Let's be honest, the Nacon MG-X Pro Xbox Cloud Gaming controller is a bit of an eyesore at first glance. Not because it looks badly made or anything like that, but because it's just so wide. In practice though, once you've got your phone connected via Bluetooth and you're up and running, it's a highly enjoyable controller to use.
Built for Android smartphones equipped with Android 6 (or later), it's really simple to get started with the MG-X Pro, slotting your phone into the centre of the controller which pulls open with a spring-based insert to fit devices of all sizes. We used a Samsung Galaxy S10 with it for the purposes of this review, and the phone felt nice and secure when fitted into the controller — with a bit of potential room left over for phones of a longer (and possibly wider) nature.
As mentioned before, the controller connects seamlessly via Bluetooth, and it's ready out of the box for applications like Xbox Game Pass, where you can access a wide variety of cloud-based games. For other things like emulators, you may need to do a bit of tinkering to map all the various buttons as you'd like them, but it's generally a painless process.
So, how does it feel to use for extended periods of time? Well, we haven't tried as many Xbox Cloud Gaming controllers as we'd like yet here at Pure Xbox, but this is undoubtedly one of the most comfortable options we've had access to. It's a wide design, sure, but that means the weight of the phone is evenly balanced out, so you can play for hours without feeling like the controller is causing any strain. It's not as light as something like a Nintendo Switch or a standard Xbox controller, but it's not too far off that mark either.
The key thing is that it just feels pleasant in the hands. There's nothing outstanding about the build quality of the analog sticks, buttons and triggers, but they're all enjoyable to use nonetheless, and the controller grips slot very naturally into your palms so you instantly feel at ease with the design. To put it simply, the MG-X Pro feels like using a wider, slightly heavier version of a Nacon Xbox controller with a screen in the middle — the important part of that statement is that it actually feels like a proper (third-party) Xbox controller.
As for the battery, Nacon is promising around 20 hours, and we haven't hit that mark yet — we're still running on the initial charge from the included USB-C cable, but we'll update this review if we notice the battery life proving worse or better over time. In terms of (slight) drawbacks, it's worth noting that there's no companion app for customisation purposes, and there are no vibration capabilities or any kind of force feedback either. The latter would have been a nice bonus, but we can't say we're too bothered about the lack of companion app.
In terms of its portability, it kind of depends on what you're looking for out of the MG-X Pro. You're going to get some looks if you take this thing out on a train or a bus, much more so than something like the 8BitDo SN30 Pro, but it's still small enough that you can easily slot it in a backpack — it's probably too big to fit in any coat pockets, though.
There's also the MG-X to think about, Nacon's previous version of this accessory, which has a design that wraps around your phone rather than emulating the feel of a standard Xbox controller like the MG-X Pro. Although we haven't been hands-on with the MG-X, we can't really see any reason on paper to pick that up over the MG-X Pro at this point, and numerous other reviews across the web have been suggesting the same thing so far.
So, to sum up, we're definitely impressed with the Nacon MG-X Pro, and it's now become our controller of choice for Xbox Cloud Gaming on Android. Looks can be deceiving, and while this is admittedly a bit of an unsightly controller at first glance, it performs well in practice, and the crucial part is that it's comfortable to use for long periods of time.
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Have you bought the Nacon MG-X Pro? Thoughts on it? Let us know in the comments below.
Comments 9
Kinda reminds me of the early PS3 controller concepts.
This is promising. Looks more ergonomic to hold than the Razer Kishi but NGL would've preferred a version with a USB C connection, as that would help with latency and also be one fewer device to charge.
Hilarious that they seemingly went for the tallest possible phone they could find in the product shots, makes it look even more ridiculous, like a Reddit photoshop. I'm sure they were trying to show off that it could take up to 6.7 inches (insert Metal Gear alert sound ! ) but it looks completely mahoooosive and ungainly.
@FraserG How does it measure up against the top competition like the Backbone or the Razer Kishi? Have you used those?
Or even using an Xbox Series X Controller with a phone mount. (this is what I currently do) e.g. https://amzn.to/34iYrIi
IMO the phone mount is a bit top heavy for really long play sessions but had no problems up to an hour or so.
The problem with these Switch-like controllers is that they generally don't allow for audio passthrough, meaning you can't use a headphone jack and you're stuck with bluetooth audio and the audio latency is terrible in my experience. Renders everything completely unplayable.
@themightyant I personally haven't had a chance to try the models you mentioned, but compared to a controller with a phone mount, I find the MG-X Pro a more practical option — the process of connecting your phone is as simple as sliding open the middle of the MG-X Pro, as opposed to attaching a clip and then attaching your phone, getting everything positioned exactly right, etc. The cost difference is significant though of course.
The other thing with the MG-X Pro (and I assume, the Razer Kishi) compared to a phone mount is that it actually feels like an Xbox handheld device rather than a controller with a screen clipped to the top of it.
In regards to the "top heavy" mention, it's not something you need to worry about with this — it's weightier than a standard Xbox controller, but the weight feels pretty evenly distributed so I personally haven't had any issues with strain or wanting to put it down after an extended period of time.
Apologies if this comes across as mindless rambling — I'm tired and ill this weekend so not on best form! Fortunately the review was written earlier this week...
@FoodForSammy this is definitely one of the biggest downsides to the Razer Kishi. Don't know if you've already tried them, but the Razer Hammerhead Tru Wireless earbuds have a built-in gaming mode that does a decent job of reducing the latency, although it's still not perfect by any means.
@themightyant I have a phone mount for home streaming and find it's much more comfortable if you can angle the mount to have the phone sitting as above the controller as possible (as you look down) rather than leaning out on top of it. You don't need to see the controller for playing
Looks pretty cool, but i am still waiting for an AI powered controller that will play the games for me
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