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The SteelSeries Stratus+ is a wireless Bluetooth controller built primarily for Android mobile gaming, with wired USB-C support for Windows PCs. It launched back in 2022 at $59.99 / £64.99, but has since tumbled to sale prices around $25 / £25. It’s a welcome price drop because it’s about the only thing that keeps it in with a shot of being worth picking up, and on the periphery of the best mobile controller conversation — but only just. SteelSeries positions the Stratus+ as delivering a console-quality mobile experience, and in theory, it has most of the ingredients to do that. A traditional shape that blends Xbox and PlayStation design elements with a removable phone mount, Hall Effect triggers, and a claimed 90-hour battery life via Bluetooth LE. In practice, however, the phone mount that should be the controller's defining feature ends up being its biggest weakness. It’s tricky to instal...

GameSir G8+ Bluetooth: One-minute review The GameSir G8+ Bluetooth is the wireless mobile controller in the G8 family and bolsters compatibility from being simply mobile, to the Nintendo Switch , tablets, and PC. The same full-size grips, Hall effect joysticks and triggers, and programmable back buttons that made the wired versions of the G8 so impressive remain, and at $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$129, so does the price. On paper, you’d think it’s a no-brainer to go wireless, particularly with the addition of a six-axis gyroscope adding to that strong core experience, but the wireless freedom you gain comes with meaningful trade-offs. Noticeably, the lack of passthrough charging and the lack of a headphone jack, both obvious casualties of the move to Bluetooth. More importantly for iPhone gamers, the GameSir iOS app doesn't recognize the controller, which means the stick calibration, dead zone tuni...

8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition: One-minute review The 8BitDo Ultimate Mobile Gaming Controller - Xbox Edition takes the brand’s existing wireless mobile controller grip and makes a couple of surface-level changes. The overall shape, style, and functions remain, but official Xbox licensing sees the Turbo button swapped for a dedicated Xbox button. It retains the $49.99 / £43.99 / AU$89 price tag of the original, meaning it's significantly cheaper than alternatives like the Backbone One or GameSir G8 . The Hall effect joysticks and triggers from the original are still here too, with clicky bumpers and what 8BitDo describes as a refined D-pad, though it felt pretty standard to me. For Xbox Cloud Gaming specifically, which is what I imagine most gamers would turn to this option for, it’s excellent on the whole. Cruising the streets of Japan in Forza Horizon 6 across i...

GameSir G8+ MFi: One-minute review The GameSir G8+ MFi is the controller that the G8 Galileo probably should have been from the start. It takes the same full-size grips, Hall effect thumbsticks and triggers, and programmable back buttons that made the original one of the best mobile grips going, then layers on MFi certification for iPhone and iPad Mini, swappable ABXY button caps, dual vibration motors, and crucially, improved case compatibility. Best of all? It’s still the same $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$129.99 asking price. Having tested both of these mobile controllers side by side on the same phones and games, the G8+ MFi addresses just about every gripe I had with the G8 Galileo. The case compatibility improvements alone are worth shouting about, with magnetically swappable silicone pads and a camera bump panel that let you adjust clearance depending on whether your phone is cased or caseless. T...

Keychron V1 Ultra 8K review The Keychron V1 Ultra 8K is a 75% mechanical keyboard that delivers a surprisingly broad feature set given its price. Available at a price tag of just $115 — it's currently only available in the US — it's crammed full of features like 8,000Hz polling over both wired and 2.4GHz wireless connections, hot-swappable Silk POM switches, a dampened gasket mount construction, and a battery life measured in weeks. I’ll start with what’s included in the box, because Keychron has thrown in a rather generous selection of bits and bobs. The standard gear is here, like a keycap removal tool, USB Type-A to Type-C adapter and an extension adapter for the wireless receiver. You’ll also find striking red replacement keycaps for the Esc and Enter keys, along with alternate caps to swap between OS-specific buttons like Command and the Windows key. Build quality is a mixture of imp...