Over the past couple of years, cloud-based gaming has taken off allowing us to enjoy Triple-A games on our mobile devices. Some of these services, such as Google’s Stadia or Amazon’s Luna, have their own dedicated controllers, while other services rely on third-party solutions. That has opened up a market for companies like GameSir to create a lineup of controllers designed specifically for your smartphone.
Previously, I reviewed the GameSir X2 Bluetooth controller and we’ve also covered the X3 controller that features a built-in fan. Now, we’ve got our hands on the brand-new GameSir X2 Pro that’s officially licensed by Xbox.
Design
Without a doubt, the GameSir X2 Pro uses the best design of any mobile controller. It is built to turn your phone into a gaming machine much like a Nintendo Switch. My favorite mobile controllers all use this design, and it’s a big improvement over mounting your phone to an ordinary gaming controller. In fact, despite owning a Stadia controller, I’ll always reach for the GameSir X2 Pro over it when playing games with Stadia on my smartphone.
One of the biggest questions you probably have is, will it fit my phone? For this review, I specifically used the largest phone in my collection, which is the 6.8-inch Redmagic 6. The X2 Pro was able to fit it easily and even had a little room to spare. So, large phones are no issue for the X2 Pro, and the rotating USB Type-C connector makes inserting and removing your phone super convenient.
Speaking of, there’s also a USB Type-C port on the bottom right-hand corner that allows for pass-through charging on many phones. This is such a handy feature because nothing drains your battery like gaming.
If you’ve used an Xbox controller before, then you’ll be familiar with the layout. The X2 Pro features a similar layout with two analog sticks, a D-pad, and the X, Y, A, B, LT, LB, RT, RB buttons. Additionally, the Xbox, menu, and view buttons are there as well, along with a capture button for snapping screenshots.
When not attached to your phone, GameSir includes a hardshell carrying case to help protect the analog sticks from being damaged while in transit. It may seem like a small thing, but nothing is worse than dealing with stick drift while trying to play your favorite game.
User experience
The GameSir X2 Pro is a little thick but feels comfortable in your hands. It features non-slip grips on the back which make it easy to hold and is still lightweight for long gaming sessions. Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve spent time testing the X2 Pro out with a handful of local and cloud-based games from different services.
The Alps 3D joysticks worked perfectly along with the tactile buttons, including the two additional mappable buttons on the back of the controller. Thankfully, setting up the programmable M1 and M2 buttons was as simple as long-pressing a few buttons. All it takes is holding in the menu, view, and M1 or M2 button for 3 seconds. Afterward, the lights on the X2 Pro will blink until you press the button you’d like to assign to the programmable buttons.
Final thoughts
Playing games with the GameSir X2 Pro was a delight. I’m in love with this format of controllers and GameSir does everything right here. There’s a rotating hardwired connection ensuring there will be no latency while gaming, a pass-through charging port, tactile responsive buttons and triggers, it supports large phones, and of course, two programmable buttons.
What more could you ask for from a mobile gaming controller? Furthermore, the GameSir X2 Pro undercuts its biggest competitor the Razer Kishi V2 coming in at only $80 and is available in either white or black.
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