This Pop-Out Telephone Controller May Reinvent How We Consider Cellular Gaming

Immediately’s retro recreations are so good at replicating the Game Boy’s look, feel, and portability. The issue is, my pockets are already occupied with my cellular supercomputer that comprises my life behind a 6.3-inch pane of glass. If my cellphone has a robust processor and glorious AMOLED show, why can’t it additionally develop into my gaming gadget once I’m on the go? MCON, the controller hyped to hell and again by younger engineer Josh King and dropped at market by cellphone peripheral makers OhSnap, may very well be sufficient to make me go away my handheld at house.

I first saw the $150 MCON cellphone peripheral again at CES 2025; solely then it was a really early prototype utilizing 3D-printed components. Even then, I got here away impressed with the collapsible cellphone controller. I needed to duck and weave by way of many, many halls at IFA 2025 to seek out the miniscule stall for MCON’s designer OhSnap. The corporate let me wrap my exhausted palms across the new, black and clear plastic MCONs that will likely be delivery later this yr after its profitable Kickstarter from earlier this yr.

MCON has surprisingly great-feeling controls

Once I take a look at most fashionable cellphone controllers, whether or not they’re the Backbone, the 8BitDo mobile controller, or a Razer Kishi, all of them boil all the way down to an Xbox controller cut up in half to make room for a cellphone. A few of these units supply higher controls or bigger cavity area for as much as the size of a 13-inch iPad. Whereas they’re slim sufficient to slot in a bag, the problem with this traditional design is that they’re not so transportable you may slip them right into a pocket. MCON is in regards to the measurement of a cellphone itself. It’s compact sufficient that it might match into cargo pants-sized pockets or right into a pocketbook. I doubt it might slot in most skinny denims with out tearing a gap in your pants or thigh. The collapsible cellular controller additionally makes use of a MagSafe magnetic attachment level whereas it communicates with the cellphone over Bluetooth, relatively than a bodily USB-C connection.

You may consider MCON as a Nintendo DS or a slide-out PSP Go, although with no display screen or PCB (printed circuit board) of its personal. The controller collapses to the dimensions of your common cellphone. With the press of a button, the spring-loaded entrance plate shoots out to disclose twin thumbsticks, 4 face buttons, and a D-pad. Two fold-out wings fan out from the bottom to create a pseudo-controller really feel, although you may recreation with out them when you can retreat to your Sport Boy glory days, earlier than firms cared a lick for wild ideas like “ergonomics.” The additional advantage of MCON is the way it retains the display screen angled up, which can be extra snug when sitting and gaming in comparison with Steam Deck-like handheld PCs or the Switch 2.

The model I used was a prefab design, although it’s the closest mannequin the corporate had out there for when the gadget went into full manufacturing. The complete-size drift-resistant TMR (tunnel magnetoresistance) joysticks didn’t really feel constrained regardless of being deep-set into the controller. Whereas the buttons had a pleasantly shallow and clicky really feel, I wouldn’t have been capable of hear how loud they had been in such a crowded conference corridor. The actual shock was the 2 triggers. Regardless of being so skinny and near the gadget, they dipped to a shocking depth. I didn’t really feel as a lot resistance for every set off as I’ll have appreciated from my favorite controllers, however I might nonetheless choose them over the clicky triggers of many DS-like units.

Time to work out the kinks

I didn’t get to play something however Warped Kart Racers, a recreation that robotically accelerates for you. I think about most individuals who backed the MCON controller are extra fascinated with video games with out stable contact controls. It could be an choice for cloud gaming when you’ve gotten entry to a robust Wi-Fi connection. What could also be extra thrilling is the way it may very well be used for retro emulation. The MCON’s MagSafe dock can slide out and reposition vertically for taking part in old-school Sport Boy video games on emulators, like Delta on iOS.

The pop-out mechanism felt quick and easy, although I discovered it was troublesome to push the magnetic plate again into place. It took two palms, providing a grating really feel because the rail floor towards itself. OhSnap! instructed me it was engaged on making that mechanism smoother as they run into full manufacturing. That is the type of gadget designed for taking out whereas ignoring the world in your day by day work commute, and it will be particularly useful to break down the MCON with one hand and slip it into your pocket when it’s worthwhile to. OhSnap stated MCON ought to launch a while late in October, so we’ll know then if my cellphone may lastly develop into the Sport Boy I wished it to be.