latest
How to connect a PS4 controller to your Android phone or tablet
Game away with your PlayStation controller
While there are plenty of great Android controllers, if you own a PlayStation 4 or 5, you can use your DualShock 4 controller with your Android device. It's a simple, versatile choice; you can connect via USB or Bluetooth.
Razer Kishi V2 vs. Backbone One: There's a clear winner here
The Razer Kishi V2 has the edge over its stylish counterpart
The Backbone One and the Razer Kishi V2 are wired snap-on Android controllers that offer premium gaming experiences. Both are expensive, retailing at $100, but if you're willing to spend that much, you'll find it hard to choose between these two controllers, which regularly appear in our roundup of the best controllers for Android.
Best game controllers on Android in 2024
Play just about anywhere with your Android and one of these amazing controllers
An Android controller is a great alternative to buying a dedicated Android handheld console. Great controllers are available for less than $100, a fraction of the price of consoles, and offer similar gaming experiences when paired with one of the top Android gaming phones.
Gamevice's next controller looks just like a Kishi with a few upgrades
Full-size thumbsticks are included, a worthy upgrade indeed
Gamevice isn't a name you often hear, but this is the company that partnered with Razer to create the Kishi controller, which has found tons of success as one of Android's best controllers. Well, now that Gamevice and Razer have amicably split, Razer has already released its Kishi follow-up by leaning heavily on Backbone's design (who has already announced their own controller for Android, slated for a winter release), and Gamevice, in turn, basically rebranded excess Kishi stock as the Gamevice for Android and Gamevice for iOS. Today Gamevice has announced a follow-up to its rebranded Kishi, known as the Gamevice Flex, and it's available for pre-order starting today, with the release window set for this fall.
Stadia gets better support for your existing controllers
You can connect to your phone for wired or Bluetooth controllers, or use touchscreen controls
When Stadia launched it was only available on TV via the Chromecast Ultra, and when going that route, you could only play it with the Wi-Fi powered Stadia controller. Google seems to have realized that was a bit limiting, especially since you can use Bluetooth and wired controllers with Stadia on your phone, a Chromebook, or a Windows or MacOS-powered PC. To help spread controller support to more TVs, Google is allowing the Stadia app on your phone to act as a bridge for controls on your TV, including third-party controllers like those for the Xbox and PlayStation.
One of the best ways to game on Android is finally affordable with this Amazon deal
It's no Switch, but it sure beats touch controls
Listen, mobile games: you gave it the old college try with touch-screen controls. Sometimes, sure, it worked OK, but more often than not we found ourselves craving the sort of responsive input you only get with a proper, physical controller. Luckily there are plenty of solutions available to Android gamers, and one of the better ones is Razer's Kishi. Normally retailing for $80, earlier this week we spotted it for a much more reasonable , and if you haven't jumped on it yet, that deal's still available.The Kishi is a neat little controller that expands to grip your phone and folds up into a pocketable size when not in use. Just be sure to check if it fits your device before you order — some bigger phones won't work without modifying the controller.
8BitDo's new Pro controller lets you remap its buttons from your phone
The Pro 2 also gets two rear buttons and easy profile switching, and it's still just 50 bucks
8BitDo has become, in a very low-key way, one of the best gaming accessory companies out there. Its last high-end controller design was praised for its ability to rebind controls on both the PC and Nintendo Switch. With the upgraded model, christened the 8BitDo Pro 2, you can now do that reprogramming without needing a full-sized computer. Like the excellent SN30 Pro+, the controller can be customized in terms of button layout and more esoteric options, like analog stick dead zones or trigger sensitivity. (It's great for Nintendo's weird A-on-the-right habit.) But the 8BitDo Pro 2 can be programmed via and Android (or iOS) app over Bluetooth, making it a lot easier to tweak your settings if you're playing on mobile or the Switch. Even better, the profiles for your button mapping aren't bound to the connection mode anymore: a button on the front switches between profiles on the fly, a la the Xbox Elite controllers.
Android's gamepad vibration functionality is so rudimentary, you could be forgiven for not knowing it's there at all. Last month, though, our friends at XDA spotted signs that the situation could be improving soon — and today, with the release of Android 12's first developer preview, we've got even more concrete evidence.
