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Best Mobile Game Controller 2024: Game on the go with these accessories
In This Article
If you want to improve your mobile gaming experience with a new smartphone controller, but you aren’t sure which to buy, we at Trusted Reviews are here to help.
While gaming on a smartphone once meant you were playing Candy Crush or Cut the Rope, modern smartphones – andgaming phones, in particular – are much more capable, and that means games are bigger and better than ever. That comes in various forms, from hit free-to-play titles like Genshin Impact to premium console-level game ports like Call of Duty Mobile, PUBG and Fortnite.
The problem with modern gaming, then, isn’t the availability of games but how you actually play them. Tapping away on a touchscreen doesn’t exactly give you the same experience as wielding a controller, does it? That’s where mobile controllers come in. These accessories slot onto your phone and provide something close to a regular game controller experience.
Of course, not all controllers are built equally, and for every stellar controller on the market, there are more than a few flops. That’s where we at Trusted Reviews come in; we’ve tested a wide range of mobile controllers, using them as our main gameplay accessory for at least a week, and selected the very best for your perusal.
If you’re more of a traditional big-screen gamer, check out our selection of thebest game controllersto boost your PC or console gameplay experience.
Best mobile controllers at a glance
How we test
Every mobile controller we test is used by the reviewer as their main gamepad for at least a week. During that time, we’ll test it on a variety of mobile games, from FPS shooters to racing games.We’ll test both wired and wireless connectivity where available to ensure there’s no latency or issues that may impede your gaming experience. In instances where the controller needs power for use, we’ll also check the pad’s battery life, measuring how much playtime it offers before needing to be charged.Where applicable, we’ll also test how customisable they are and delve into the companion apps to see what they offer.
Backbone One (2023)
Pros
Cons
If you’re in the market for a mobile controller that does it all, theBackbone One (2023)should be at the top of your list. It not only looks and feels great, but it offers wide compatibility with both USB-C and Lightning variants, and its companion app is one of the better options around right now.
While the Backbone One might not look all that different from the swathe of clamp-style mobile controllers on the market, small tweaks to its already premium design make it all the more accommodating. These include new swappable magnetic adapters that allow support for phones of all shapes and sizes, along with returning favourites like a 3.5mm headphone jack for wired audio and a USB-C port for passthrough charging.
The Backbone One offers your usual slate of console-esque controls including analogue sticks, a D-pad, buttons and rear triggers, with the company offering both PlayStation and Xbox-specific branding for compatibility with their respective cloud game streaming apps. The quality and build are top-notch, with a tight tolerance on both the buttons and triggers that make them feel ultra-responsive in titles like Resident Evil Village.
The accompanying Backbone app is also polished to a high level, providing shortcuts to installed games on your phone as well as links to cloud gaming services in a PlayStation-esque UI. And for games that don’t offer controller support, Backbone’s clever TouchSync software automatically maps controls.
It might be pricey, but it offers a top-notch gaming experience.
Reviewer:Jon MundyReview:Backbone One (2023) review
GameSir G8 Galileo
Pros
Cons
When it comes to mobile gaming hardware, it’s hard to fault theGameSir G8 Galileo. It’s one of the more premium options from the accessory maker, but it’s well worth the cost.
It sports the same clamp-style design as most other mobile controllers, but the expanding mechanism offers less of a fight to get the phone into place. It features a wide and smooth-sliding bridge, the open rubberised grip system means you don’t need any fiddly adapters to make phones fit into place, and the experience is further improved by a hinged USB-C connector.
The controller is big and heavy at 253g, but that’s because the G8 Galileo adopts a full-size controller shape – like an Xbox controller that has been split in two. It includes the regular combination of buttons and analogue sticks, and you can swap the sticks for Hall Effect alternatives that come in the box to further tailor the experience. There are two remappable controls on the rear too.
With hardware like that, the G8 Galileo was in the running for our ‘best overall’ award – but the GameSir companion app puts a dampener on things compared to the likes of theBackbone OneandRazer Kishi V2 Pro.
