The days of messy, confusing, expensive iPhone controllers for gamers are over! Now a days finding the best iPhone gaming controllers is not hard so this will be easy to explain to you.
The low and high end
You are going to be having to choose between the low, medium, and high tier of controllers for your iPhone. The list I give you is not final, but it is a quick easy explanation of what you can get, where to get it, how it works.
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Budget Friendly – Rotor Riot Gamepad Controller
This controller is one of the first ones that I ever bought and loved it! I didn’t like the idea of using my Xbox controller or Playstation due to the fact that I play a lot on my consoles and having to sync every time I switched was going to be too much of an annoyance.
The Rotor Riot Gamepad Controller allowed me to have my console gaming separate from my mobile gaming. The wire solution allowed it to be independent and instant when it came to connecting it to my iPhone. The only issue I had with it was that the bigger iPhones like the iPhone Pro Max versions weren’t too comfortable to play for long sessions.
The buttons are decent enough, but it won’t compete with a dedicated Xbox or DualShock controller in the buttons department. If you don’t mind syncing and switching between console and mobile device or don’t have a console than I suggest skipping this controller and getting a dedicated console controller with an adapter clamp that will allow you to clip your iPhone to your preferred controller.
Mid-tier: SteelSeries Nimbus+
This is a controller that allows you to switch between devices like your Mac, Apple TV, and iPhone or iPad easily since it is wireless. It is pricier than the Rotor Riot Gamepad, but it is a bit better build and it is wireless. I consider it a worthy entry in the Best iPhone Gaming Controllers list due to its versatility, design quality, and price. I do say I prefer the none symmetrical joystick design.
High-Tier: Razer Kishi & Backbone One
We got two controllers in the high end tier of this best iPhone gaming controllers list and I got to say these two are about the same price depending on the sale that amazon might be doing, but both are great build quality and are as closest as you can get to portability and quality perfection.
Razer Kishi
This is my personal choice for my iPhone gaming needs with a controller due to the portability of the controller. The right joystick is a bit odd for its placement compared to my small-medium hands and the d-pad is a bit weird so getting used to it is something you will need to do. I chose this controller over the Backbone One even though it had those issues due to the fact that it folds into a really small form shape that I can slide it into any backpack or even pockets for traveling.
Truly compact and perfect for gaming on the go. I have an iPhone 13 Pro Max and it works just fine. The device will fit pretty much any modern iPhone even the Mini series so don’t worry about it not fitting. Last thing you should know is that this controller comes in two versions 1. for iOS and 2. for Android using USB C. PS: This works with Xbox Game Pass and OpenEmulator for iPhone.
Backbone One
This is the other high end option for the Best iPhone Gaming Controllers list and let me tell you that I almost went for this one instead of the Razer Kishi due to the fact that this controller has better joystick placement and a bit firmer, heavier, feeling to it making it a bit more “pro” gaming feeling, but looks I don’t agree. Yet you need to choose if you want portability more than quality or quality over mobility?
I know this device has a software launcher for games that is decently cool, but in my opinion it is a gimmick and wouldn’t take it into consideration when trying to decide between this and the Razer Kishi.
I still can recommend this one from what I have researched and found out that it is a great choice and it just personal preference that separates this Backbone One and the Razer Kishi since both run for about $100. PS this works with Xbox Game Pass
The Most reasonable option…
Honestly if you want to have the best balance of budget friendly and build quality it is much better to not pay over $60 for a controller and just get the official controller from Xbox or PlayStation with the DualShock. Those are wireless and build quality is something even these $100 controllers cannot match, but of course these do beat the official console controllers when it comes to portability.
Xbox Controller
The Xbox controller offers the best value and quality balance, but before I leave you here are a few things you need to know about using an Xbox controller with an iPhone: 1. The paddles won’t work on the Elite Series 2 and the Elite Series 1 doesn’t have Bluetooth to it won’t work. All the other Bluetooth modern Xbox controllers will work just fine.
PlayStation Dual Shock Controller
This controller is tried and tested to work with Emulators and almost anything game related in iOS, but the new PS5 controller won’t support the adaptive triggers due to Sony not allowing it. Both the PS4 version and the PS5 version controllers will work good with iPhone.
If you want to still look for some more hardware don’t forget to check out the best headsets article up here in SLA (link)