The nearly universal Razer Kishi mobile gamepad is $66 ($14 off) right now
Up your mobile gaming... game
Android supports basically every popular Bluetooth gamepad you can buy, including those made for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. But those aren't super portable, and you'll either need a clip or some kind of kickstand to comfortably use them. Razer's Kishi gamepad, on the other hand, folds down to a size that'd comfortably fit in a jacket pocket and clips onto your phone for easy use. If that sounds up your alley, you're in luck: it's on sale for $66 today, $14 off its usual price.The two halves of the Kishi are connected by a springy ribbon that stretches out to accommodate your phone, which connects by USB-C. The tension on the spring (plus some rubbery bumpers inside the halves) keep your phone in place as you play. It has all the buttons you'll need and fits most phones, although particularly large or small ones might not work. My Pixel 5, for example, is too small to keep enough tension and can fall out if I hold it wrong. But that's not a common problem.
Nvidia Shield TV can now use PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S controllers
The system update also includes security fixes and Control4 home automation support
The Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 started arriving on store shelves a few months ago, but both consoles have been incredibly difficult to find. If you've been lucky enough to score one, or you just have the controllers, here's some extra good news — you can now use your shiny new controller with Nvidia's Android TV boxes.
Razer Kishi review: This is probably the best way to play games on your phone — if you can afford it
Razer's new mobile controller fits almost every modern Android phone, but it'll cost ya
As phones get more powerful, mobile games get more complex: Snake and Brick Breaker have given way to fully-featured PC and console ports, to say nothing of cloud gaming. A lot of these games require a controller to fully enjoy, but mobile gamepads are generally clunky things. Enter Razer's newest controller: the Kishi attaches to phones of many different sizes to turn them into sleek portable consoles. It's really cool — but it's also really expensive, and it doesn't fit some of the most premium devices available today.
The best game controllers for Android smartphones
It'll depend on the games you want to play, and your budget
As we do more and more gaming on our more and more powerful smartphones, mobile games themselves are getting more complex. To play something like Fortnite or Dead Cells on your phone, it's almost suicide to go in against your foes with touch controls, and a proper, hardware gamepad can be practically mandatory for a play experience that won't leave you endlessly frustrated. Thankfully, Android is compatible with a wide range of Bluetooth gamepads, including those from game consoles like the PlayStation 4. Here's a list of some of the best controllers you use for any kind of gaming on Android, from shooters to old PC ports.
The dream of OUYA was not to be. It turns out that overturning a decades-old industry by disrupting it with mobile hardware and open-source software is a tough row to hoe, and adding on a semi-exclusive game market (you know, that thing that consoles do that's already universally hated) wasn't the best opening move. So OUYA floundered in the maturing set-top box market until Razer snapped it up in the hopes of bolstering its own Forge TV, which had been on the market for months and was already known as the worst option in an extremely limited field.
There were some rumblings last month about yet another Android gaming device headed for the market, this time from Asus. Now the device appears more concrete than ever with a controller for the "Asus Game Box" showing up on the Bluetooth SIG website.
The Ouya bandwagon was overloaded when it exploded onto Kickstarter. A $99 game console running Android with a wireless controller? It sounded too good to be true. People threw cash at the company, begging to have a developer unit bestowed upon them. Even then, as Ouya was rocketing toward its eventual $8.6 million haul, there were murmurs of concern. Could this really work? Would developers embrace this odd little device and free us from the hegemony of traditional consoles?
New MOGA Power Series Controllers Coming To E3, Will Charge Your Phone While You Play
The folks behind the MOGA wireless gamepads for Android announced today that the next-generation MOGA Power Series controllers will be unveiled at E3 later
The folks behind the MOGA wireless gamepads for Android announced today that the next-generation MOGA Power Series controllers will be unveiled at E3 later this month. In addition to an updated physical design, MOGA is talking up its new MOGA Boost system. Boost will recharge your phone while you game.
It was only a matter of time after the dev units shipped out that we could expect to see a thorough walkthrough on the part of a new owner, and here it is. Some of what we're seeing in this trio of videos, we've already seen in the official Ouya unboxing. However, a few new details have been highlighted. For starters, in the top center of the controllers, there are touchpads that can be used for cursor control. Also, as we learned before, they will require two AA batteries. Well, that's a bummer.
Nyko, best known for making the slightly less solid and slightly less expensive console controllers you buy to save money, is getting into the Android game. Literally. Working with mobile gaming force of nature, NVIDIA, the peripherals company aims to bring "physical and familiar controls" to tablet games that run on NVIDIA processors, including, but more importantly not limited to, the Tegra 3.