Duncan Mao’s USP for the Jacknife Gamer gamepad is that it is a much more moveable choice than anything presently out there on Android. At first, it looks like an odd boast. The Razer Kishi V2, Spine One, and Turtle Seaside Atom are hardly large controllers. However after getting my fingers on this teeny tiny controller, it is positively a hyper-portable choice in comparison with what’s out there in the marketplace. The query is whether or not or not its trade-offs for being so little are price the additional mobility it offers.
Weighing a barely noticeable 40 grams with dimensions of 64mm x 29mm x 27mm when closed, the Jacknife Gamer pad is sufficiently small to slide into your pocket. Although you’ll be able to throw most cell gamepads in a bag, you’d battle to stuff the Spine One into your denims. Admittedly it is a area of interest utilization. Throughout a visit the place I really feel a controller is critical, I take a bag. However for anybody who steadily commutes sans backpack, it is a good way to sport on the go with out taking on a lot house in your individual.
Portability like no different controller
It additionally appears superior, sporting a retro-inspired aesthetic that can possible remind you of the NES controller, regardless of the actual fact it isn’t that shut of a resemblance in actuality. The bodily look is not the one boon, although. The Jacknife Gamer gamepad attaches to your controller utilizing the clip-style set-up, one thing I’ve beforehand talked about I normally dislike. On this case, although, it suits neatly on my Google Pixel 3a and steers away from the quantity button, a difficulty I’ve usually had beforehand.
Nonetheless, not all telephones are designed equally, so the clip won’t match onto your cellphone in addition to it does not mine. And that suitability for everybody is a matter with the Jacknife Gamer gamepad throughout the board. Your eyes might need narrowed if you learn the size. Absolutely, a controller that small will really feel cramped in most grownup fingers? In my expertise, it relies upon. If I performed one thing like Dadish, which solely requires the usage of the d-pad and face buttons, there was no difficulty. Nonetheless, if I performed a sport that wanted the 2 triggers, it turned an uncomfortable expertise.
They’re each positioned on the backside of the controller, with their positioning designed to reflect the place an individual’s fingers would naturally fall. That is not the case for me. It by no means stopped feeling bizarre attempting to make use of LB and RB to the purpose that I would not use this controller for any sport the place you want them. Equally, since there’s restricted house on the Jacknife, there is no such thing as a analogue stick, that means video games that will not management properly with a d-pad are additionally out of the equation. But when your fingers fall naturally into that place when holding the controller, it is perhaps a unique story.
It is a thought that occurred to me so much throughout my time with the controller that hasn’t been the case with earlier pads I’ve examined. The Razer Kishi V2, Spine One, and co all really feel the identical no matter which cellphone I used, however the Jacknife appears to rely upon various factors; the scale of the person’s fingers, the place their fingers naturally fall, and the scale of the cellphone. The Google Pixel 3a is, by modern-day requirements, a small and lightweight cellphone. With one thing bigger and heavier, the Jacknife might grow to be uncomfortable fairly shortly, since you may be battling in opposition to the load of your cellphone the whole session.
After all, it’s a Bluetooth controller, so you do not essentially have to make use of the clip should you can prop your cellphone up someplace or are content material to play with it in your lap or one thing related. And it is possible for you to to take action for a very long time. The Jacknife boasts a powerful 60-hour battery per cost. So, it’s going to survive the longest of commutes or flights. Simply remember it’s going to want charging sooner or later.