8Bitdo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller for Android devices, Bluetooth Mobile Game Controller with Hall Effect Joysticks and Hall Triggers (Black)

Initial thoughtsIn the box you get the controller, a brief multi-language manual and a USB-C cable.The controller feels heavy and robust. In particular, the sliding section is very chunky. This inspires confidence because I know (from past experiences with two different extending controllers) that this is a weak point.Buttons:-In addition to the usual buttons you get a turbo button, two paddles and a home button.-The Start and Select buttons are marked - and + . They are clicky, but do not have that harsh sound and sensation that is found with cheap tactile switches. They are high on the controller; the + which is close to A B X and Y means you can quickly press it during gameplay; the - button is slightly less convenient because you can to reach over the right stick and it is far away from the d-pad.-The d-pad is slightly clicky, which surprised me. It gives a very reassuring, positive feel to it.-The right and left triggers are hall effect. They have good travel. There is no click at the end of the motion.-The paddles are in the perfect position for me.-The rest of the buttons are what you would expect from 8bitdo - good quality and comfortable to use.Usage-I can fit my phone in without taking the case off! Of course this depends on the phone, but the other two extendable controllers I used required me to remove the case.-The USB charging point (for the controller) is on the top so you can charge it while playing.-You won’t be able to access your phones USB to charge while playing (or your headphone jack in the unlikely event that you have one!)-The Home button natively opens the menu of the games I have tested - no remapping required.-You can assign turbo to specific buttons on the fly (without using an app) by holding certain button combinations.-You can also remap certain buttons on the fly in a similar manner.-The controller feels sturdy even with no phone in it, so you can confidently use it as a Bluetooth controller for you PC or android tablet too.Summary - after unboxing and testing this controller I am very happy with it. I haven’t put hours of gameplay into it yet but I don’t anticipate any problems - if I come across any problems I will post a follow up review. I also haven’t tried the companion app yet. My only concern is this; I have had two other extending controllers and both have failed out of warranty for the same reason - wear and tear on the internal wiring in the extending portion. I hope this won’t have the same problem - externally it is very sturdy - although I have taken out and extended warranty and accidental damage cover just in case; you may wish to consider this.Any questions, just ask.

Great controller! Feels very comfortable in the hands. And for the price, I think this beats any other controller on the market right now. Obviously, this works via Bluetooth rather than connecting to usb, but it works flawlessly. Battery lasts ages too, I've only charged it once since using it.I will say the software is absolute garbage, though. But if you need to reassign your back buttons, simply hold the button you wish to use, along with the back button, and press the Star button on the bottom left. It will light up if correctly done.

I was initially getting a massive amount of input lag (six seconds or so) and thought it was my phone at fault, (Samsung Galaxy A15.) After a LOT of digging around on the internet, turns out it's the Google keyboard on my phone that's causing issues with this controller, so if you're having those issues - just change your default keyboard in settings to make the controller work. You can change it back afterwards if you really like the Google keyboard. I've dropped a star from this review just because of this issue - some kind of firmware patch would be nice.

After reading other reviews I installed. 3rd,party keyboard at the get go. No issues so far using with Retroarch. Feels great, very responsive. Would highly recommend a 90 degree adapter so you can charge your phone whole playing.https://www.amazon.co.uk/AuviPal-Adapter-Connector-Thunderbolt-Extender-Black/dp/B0BNMDRWR6/ref=asc_df_B0BNMDRWR6?mcid=c30d43b13b833a43ac83459010decbb1&tag=googshopuk-21&linkCode=df0&hvadid=697205981467&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=10410668116922183610&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9046299&hvtargid=pla-1944720593439&psc=1&gad_source=1

I was very excited for this controller being from a brand I trust, but its software is awful.It stops my keyboard from being usable at all, I have to disconnect the controller to type anything and I refuse to use anything other than GBoard. It'll also randomly completely freeze up my entire phone. It'll also sometimes drop all inputs for 5-10 seconds, and then queue up all of the inputs leaving me frozen doing random actions in games for about half a minute or longer.Until these issues are addressed, do not buy. Made me massively lose my faith in 8bitdo