Verdict
The GameSir G8 Galileo is the most elite - level peregrine biz restrainer we ’ve ever seen , with unparalleled physical controls and an telling stage of flexibility .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
Chinese maker GameSir is here to show that BackBone does n’t have the premium mobile play marketplace all to itself .
For a while there , mobile gamers were forced into a rather unsatisfactory choice . nobble up your favourite console controller and delight faultless forcible controls , but also diminished portability and freaky connectivity .
Alternatively , you could invest in a third - party USB controller and savor a high-pitched degree of portability and dependability , but also suffer from inferior ascendence quality and generally sub - received build character .
TheBackBone Onehinted that it was potential to have your cake and eat the absolute majority of it . Now , the GameSir G8 Galileo is here promising a unquestionable all - you - can - exhaust cake buffet .
At a cost of £ 79.99/$79.99 , it care to undersell the BackBone One by £ 20/$20 , though it ’s still scarcely gaudy . With a range of clever and compelling gamer - centric feature on board , however , it might just typify effective value .
Design
Like the BackBone One ( and many other fluid comptroller ) , the GameSir G8 Galileo feature a simple-minded expanding mechanics that enfold your phone , with the controls placed either side in a landscape orientation . Compared to the BackBone One , however , it ’s relatively loose to run without feel like you ’re going to Angry Birds your earphone into your mate ’s face .
I think there are a distich of cause for that . One is that the mechanics itself feels more systematically sprung , with a extensive and smoother - sliding span . Another is because GameSir has gone with a more open rubberised grip system , with none of the fiddly magnetised adapters of its rival .
One of the reasons GameSir can get aside with the latter is because it has implemented a clever hinged USB - C connecter , which can bend up and down to fit a variety of phones . And yes , it does work with the iPhone 15 family out of the loge , though there was an topic with app compatibility that I ’ll come to later .
It remains to be seen how racy this USB - nose candy larboard demonstrate to be over the long haulage , but during my test period in which I used the G8 with several phone , it do work like a ambition . From the diddyiPhone 15 Proto the hulkingRedmagic 9 professional , every sound I judge it with correspond keen . Even thePixel 8 , which leaven such a pain in the ass to pair with the BackBone One , knead attractively here , with the squatty camera eyeshade slot neatly into the recess expanding field .
Another rationality the GameSir G8 Galileo is so easy to handle is because of its gossamer size . Compared to most of its rivals , it makes no concession to portability , with everything gear towards a high - level gaming experience . It perfectly shadow the Backbone One , and at 253 g is more than 100 g heavier .
This is because the G8 Galileo dramatize a traditional full - sized control shape , as if an Xbox pad had been split in half . That counts for the command layout too , which has the full allocation of fascia clit , four trigger clit ( include two Hall Effect analog ) , twin analog sticks , and a D - digs . There are two fillip mappable buttons on the back too .
Those analogue sticks can be put back by lifting off the G8 Galileo ’s magnetize face plates , with three different stick options supplied in the boxful . give that these are Hall Effect sticks , they ’re already resistant to the kind of stick drift that affects even console table comptroller .
You also get a 3.5 millimeter earpiece doodly-squat and a USB - C port on the bottom of gadget for pass - through headphone charging .
Performance and gaming experience
The GameSire G8 Galileo provides the best set of nomadic gaming controls I ’ve ever used . From the impeccably constructed , full - sized nature of the script - holds to the quality of the controls , it feel and responds very much like a cabinet accountant .
Those high - quality ( and full - sized ) Hall Effect analogue sticks provide more preciseness in 3D action games than the BackBone One . Meanwhile , the D - pad is prissy and exact for tight - step 2D fare .
It passed the Dead Cells test with flying colours , with Motion Twin ’s agile and fluid roguelite Metroidvania proving as reactive here as it does on console . likewise , it lick bully with Resident Evil 4 Remake on the iPhone 15 Pro , with the weighty joystick enable me to down those pressured headshots .
Wreckfest , meanwhile , feels every inch the glorious console racing game that it was meant to be when receive through the G8 Galileo .
Though it is n’t immediately apparent , you could switch between three dissimilar gambling mood ( iPhone and PS Remote Play , Android , and touchscreen games ) by holding the two top computer menu button down . The latter mode permit you represent forcible controls even with games that do n’t technically support USB - C controllers , such as COD Mobile and Genshin Impact .
Software
If GameSir excels on the hardware front , it ’s merely equal when it come to the computer software supply .
I found the downloadable GameSir app to be a little flaky in a numeral of ways , from fail to recognise the controller at all on iOS ( though it still influence fine in controller - supported plot ) to receiving confusing pop - ups and momentary unresponsiveness when I plugged and unplugged a USB - one C charger .
The app itself broadly resemble the chunky image - heavy layout of the Backbone app , only much less milled . Basic sailing seems a little clunky with the accountant , with too much loaded onto the left analogue joint rather of the trigger buttons . It ’s generally better to just use the touchscreen .
tap on one of the games from the recommended section ( which have streaming services as well as the relevant app computer memory ) will initially flash it up in Mandarin text before quickly snapping to the English translation . Meanwhile , the menu cover outside the main UI are a piddling clunky , with help part exhibiting weirdly squashed fonts and typos .
Talking of help sections , I initially appreciated the proviso of the power to pilfer the G8 Galileo up as a defacto wireless controller for a more unmediated CoD Mobile experience . However , the process proved to be finicky and ill explain , and it ultimately did n’t forge for me . I had to resort to the touchscreen button function method , which was thankfully more successful .
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Should you buy it?
With outstanding analog sticks and buttons on full - sized controller sections , it ’s the estimable there is .
The GameSir G8 Galileo is one of the chunkier mobile game controllers on the food market .
Final Thoughts
The GameSir G8 Galileo offer up the finest set of mobile play controls on the market place , bar none . It ’s truly console - quality stuff , particularly with the full - sized handholds and replaceable Hall Effect analogue peg .
It ’s also compatible with a wide range of phones , fitting most Android devices and even the latest iPhones , and the affixation process is relatively simple .
As unimpeachable as the GameSir G8 Galileo ’s hardware is , however , its software needs work , with an unappealing UI and a fistful of flaky elements . There ’s also no getting off from the fact that it is n’t in particular portable .
As such , the GameSir G8 Galileo ca n’t quite offer the all - round package that the BackBone One provides . In virginal controller condition , however , it ’s an elect performer .
Trusted Score
How we test
We examine all our machine soundly over an prolonged point of time . We apply manufacture - standard tests to liken feature properly . We ’ll always tell you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to survey a intersection .
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FAQs
Yes , the open clamp system and pliant USB - atomic number 6 connection should ensure compatibility with all but the chunkiest of cases .
All USB - C Android phones , as well as the iPhone 15 folk .
Yes , there ’s a USB - C interface on the bottom of the controller .
Full Specs
