This 8BitDo cellphone controller is my most enjoyable journey gadget

You can play loads of video games in your cellphone, outdated and new. I’ve gone by means of Skies of Arcadia on worldwide flights because of near-perfect emulation of the GameCube period. And one of the best ways to do it, in case you ask me, is with a clip-on controller to spare you from the touchscreen blues. Thankfully, The Dude abides. This explicit Dude is 8BitDo.

The Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller is just about precisely what it appears like: an Xbox-style controller that matches a cellphone in the course of its sliding cradle. Unlike loads of these devices, it’s full-sized — if I maintain the empty controller in my hand and shut my eyes, I’d have a tough time telling it aside from a primary controller. 

On high of the sliding cradle and Bluetooth connection, this design does somewhat greater than the fundamental Xbox pad. You get Hall impact sensors on each the analog sticks and the first triggers, and an additional set of rear buttons that may be sure to any commonplace management (I like to make use of them for L3 and R3). The solely factor lacking is the vibration/rumble, and contemplating this factor is supposed for journey and lengthy battery life, that’s comprehensible. 

The controller is mainly excellent for my Galaxy Fold, which is about as large as a daily cellphone, however wants additional room on the highest and doesn’t work with a number of the pads that join over USB-C because of its oddly positioned charging port. It’s robotically detected by Android and most video games on the Play Store, and simply configured in emulators like Dolphin. With a couple of hundred hours sunk into it, I’ve no complaints.

8BitDo formally helps Android and Windows by way of Bluetooth within the model I purchased, which is on sale for $42 on the time of writing. There’s a barely newer one which additionally helps the iPhone and Xbox — you’ll be able to inform it aside by the official Xbox emblem within the bottom-right that doubles as an influence button. That one’s $50, which continues to be fairly dang cheap when an official Xbox controller is $70. 

8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller — $42