This magnetic controller turned my iPhone into a PSP Go

• The MCON is portable without sacrificing control options
• Almost every part of the MCON experience feels good
• The MCON is still awkward
• The MCON is worth the price of admission

Your smartphone is a game console. It’s not a radical concept, but it can be easy to forget when you’re interacting with a user-friendly touchscreen interface all the time. Plenty of console games have been ported to iOS and Android with touch controls, but you’ll still get the most comfortable experience using the control method these games were designed for: a physical game controller.

Both the PlayStation DualSense and Xbox Wireless Controllers can be connected over Bluetooth to your smartphone, but they put you in the awkward position of having to find some way to prop up your phone, or mount it on the controllers themselves. The better option is to get a game controller that’s specifically designed to work with a smartphone like Ohsnap’s new MCON controller. It magnetically attaches to the back of your smartphone, sliding out when you need physical buttons and sticks, and then hiding again when you don’t. And, for my money, it might just be one of the best options out there.

The MCON is portable without sacrificing control options

Taking direct inspiration from the PSP Go

Whereas previous controllers have tried to work around the rectangular shape of modern smartphones, creating monstrosities that are often ridiculously long, MCON tries to work with them, trading length for thickness. The MCON has the basic shape of Sony’s classic PSP Go from 2009, with a magnetic, MagSafe-compatible top half that springs up to reveal a controller. With your phone attached to the MCON’s MagSafe connector, pressing a button on the top of the controller slides up the screen and reveals the buttons. The MCON includes dual joysticks, ABXY face buttons, a directional pad, bumpers, triggers, and additional buttons for ejecting the top half of the controller to use as a phone stand, and a collection of four buttons for opening menus and going “home.”

Ohsnap also sells an MCON Dock ($69.99) that can charge the controller and let you display your smartphone games on a TV over HDMI.

The controller is relatively thick at 24.1mm even before you add a smartphone on top of it, but the thickness feels worth it for the design and a pair of fold-out grips that try and make the whole package feel more ergonomic. The MCON can’t wirelessly charge any device magnetically attached to it, but it can be charged over USB-C, just like much wider controllers like the Backbone One and Razer Kishi.

Unlike those controllers, though, the MCON doesn’t maintain a physical connection with your smartphone over USB-C to input commands. Instead, the controller connects over Bluetooth. This wireless connection means the MCON can sync with multiple devices at the same time (up to three, according to Ohsnap) and you can switch between them by double-pressing the pairing button at the top of the controller. That Bluetooth connection and the possible latency it introduces might be a tradeoff for some people, but it’s also one of several features that make the MCON more versatile than its competitors, like a built-in gyroscope or the previously mentioned built-in stand.

Almost every part of the MCON experience feels good

It’s tactile in the best way

For how much Ohsnap and the controller’s original designer, Josh King, are trying to fit into the MCON, it’s amazing how cohesive and good the controller actually feels to use. A lot of this has to do with the satisfying way your phone slides up when you press the quick launch button at the top of the MCON, and the sharp “clack” you hear once it snaps into place. I found it fun to open and close even when my smartphone wasn’t attached to it.

Even the fold-out grips, while awkward, go a long way towards making the whole package feel more comfortable to hold.

The video game controller fundamentals are good here, too. Each button feels clicky, with the appropriate amount of resistance when you push them down, and the joysticks were very responsive in more action-oriented games like Destiny Rising or Fortnite. Even the fold-out grips, while awkward, go a long way towards making the whole package feel more comfortable to hold.

Beyond that, the whole thing feels thoughtfully put together. I like that when I close the MCON while taking a break from a game, the controller goes to sleep to conserve battery. Or how pressing the Home button on the MCON launches the iOS Games app on my iPhone. It might not revolutionize the experience of gaming on my phone, but it did make for a nice launcher that I could (mostly) navigate with just a controller. All in all, the MCON offers a really polished experience, fit for a premium smartphone.

The MCON is still awkward

Smartphones are still an odd way to play console games

Those positives don’t mean the MCON entirely avoids the problems with gaming on a smartphone, especially in the unique ways Ohsnap imagines people will use the controller. The MCON is awkward to hold, particularly if you have larger hands, and the ergonomic grips can only do so much to help. They also can’t keep the MCON from feeling top-heavy, given the large smartphone attached to the top.

In my experience, using Bluetooth also introduces some connectivity weirdness. I was able to smoothly play the majority of the games on my phone, but at least three times while working through the mobile version of Cult of the Lamb, the game would register inputs from the MCON I simply didn’t push. I’m not sure if that’s an issue with the game, the controller, or both, but it did make me wonder if I’d have the same problem using a controller connected over USB-C.

The MCON is worth the price of admission

The controller has too much going for it not to recommend

For $150, the MCON gives you everything you need to control your favorite mobile games (or whatever you get running in an emulator) and offers a surprising amount of flexibility if you want to play games on other devices or in unique ways.

It’s not perfectly ergonomic, but the tradeoffs and price are more than worth it because of how much it made me want to game on my phone, something I haven’t felt in a long time. A good controller can go a long way, and the MCON goes further than any smartphone controller I’ve tried yet.