This Pop-Out Cellphone Controller Might Reinvent How We Consider Cell Gaming

In the present day’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 incorporates my life behind a 6.3-inch pane of glass. If my cellphone has a strong processor and glorious AMOLED show, why can’t it additionally grow to be my gaming system 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, may very well be sufficient to make me depart my handheld at residence.

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 shall be transport later this yr after its profitable Kickstarter from earlier this yr.

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 all the way down to an Xbox controller cut 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 difficulty with this traditional design is that they’re not so transportable you possibly can slip them right into a pocket. MCON is concerning 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, slightly than a bodily USB-C connection.

You possibly can consider MCON as a Nintendo DS or a slide-out PSP Go, although with out a 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 possibly can sport with out them should you 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 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 obtainable for when the system 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 in a position to hear how loud they had been in such a crowded conference corridor. The true shock was the 2 triggers. Regardless of being so skinny and near the system, they dipped to a shocking depth. I didn’t really feel as a lot resistance for every set off as I’ll have preferred from my favorite controllers, however I’d nonetheless want 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 sport that routinely accelerates for you. I think about most individuals who backed the MCON controller are extra concerned about video games with out strong contact controls. It could be an possibility for cloud gaming when you could have 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 Recreation Boy video games on emulators, like Delta on iOS.

The pop-out mechanism felt quick and easy, although I discovered it was tough to push the magnetic plate again into place. It took two palms, providing a grating really feel because the rail floor towards itself. OhSnap! informed me it was engaged on making that mechanism smoother as they run into full manufacturing. That is the form of system designed for taking out whereas ignoring the world in your day by day work commute, and it could be particularly helpful to break down the MCON with one hand and slip it into your pocket when that you must. OhSnap mentioned MCON ought to launch a while late in October, so we’ll know then if my cellphone may lastly grow to be the Recreation Boy I needed it to be.