8Bitdo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller for Android devices, Bluetooth Mobile Game Controller with Hall Effect Joysticks and Hall Triggers (Black)

I bought this on impulse on pre-order, got it, connected it to my Pixel 8, used it once, and then found I didn't really know what I had purchased it for exactly. So I ended up putting it away for a while. I've never connected it to my PC or looked for any updates. I upgraded my phone to the Pixel 9, and then Prince of Persia: The Lost Crown was ported to mobile, and it looked amazing.Charged this up, connected to my phone, loaded up the trial, completed the trial, bought the game, found a new travel companion in this controller. It's rock solid, I've noticed no lag, and this game is unforgiving on missed inputs but it's keeping up like it's wired.However, a few things of note: I don't have particularly large hands, but I noticed with the weight of the phone in the holder, it wears on your hands and makes it a little hard to get to the face buttons without accidentally jogging the right analog stick. This is more likely after some play time. Finding a position to sit it that takes some of the weight off my hands helped, and it's completely possible to simply use a stand for the phone and use the controller without the weight.I don't completely understand if I have an issue or not, but when I plug it in to charge, it looks like the controller powers on, and can stay on after I unplug it. This has led to several occasions I turn it on for the first time that day and it's at 85% battery instead of 100. I've found I can manually turn it off after taking it off the charger, which I think is odd behavior. I'm going to look for firmware updates today.I'm reading in other reviews that samsung phones with google keyboards are having trouble with this; all I can say is it's not exclusively the google keyboard, as that's standard on the Pixels and I have zero lag with this controller so far. I've made no changes or tweaks to my phone to get this controller to work, it just does.

This controller is actually exceptionally well made all things considered & I WILL rate it at FIVE STARS provided it's problem is fixable...8BitDo EXTREMELY RARELY leaves products idol without updates, there Neo Geo Pads for example never once received an update out of its beta build firmware because of sub par sales unfortunately.My concern is despite this device's manual claiming this Sandwich Controller is updatable using their Ultimate Firmware software on PC neither it or the Version 2 of their Ultimate software was capable of even detecting this device.I tried my other products from them like the Pro 2 M30 & SN30 Pro as well as using different connections & ports and while they all worked this device remained undetected like nothing was plugged in.It may be possible that this controller cannot be updated without either a new updater just for it or a future purchase for the same device with fixed compatibility...I personally have been able to use this device with my phone but it REQUIRES me to manually go in & tell my phone that the controller which has already been paired with it is looking to connect & tell it to reach out to the controller to establish the connection.Every other 8BitDo device I've ever paired with my phone will automatically connect just by being turned on, so while a bit amusing in an ironic way it's needlessly strange that a device MADE FOR ANDROID is what's having a hard time with connecting on a Motorola Plus 2022 basically stock Android phone... 😮‍💨Update: Leaving my old complaint up just in case anyone else is going through the same problems...If you are there's two things to know that will help depending on your situation, one is if you have Steam on your PC you should log out of it before running the Ultimate Software V2 so that your PC won't get confused because Steam by design with demand your input devices attention even from the device manager at times...The other is when connecting this controller to your PC for the update you will need to hold the LB & RB (not the triggers) on the top of the pad while you connect the USB so it will go into USB Mode and be detected by both your PC and the Ultimate Software...8BitDo did not just leave this one sitting around and the update fixed whatever was wrong with my phone not reliably being able to detect the connection without me manually telling my Android device to look for the Bluetooth signal on & off randomly whenever I would turn the controller on or off...So as of now this is by fair one of the best and most adorable Sandwich Controller's you can find and the analog stick's aren't just hall effect they are replaceable without taking the pad apart and have aluminum shafts so they won't wear down easily!

I really like this controller, but I’d like it even more if:It could connect to my PC via Bluetooth.The thumbstick tops didn’t come off so easily.Replacement thumbstick tops were available to purchase.The charging port wasn’t so loose—if you wiggle the cable, it stops charging.Yes, one of the thumbstick tops popped off and I lost it. They offer parts for other controllers, but I haven’t been able to find replacement thumbstick tops for this one.Also, the bumper buttons are pretty loud.For context, I previously had the GameSir G8 mobile gaming controller, and the USB-C port on that broke. That one was USB-only, so I do appreciate that this one has Bluetooth. The battery life is also pretty long, which is a big plus.Overall, it’s a good controller with a few minor flaws.

I'm impressed, it feels exactly like the regular 8 bit do ultimate controller with a clicky d-pad. My phone(s23) fits perfectly in it and it's very comfortable to hold. I had a razer kishi and another controller similar to the backbone, but this has been the best phone controller I've tried so far. The only two downsides are possible input latency due to it being Bluetooth( I'm honestly unable to notice any difference) and it has to be charged. If you like their regular controllers you'll love this. For the price it's really unbeatable.