in the browser.

Can I play Wii Sports-style games without a console?

Yes — with a phone. Smashphone makes your iPhone the controller: you swing for real and there are no buttons to remember, with no console and no motion remote to buy.