The app not only lacks the general polish of the competition, but it regularly failed to recognise the controller on iOS (though it still worked fine in games) and even though it provides profiles for games that lack controller support like Call of Duty Mobile, these didn’t work in testing.
Reviewer:Jon MundyReview:GameSir G8 Galileo review
Turtle Beach Atom
Pros
Cons
TheTurtle Beach Atomis a rather unique mobile controller as, unlike the majority that are connected by some kind of spring mechanism, the Atom is made of two distinct parts that connect via a proprietary 2.4GHz wireless link. So rather than fiddling with a clamp mechanism, the left and right portions attach snuggly to the sides of your phone using vertical clamps.
The only downside to this approach is how Turtle Beach handles securing phones into place, providing a couple of sizes of sticky pads that stick on each side of controller. It feels comparatively cheap compared to the magnetic alternative fromBackbone, and the spongey texture will likely flatten and become less useful over time.
Fit niggles aside, the Atom’s design allows for it to be impressively portable, with magnets holding the two halves together when not in active use. The use of Bluetooth instead of USB-C also allows for wider compatibility with both Lightning and USB-C devices, though as a result, you’ll have to charge the controller separately to use it.
Importantly, the gaming experience from the full-size controls is solid, if not quite as premium as other options in our chart. The accompanying Turtle Beach Atom app not only provides shortcuts to games, but allows you to customise elements like analogue dead zones and responsiveness to get the best performance possible from the accessory.
Reviewer:Jon MundyReview:Turtle Beach Atom review
Razer Kishi V2 Pro
Pros
Cons
TheRazer Kishi V2 Prostarted life as a dedicated controller for theRazer Edgegaming tablet, but the company has since started offering the controller separately – and with its USP, it’s not hard to see why.
You see, unlike most mobile controllers on the market, the Razer Kishi V2 Pro actually offers haptic feedback in the form of the company’s HyperSense system. It might seem odd, but iOS and Android don’t officially offer haptic feedback for controllers – it’s one of the biggest disparities between mobile gaming and PC/console gaming.
Razer got around this issue by taking audio input as a cue to generate rumbling haptic feedback to explosions, gunshots, and the like. The downside is that the rumble sometimes kicks in at odd times. It’s not explicitly programmed, as would be the case with PC and console gaming, but it does help bridge the gap somewhat.
Elsewhere, the Razer Kishi V2 Pro is a familiar device with the same expanding design as most other options in our chart. It’s complete with the usual smattering of controls and triggers, though there are additional digital buttons on the top edge to help give you an edge in online games. The performance is refreshingly solid, too, with clicky responsive feedback that translates well to games like Dead Cells.
The big issue right now is compatibility; even with a USB-C connection suited to the iPhone 15 range, the controller doesn’t currently work with iOS devices. Razer claims a fix is on the way, but for now, this one is for Android gamers only. It’s also very expensive compared to other options in our chart, so be sure you’ll make the most of the haptics before investing.
Reviewer:Jon MundyReview:Razer Kishi V2 Pro review
GameSir X3
Pros
Cons
TheGameSir X3may not achieve the same lofty heights as the company’s ownGalileo G8, but it does offer something that most competitors don’t: active cooling.
You don’t need us to explain that smartphones can get pretty hot when playing games, especially over longer periods, but you might not know that this can have a negative impact on performance as phones essentially throttle performance to keep things cool. The GameSir X3 helps negate this issue with the use of a Peltier cooling system that draws heat away from your phone’s body using a combination of silicone plates and a big old fan.
This does mean that the USB-C-enabled GameSir X3 is a chunky, hefty controller that, at 292g, is a whopping 40g heavier than the already-cumbersome G8 Galileo. You do get a carry case with the controller, but it doesn’t really make it that much more portable.
The bigger downside is that the controller needs to be plugged into a wall outlet to be powered, which pretty much makes the X3 an at-home device. And that’s a bit of a shame, considering the Nintendo Switch-esque design and digital triggers for fast response times deliver a pretty solid gaming experience, improved by the active cooling of the controller.
Reviewer:Jon MundyReview:GameSir X3 review
GameSir X2s
Pros
Cons
You’ll have already spotted from the contenders on this list that GameSir has given some of the more widely known brands a run for their money, and that continues to be the case when shopping for more budget friendly mobile controllers.
