Ion Mobile Controller is a mini Bluetooth gamepad for your Android device

As portable devices become more sophisticated, we’re starting to play hardcore games like GTA III on our mobiles and tablets alongside the casual fun of flinging irate avians at primary-coloured pigs.

And let’s be brutally honest, the touchscreen doesn’t cut it as a gaming input device – so gaming peripheral manufacturer Steelseries is throwing its hat into the ring with the Ion Mobile Controller, a mini gamepad that has all the buttons and joysticks you’d expect from a full-size controller. That means you get a pair of thumbsticks, a D-pad, four face buttons, and two shoulder buttons.

The Ion Mobile Controller connects to your Android mobile or tablet (or PC) over Bluetooth and can be customised using a free app. Battery life is advertised as 20 hours. 

Yes, hooking up Bluetooth controllers to your Android phone is nothing new – but the Ion Mobile Controller’s small size (108 x 55 x 18mm) should make it a lot more useful for gaming on the move.

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Dan Grabham Editor-in-Chief

About

Dan is Editor-in-chief of Stuff, working across the magazine and the Stuff.tv website.  Our Editor-in-Chief is a regular at tech shows such as CES in Las Vegas, IFA in Berlin and Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as well as at other launches and events. He has been a CES Innovation Awards judge. Dan is completely platform agnostic and very at home using and writing about Windows, macOS, Android and iOS/iPadOS plus lots and lots of gadgets including audio and smart home gear, laptops and smartphones. He's also been interviewed and quoted in a wide variety of places including The Sun, BBC World Service, BBC News Online, BBC Radio 5Live, BBC Radio 4, Sky News Radio and BBC Local Radio.

Areas of expertise

Computing, mobile, audio, smart home