Button-based mobile game controllers are monstrosities you can buy now

Ask almost anyone you know and they will probably agree: all good controllers have at least one button. Who would not agree with that? None that you have to trust – plus the various manufacturers, including well-known brands like Anker and HyperX, who started making controllers for your phone that have no buttons at all.

These early new gadgets will not make controlling games via on-screen controls easier, although they are not completely meaningless for people who play PUBG and some other mobile hits that do not have official controller support.

Anker’s PowerCore Play 6K controller is essentially a $ 36 6,700mAh power bank shaped like a grip of a controller. See everything you want and you will not find a single button. But Anker, after he started making affordable power benches, lies on the battery side of things, so you do not have to worry about running low while playing.

That 6,700 mAh extra charge should give your phone two to three charging values, and it supports up to 15W output to Android phones via its USB-C port and up to 12W to iPhones as any other device you want to charge with its USB A-port. With regard to playing games your phone can run hot, it has a built-in fan to pull the heat away. That’s clean, but I think I like buttons.

HyperX

HyperX’s ChargePlay Clutch is another controller-shaped device that only works to keep your phone up to date and more comfortable to play with. Unlike Anchor, this one supports single Qi wireless charging in addition to cable amount.

Plus, the 3,000mAh battery on the ChargePlay Clutch is magnetically attached and removable, which is a nice touch, since I can not imagine too many people wanting to carry a boomerang-shaped battery when they are not playing. This one is $ 59.99, and that’s a lot for a controller without buttons. But if you appreciate the removable battery instead of the Anker’s built-in fan, it might be worth checking out.

As I mentioned earlier, these grips have several designs that prioritize more than just battery life, especially for those who especially play games that do not have solid native controller support. If you want to see some of the other monstrosities on Amazon, just search for “radiator gamepads” and get ready for some great art versions like the one below that shows your phone.

Sure, some of these brand options I’ve never heard of actually go a step further than Anker’s grip as HyperX by bundling in a powerbank, a cooling fan, and triggers on each side that appear on your screen of your phone for you to press just by clicking in it. (Buttons, what a concept!) As fundamentally limited as some of these faux controllers are with a few, if any, buttons, there is currently no other controller on the market that can match the intensity of this model that realistic pistol has grips and triggers.

These grips look like they were made for another time. This kind of thing would have been a pleasure 10 years ago when phones started to balloon in popularity and console-like games first started legitimizing Android and iOS as gaming platforms.

They now make less sense, now that Google Stadiums and Microsoft’s xCloud are committed to bringing true console-quality experiences with complex button schemes to phones that work with controllers such as the Xbox One and DualShock 4 via Bluetooth. Plus, PowerA’s XPA-X gamepads attach to your device with a sturdy phone clip, providing extensive button layout, en supply extra soup all at the same time. If you want elegance, Risher’s Kishi has you living there, though, well, at a higher cost.