This year has been a big one for Turtle Beach and even as the holidays start to roll in, they aren’t slowing down. Their latest release of the ATOM Mobile Controller was an innovative approach to making a hyper-portable, connect-and-play device for mobile gamers out there. As someone who has been looking for a way to make my mobile games more enticing to play, I had to give them a chance and it has changed up the mobile gaming experience drastically enough that I really enjoy playing on my phone now.

What’s In The Box

Opening the box you will find a tab to pull up and this will lift a carrier-style holder for the ATOM controller inside of a soft, pull-string pouch. You will also find the charging cable and instruction booklet inside. Seeing how they were aiming for an easily-portable controller style, having a small bag to carry it in is definitely a good step but it doesn’t do much to protect it from any damages. You will also notice the controller is closed together and you simply pull them apart to separate them. This closed position is also how you will put away the controller as it turns off when closed.

If you purchased the special “Designed for Xbox” Black and Yellow option, you will also find your complimentary 1-month subscription to Xbox Game Pass code inside.

Aesthetics and Build Quality

The controller itself is built like a portable Xbox controller. While the face of it is flat, hosting a D-pad and analog stick on the left side and a diamond button and analog stick on the right side in the same placements as an Xbox controller, the backs of both handles are thickened to fit comfortably in the palm of your hands. It does a great job fitting comfortably to provide a grip while playing that doesn’t require any extra effort or focus.

Your top buttons all give off an audible clicking noise when they are used. While this is a bit obnoxious, there aren’t a lot of mobile games - from my experience - that use the top buttons.

The center of the controllers is the core of this devices whole worth as this is where the phone goes. They did a great job designing this section as well as the back side that is to support the phone goes far enough out that it supports the center of the device while holding it. The level that clamps down on the phone to keep it in place is adjustable as well, making it fit a wider variety of phones.

I did test the holder out on two phones, both with and without their cases and found that it would have been good if the width of the holder was also adjustable. While this controller is designed to fit phones with the average phone case, it has some issues with other sizes. I’ll dive more into this below.

Specs And Special Features

Being able to close the controllers together definitely helps keep it compact. To improve on this feature, they designed it to magnetically fuses together into a design that will fit in most pockets.

Each controller module is powered by its own battery cell, giving you 20-hours of total battery life on a single charge. When it is time to charge, the Atom quickly recharges in just 2.5 hours. It also charges from a single source, so you simply compact it together and put it on the provided charger. If you are using a Google Pixel phone, it actually uses the same charger as your phone even.

As mentioned before, it was designed with the Xbox controller style and comfort in mind. This brings a console-player touch to the mobile gaming world which can easily be enough to make it more enjoyable for some players.

Plus, it all connects to your 8.0 or better Android device via Bluetooth connection and is formed from two independent modules that are connected via proprietary 2.4 GHz wireless link. When you are ready to game, simply turn on your phones Bluetooth, slide it into the holders, and turn on both controller sides.

What It Could Have Done Better

As I began to mention before, the middle holder does prove to have some compatibility issues worth noting. While it is definitely designed to fit phones with the average phone case, those of you who like the bulkier cases or even the phone wallet cases will find the holder problematic.

Starting with my personal phone, I use a thick case that ensures my phone never breaks when I drop it. It does make it a little bulky though and so the clamps fail to actually go around it. The way it clamps down does good enough to hold it in place, but if I were trying to play laying down then the phone would slide out. However, if I take off the back case and leave just the front case on, it fits perfectly.

Then I tried using a phone with a wallet case on and it just doesn’t work at all. There is no way to make a phone with the wallet case work on this device, so you will have to take it out. But then that goes into my next issue…

Because there is so much space when between the back of the phone holder and the edge of the clamp, using these controllers without a case will cause a small bend in the way it holds. While this is just the controllers themselves tilting outwardly slightly and not the phone itself bending, I would imagine this to cause warping if done over a long period of time. Thus, I don’t recommend using these controllers without a case at all.

Verdict

Turtle Beach’s ATOM Mobile Controller is definitely a game changing device that makes mobile gaming so much more enjoyable! As long as you have a phone with a standard case or are at least able to use half of a bulky case, then this is a perfect fit to improve your gaming experience on the go. The ease to connect to your phone and even pack it all up, both of which only takes seconds to do, makes this a top-tier device for mobile gamers. Definitely one I would strongly recommend getting!

Game’s Played During Testing include: Diablo Immortal, Genshin Impact, Rocket League SideSwipe, and GBA Emulator via MegaMan Zero, Pokemon Emerald, and DragonBall Z: Legacy of Goku 2.

Turtle Beach’s ATOM Mobile Controller will be released on November 14th and are available now for pre-orders at $99.99 USD. Their color options are Black and Yellow, Black and Teal, or Red and Black.