Verdict
The Turtle Beach Atom is a hearty option for those fluid gamers that exact a Bluetooth connection , as well as for anyone looking for full - sized controls with maximum portability . However , it does n’t offer quite such a premium gaming experience as the best in the line of work .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
After establishing a name for itself making wakeless card in the tardy ’ 80s and ’ ninety , American brand Turtle Beach transition to throw keenly price gaming headsets in the noughties . Now with the Atom , the brand has decided to tackle the mobile game comptroller blank space .
The Turtle Beach Atom manoeuvre away from the late vogue for USB - ampere-second roving game accountant , the undecomposed examples of which admit theBackbone Oneand theGameSir G8 Galileo . Instead , it focuses on estimable honest-to-goodness Bluetooth connectivity .
Despite using this more general joining criterion ( though USB - C is well on its way to a similar condition now that Apple is fully on board ) , there are two distinct models available – one for Android and another for iPhone . I ’ve been essay the latter .
At a price of £ 69.99 , it is n’t exactly what you ’d call cheap , but it does be less than both of those aforementioned premium rivals ( which be £ 99.99 and £ 79.99 respectively ) . Can the Turtle Beach Atom undersell them on quality too ?
Design
I ’ll allow Turtle Bay this : it has certainly conceive outside the box with the Atom ’s design . Rather than the common clamp system , which dilate and contract bridge to hold the phone in a landscape orientation , the Atom is made up of two decided parts that connect and sync with one another via a proprietary 2.4 GHz wireless link .
The odd and proper portions still hold onto the relevant destiny of the phone , but through autonomous upright clamps . It function , though there ’s an undeniable amount of wiggle and flex even when myiPhone 15 Prois snugly installed .
However , I did n’t escape that small moment of apprehension whenever install a phone into a USB - speed of light controller , where you reverence a catapulting disaster or a thick scratch from a misaligned jack .
One thing I ’m most certainly not a fan of is Turtle Bay ’s approach to batten a custom fit . While the Backbone One go with a clever ( if initially fiddly ) mesmerise interchangeable cushioning system , the Atom gives you a couple of sizes of gluey inking pad that adhere to points on the pad . Apparently , it ’s suitable for theiPhone 11and later .
It finger slightly naff , and it seems exonerated its adhesive king will finally pass off . That ’s ok if you signify to use this with a individual phone for several long time to come , but might get a trouble if you change your phone often .
Strangely enough , my favorite part of the Turtle Beach Atom ’s unique figure is only apparent when you ’re not using it . The two parts can be flipped around on opposing orientations , where they then slot together via magnetised embrasure , with those vertical plastic clamps doubling as rails .
In this constellation , the Atom becomes right smart more portable than its all - in - one contender . It also enable you to charge both halves together with the exclusive USB - 100 port wine that sit down on the bottom edge of the unexpended one-half . There ’s a whole 20 hour of shelling life here , so it ’ll be good for a full calendar week of two or three - hour gaming sessions , and a full recharge takes 2.5 hour .
The controls need only a cursory reference , with a classical full - sized console comptroller layout comprised of matching analogue stick , four should buttons , two of which are analogue , four facia button , a D - pad , and three smaller card / pilotage button dotted around in the free spaces .
The design is very ergonomic , at least for someone with large hands . It sits in the palms nicely , with solid ledge to rest your in-between fingers on and a pleasingly tactual sonant - touch ending to the bottom . Overall , though , it does n’t quite have the ‘ first - party controller ’ solidness of the GameSir G8 Galileo or the Backbone One .
Performance and gaming experience
Bluetooth rather than USB - C connectivity has its positive and its negative . On the positive side , Bluetooth over USB - C means spacious game compatibility . The the likes of of Genshin Impact and Call of Duty Mobile ( to name the two most in high spirits - profile examples ) do n’t officially put up USB - C controllers , but they do support Bluetooth .
USB - C comptroller manufacturers like GameSir have make around this with luxuriant touchscreen translation mappings , but both of those vast games put to work seamlessly and natively here .
On the disconfirming side , there ’s plainly no beating the directness of a USB - C connection . It ’s the only way of life to guarantee connection stability and low latency .
