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This iPhone Gaming Controller Works WITH CASES!

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The Gamevice Flex is, without a doubt, the best game controller I’ve used with an iPhone: the most compatible, most comfortable and best-feeling portable controller. Here are five reasons. I bought it myself; this isn’t sponsored.

Overview

It’s an Xbox-style controller for iPhones. A Lightning connector connects it, so no batteries or wireless connection are needed. It has the standard gaming buttons plus a few to open the companion app, show a menu, take screenshots or go to Apple’s Game Center. A pass-through Lightning port on the bottom charges the iPhone while playing (charging only), and a 3.5 mm headphone jack is on the left side.

I’ve spent months with the leading iPhone controllers, and found they weren’t great: the buttons didn’t feel good, the grip wasn’t comfortable, or, most importantly, they were a pain to use with a case.

1. It works with most cases

The Flex comes with 16 adapters for any iPhone and many cases. With a naked iPhone or a slim to medium case, you can connect without adding or removing anything each time. Attach one adapter to each side depending on your phone and case, insert the Lightning connector first, then pull the left side out and over the top of the iPhone, and it’s secure without removing the case. To find which adapters, use the QR code in the box (a website walks you through choosing your phone and case and gives you the right pair), or use the included measuring device: with the case on, start with the smallest gap size and move up until the selector fits comfortably over the iPhone’s edge.

2. It collapses

When you’re done, remove your iPhone, align the two pieces, push them together, and press the back plate until it clicks. It’s ready for a bag or the corner of your desk for work breaks. To expand it, press the two release latches on the back and pull it apart. It’s the most compact solution I’ve seen compared with the other leading iPhone controllers and even the adapter for an Xbox controller.

3. The grips

The biggest, most comfortable grips of the iPhone-specific controllers. I don’t have large hands, but I still need curves. It’s nowhere near an Xbox controller, but comfortable enough for about an hour of gaming at a time. It isn’t as comfortable as an Xbox, maybe partly because you’re also holding the iPhone, but I get hand fatigue far more easily on the others. Comfort matters for something you’ll use often.

For size, with an iPhone 14 Pro Max, this setup is a bit wider than a Nintendo Switch, whereas the Backbone One and Razer Kishi V2 are about the same size as a Switch. I haven’t felt discomfort.

4. The buttons and sticks

The buttons feel exceptional. The Backbone One’s buttons are a little mushy, the Kishi V2 has odd buttons near the triggers that get in the way, and the analog sticks on both have very little travel, maybe less than a Switch. The Flex nailed it: action and shoulder buttons with the right travel, triggers that aren’t shallow, and analog sticks that are the cream of the crop, so close to an Xbox’s: a wide range of motion, the right resistance, and what feels like identical force for L3 and R3. If it weren’t for slightly smaller thumb pads, I’d believe they were the same sticks. In a game like Call of Duty, all the buttons matter, and if they don’t feel good, you won’t play well.

I wish the sticks were angled further from the action buttons or D-pad like on an Xbox, where you swing your thumb easily. On all these portable controllers, they’re more vertically aligned, so there’s some thumb gymnastics. But the Flex’s stick placement is more like the Xbox than the other two, and the Kishi V2 is basically right on top of the buttons, like a Switch.

5. The price

Both the Razer Kishi V2 and the Backbone One sell for about $100, and I promise the Flex is at least 50% better in almost every way: grip and feel, buttons, sticks, case compatibility, included adapters and collapsibility. The Flex is only about $10 more, a no-brainer. It had just gone on sale at the time of the video.

Having the right controller makes a real difference to mobile gaming, and the iPhone is a fantastic mobile gaming device. Does the Flex look worth it to you?

Some links in this post are affiliate links, which means that if you click on one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. See my ethics statement.

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