OhSnap received our hearts (and a better of CES award) final 12 months with the MCON, its tiny Bluetooth sport pad that magnetically connects to your telephone. On the time, we tried a pre-production unit, however within the 12 months because the MCON has been finalized and went on sale final month. I simply acquired an opportunity to attempt the ultimate model right here at CES, and only a fast demo was sufficient to persuade me that OhSnap has made some stable refinements during the last 12 months.
Simply as we noticed final 12 months, the MCON attaches magnetically to an iPhone or any suitable Android telephone (the corporate additionally features a magnetic ring within the field for Androids that don’t have Qi2 but). It has the total array of controls, together with 4 face buttons, a D-pad, two joysticks and index finger buttons and full bumpers. It’s simply sleeker and feels extra stable than final 12 months’s prototype, and whereas mounting your makes it really feel a bit top-heavy, it’s not awkward sufficient to trigger actual points when playuing (no less than that’s how I felt after my temporary demo).
The controller additionally has grips that unfold to assist steadiness issues, and the plate that attaches your telephone to the controller has a kickstand. So if you wish to drop your telephone down on a tray desk on a airplane and play simply holding the controller, be happy. All in all, the MCON appears like a versatile and high-quality system that’s in all probability definitely worth the $150 OhSnap asks for it.
The MCON dock connects your telephone to your TV for full-screen gameplay. (Nathan Ingraham for Engadget)
The corporate additionally has some new equipment to point out off. There’s a $70 TV dock that powers your telephone and outputs video from USB-C to HDMI. You may use this dock with any Bluetooth controller hooked as much as your cell phone, not simply the MCON. There’s additionally a tiny $30 adapter you possibly can put in your keychain that has a USB-C plug that goes into your telephone; plug an HDMI cable into the opposite finish and you may broadcast your video games to a TV anyplace you go and play them with a controller.
It’s a fairly intelligent and complete set of merchandise, and whereas there are tons of cellular sport controllers, the OhSnap appears like one of many extra moveable and smooth choices on the market. OhSnap is engaged on one thing even slimmer, although. The corporate confirmed off two new prototype controllers, the MCON Lite and MCON Slim.
OhSnap is engaged on two new MCON controller which are extra compact than the unique. (Nathan Ingraham for Engadget)
Because the names recommend, they’re each extra compact than the unique mannequin. The Lite makes use of concave joypads relatively than full sticks, and the Slim makes issues even smaller by utilizing concave contact pads. Your’e not going to get fairly the identical high quality expertise with these as you’ll with the larger model, however they’re noticeably thinner; OhSnap says they’ll be cheaper, too. The MCON Lite is scheduled to reach this summer time, whereas the Slim ought to launch within the fall (across the similar time because the iPhone 18).
