The mobile gaming controller market is an awkward one as it if difficult to get one-size-fits-all all. While Android devices have had USB-C connections for ages, the vast majority of iPhones out there still have Lightning ports which rules out a one-stop shop – at the design level at least – for hardwired controllers with little latency.
GameSir did have a crack at this with a wiggly USB-C connector but by cutting out such a lot of the marketplace it had to have hit them. One way around this Apple-created mess is to just head for Bluetooth. All phones have had Bluetooth for ages and the idea of a controller that can expand to fit different devices is also not new. Just slide in your phone of choice and hook up the BlueTooth.
The first types of these controllers such as the Kishi from Razer were okay. They were also expensive and had the market cornered, but we certainly don’t need to pay that much these days. The GameSir G8+ Galileo Wireless Gaming Controller to give it its full title, and we won’t be doing that again, as words are at a premium, has, for me, gone straight into the top of the pile when it comes to what you should be looking at if you are in the market for this kind of device.
Fundamentally though, besides cutting the price (and the G8+ comes in at a pretty decent £64 all-in) what can you do with an extending Bluetooth controller to make it better? Well, quite a bit as it turns out.
For starters we have Hall Effect joysticks to minimise the chance of stick drift. I like how GameSir isn’t overstating things here, they say the sticks are good for five million clicks, not that they will last forever. Hall Effect sticks are still mechanical parts and they will, like all mechanical parts, eventually fail to perform to their nominal level if not pack in altogether.
Customization is another area where the G8 is very nicely thought out. In the box are three different thumbstick styles and the ease at which these can be swapped out is great. Sidenote here, I am a nerd and I like magnets. What does that have to do with it you say? Well, the faceplates around the buttons and sticks are held on by powerful Neodymium magnets and can be clipped off when you like. They are held on enough so that they won’t just fall off but can be easily removed giving you easy access to the sticks and the buttons of which you can just pull them all off.
While you do not get any extra buttons the fact that you can just swap the AB XY around if you are playing say, on a Switch is a lovely touch.
Speaking of the Switch, the G8+ can stretch out enough to get your Switch screen in there. It will also take an iPad mini and easily takes my iPhone 15 Pro Max and holds it securely. From then on you just need to connect the Bluetooth and you can start gaming. If you are concerned the width it will take goes from 110mm to 215mm.
What is also interesting is because it is Bluetooth you could even use it to game on a PC or console. I even connected it to my PC with a USB-C cable and it showed up in my USB game controller panel.
The addition of textured grips and mappable back buttons all add to the overall feeling that this is a premium device in this space.
I do hate, and I mean hate, the fold-out instructions that come all nicely boxed, and then you have to open it out like a map of Europe. You don’t really need them and there are several languages on there but in this day and age, this seems like a throwback to something we do not need anymore.
The packaging is also worth a mention as that is great. The sticks have protectors on them and the vacuum-formed plastic insert keeps everything secure for transit. What’s not to like?
As I mentioned in my previous GameSir controller review your need for this type of device depends on you. You could get an official Xbox controller for this price but the experience is different. Yes, you can use a traditional controller on your phone but then you need to prop it somewhere. Here you effectively turn your phone into a Switch or Steam Deck form factor – you can check out the photo for a size comparison with the Steam Deck above.
If you have a use case for the G8+, get one, it will serve you well and you will struggle to find anything better out there at the moment. It’s a round of applause from me for one of the best examples of this kind of device we have seen so far.
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