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

Right this moment’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 accommodates my life behind a 6.3-inch pane of glass. If my cellphone has a robust processor and wonderful AMOLED show, why can’t it additionally grow to be my gaming gadget after I’m on the go? MCON, the controller hyped to hell and again by younger engineer Josh King and delivered to market by cellphone peripheral makers OhSnap, could possibly be sufficient to make me go away my handheld at dwelling.

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 search 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 12 months after its profitable Kickstarter from earlier this 12 months.

MCON has surprisingly great-feeling controls

Once I have 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 right down to an Xbox controller break up in half to make room for a cellphone. A few of these gadgets provide 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 moveable you’ll be able to 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, moderately than a bodily USB-C connection.

You possibly can consider MCON as a Nintendo DS or a slide-out PSP Go, although and not using a display 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’ll be able to recreation with out them if you happen to can retreat to your Recreation Boy glory days, earlier than corporations cared a lick for wild ideas like “ergonomics.” The additional good thing about MCON is the way it retains the display angled up, which can be extra comfy 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 accessible 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 could have appreciated from my favorite controllers, however I might nonetheless favor them over the clicky triggers of many DS-like gadgets.

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 all in favour of video games with out strong contact controls. It might be an choice for cloud gaming when you have got entry to a powerful Wi-Fi connection. What could also be extra thrilling is the way it could possibly be used for retro emulation. The MCON’s MagSafe dock can slide out and reposition vertically for enjoying old-school Recreation 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 in opposition to itself. OhSnap! informed 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 every day work commute, and it could be particularly useful to break down the MCON with one hand and slip it into your pocket when you could. OhSnap stated MCON ought to launch a while late in October, so we’ll know then if my cellphone would possibly lastly grow to be the Recreation Boy I wished it to be.