At just £49.99/$46.99, it’d be easy to assume that theGameSir X2swould offer a serviceable, albeit compromised gaming experience in order to meet its budget price but in spite of those assumptions, it actually offers up some premium specs in a few areas – most notably in its joysticks.
The GameSir X2s utilises Hall Effect joysticks which don’t rely on friction in order to register an input, meaning that they won’t develop any issues with joystick drift. This design also makes the joysticks more durable in the longrun, which is great to see.
The shoulder buttons also feel incredibly tactile thanks to their use of microswitches to register trigger-finger inputs. For fast paced games like Dead Cells, these types of buttons can make all the difference.
The GameSir X2s itself features a more playful aesthetic than some of its competitors, making it feel more accessible from the jump. In fact GameSir has supposedly taken some design cues from the Nintendo 2DS of all things for the development of this device.
It’s certainly an impressive package for the price, but the GameSir X2s isn’t completely without fault. One of the biggest omissions is the lack of a 3.5mm headphone jack, which many mobile game controllers tend to have. If you use Bluetooth headphones then this won’t be a dealbreaker, but it’s sure to put off those who prefer using a wired connection for high fidelity audio.
The X2s is also a bit chunkier than other controllers when not in use. There’s a sizeable bit of a space between each end of the controller when it’s retracted, so it won’t fit into a pocket quite in the same way that theTurtle Beach Atomcan.
Reviewer:Josh BrownReview:GameSir X2s review
GameSir G8 Plus
Pros
Cons
While there are plenty of great games to play on mobile, if you have another portable console like theNintendo Switch, it may be a better shout to pick up a controller that works across your main devices. With that in mind, theGameSir G8 Plusis the perfect pick.
Because this controller uses Bluetooth instead of a direct connection via USB-C or Lightning, it is able to pair wirelessly with your smartphone, Nintendo Switch and PC/laptop. That level of versatility is a rare thing to come by, but it means that you can jump from one device to another without ever feeling like you need to downgrade your control set-up in the process.
Just like many of GameSir’s other products, the G8 Plus utilises Hall Effect analogue sticks that prevents them from succumbing to the ‘drift’ problem that plagues other controllers, which in turn makes the accessory a better alternative to the problematic Joy-Cons that come with the Nintendo Switch.
Even though there isn’t a physical connector to keep devices in place, the G8 Plus uses a rubberised grip in its interior, alongside a tight clasp to make sure that everything stays where it needs to be during gaming. Our reviewer never had an issue during testing wherein they felt that a device could have been at risk of falling out of the controller.
Because of the lack of a physical port however, this does mean that the G8 Plus also ships without a 3.5mm headphone jack. While that’s unlikely to be a dealbreaker for most people, it will be an annoyance to anyone who swears by wired headphones for their audio fidelity.
In order to fit larger devices like the Nintendo Switch, the G8 Plus isn’t the most pocketable controller that GameSir has ever made either, although it’s still small enough to be transported in a backpack.
A great controller that goes well beyond the realm of mobile gaming, there’s a lot to like about the GameSir G8 Plus.
Reviewer:Jon MundyReview:GameSir G8 Plus review
FAQs
They should, but we’ve mentioned specific cases above (like the Razer Kishi V2 Pro) where support is not yet available.
It depends on your use case. Wired controllers deliver lower latency and potentially features like passthrough charging and a 3.5mm headphone jack, but you’ll also be tied to whatever connector is used. Wireless Bluetooth controllers, on the other hand, are compatible with a wider range of devices, though they’ll need charging separately.
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Comparison specs
Lewis is the Mobile Editor of Trusted Reviews with plenty of phone experience, from the Nokia 3210 to the iPhone 14 Pro Max. He has been in the tech industry writing about phones, headphones, tablets,…
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Why trust our journalism?
Founded in 2003, Trusted Reviews exists to give our readers thorough, unbiased and independent advice on what to buy.
Today, we have millions of users a month from around the world, and assess more than 1,000 products a year.
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