I should note that I did n’t have any such connection issues during my time with the Turtle Bay Atom , but there ’s no getting off from physics . A USB - C is simply a respectable medium when it come to the pure gambling experience .
Then there ’s the decidedly non - crippled - well-disposed fact that you ca n’t charge your phone while you ’re playing with the Atom , as there ’s obviously no USB - C passthrough option . With the backside altogether unobstructed , there ’s a hazard you could suit aMagSafecharger onto the back of your iPhone while playact , but I did n’t have one to reach to try out that out . Plus , it ’s not much help to Android gamers until those firstQi2 - digest phonesstart to arrive .
You also do n’t get a 3.5 mm headphone sweetener - up , which makes getting low - latency sound far more problematic .
As for the actual quality of those control when gaming , they ’re utterly solid , but far from the best . The analogue stick thump the Backbone One on size of it , but not quality feel , while the GameSir G8 Galileo and its Hall Effect stick blow out it out of the water .
The D - launch area feels slightly spongelike than I would like , but it passes the Dead Cells test with fly colours . In other words , it ’s authentic and responsive even in the most fluid 2D action mechanism - platformer on the block .
Software
As is typically the case with these mod mobile controllers , there ’s a consecrate Turtle Bay Atom app for the accountant , and it ’s free to download and use .
It ’s nowhere near the affair of polished looker that is the Backbone UI , but nor is it the jumbled lot of the GameSir app . Instead , it ’s a rather drab but running app that offers the power to pull off analogue ascendency dead zones and reactivity , as well as to check on the remaining barrage fire biography ( in percentage and estimated hours ) and moderate for new microcode .
The app also offers a Game Discovery section , which is working if more or less undercooked . It ’s weird that you ca n’t sail it with the gaming ascendancy , and it manifests as a scroll jumble of apps and avail .
Look closer , and there is some mannikin of order here . It start with three major cyclosis services : PlayStation Remote Play , Steam Link , and Xbox Cloud Gaming . To be exonerated , this is nothing more sophisticated than a liaison to the relevant app name on the App Store .
The quietus of the icon are sacrifice over to a straight tilt of recommend plot and apps ( there ’s an heading - education app in there ) , list in alphabetical order . Tapping on those takes you to – you guessed it – the app listing , even if it ’s already installed on your earpiece .
There ’s no provision for launching your installed apps , as other game restrainer apps provide , so this is improbable to be your go - to gaming portal .
As a way to quickly sift through games that will be compatible with the Atom , it ’s handy , but it ’s all handled in a slimly slipshod manner .
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Should you buy it?
The Turtle Beach Atom propose full - sized control for your phone , but is one of the most compact controllers around when not in use .
If you ’re someone who shift their phone often for whatever reason , the Atom ’s basic sticky - pad customs duty paroxysm system will raise unsuitable .
Final Thoughts
The Turtle Beach Atom volunteer a singular proposal – a full - sized mobile secret plan controller that offers Bluetooth rather than USB - C connectivity , and pack down into an extremely portable packet when not in use .
Using Bluetooth come in with its advantages and disadvantage . You ’ll get wider game compatibility and a slimly simpler fitting system than USB - C , but no pass - through charging or pumped up headphone . Latency and reliability , as good as it is , will never be quite as good either .
The gambling controls themselves are decent , but they ca n’t fit the like of theGameSir G8 Galileofor sheer fit and ending . The biotechnology are good , though .
All in all , the Turtle Beach Atom would n’t be our top selection for a roving or streaming game accountant . But if you exact a unit that folds away neatly for travel , and particularly if you play CoD Mobile or Genshin Impact , it ’s a more - than - workable option .
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We essay all our devices soundly over an extended period of sentence . We apply industry - standard tests to equate features properly . We ’ll always recount you what we find . We never , ever , accept money to review a product .
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FAQs
It supports smartphones with depths between 67 - 92 mm , and heights of 6 - 10.5 mm , so any case within those parameters should be hunky-dory .
There are two translation available , covering iOS and Android . This review poser will work with the iPhone 11 and later .
No , there is no draw - through charging option here .
