Reddit mentions of GameSir F1 Mobile PUBG Joystick Controller Grip Case for Smartphones, Mobile Phone Gaming Grip with Joystick, Controller Holder Stand Joypad with Ergonomic Design

[Upgrade Version] Woocon PUBG Mobile Game Controller, Shoot and Aim Fire Trigger Keys L1R1, for PUBG /Fortnite/Rules of Survival/Knives Out Joysticks https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07C1LDJNQ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_MSio6Tx6HwlGE

GameSir F1 Mobile PUBG Joystick Controller Grip Case for SmartPhones, Mobile Phone Gaming Grip with Joystick, Controller Holder Stand Joypad with Ergo https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0769NK92M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apap_cUlNEBeqjLmtF

I'd hate to say it, but this is why I love my Steam Controller. The touch pad on the right made aiming really nice (Still not as good as a mouse though) However, I think people are seeing what you're saying as touch controls > real controls.

If I could have an analog stick for moving, but a touch pad/screen for aiming, I would be happy.

I'm using this since it is a bit of both.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0769NK92M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

GameSir F1 Mobile PUBG Joystick Controller Grip Case for SmartPhones, Mobile Phone Gaming Grip with Joystick, Controller Holder Stand Joypad with Ergonomic Design https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0769NK92M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_mjl.AbJJ012C4

They're not terrible. They've gotten a lot better in recent years.

But you can also get something like this to be a lot more comfortable gaming on mobile. When my PC was out of commission for a few weeks I relied on that.

This review applies directly to iPhone 6+, 7+, and 8+ devices, but is probably relevant for a wide array of devices. Lots of words follow. TL;DR: the triggers I bought are well made and add a lot to the gameplay. Combined with the grip case, it's an awesome combo, but the grip case is a bit wonky (D-pad doesnt work in all situations), and making everything fit requires a normal slip-cover case on the phone.


Folks,

Recently jumped down the rabbit hole and bought a set of L1R1 triggers and a grip case for my iPhone 6+. After having spent a few hours tweaking control settings, testing things in Training Mode (hurrah for that!), and then playing through a half dozen games or so, I thought I'd give a detailed review of these things, since there doesn't seem to be one on the sub yet, either for the triggers or for a grip case.

I got interested in the grip case before the triggers. Holding my phone was leading to cramps, and so I'd rigged up a little makeshift stand/grip out of some foam blocks, and figured I may as well just get a case. After shopping around on Amazon I settled on this case:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0769NK92M/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

on the basis that it seemed a good compromise between cost and features. I was also shopping Prime-only; you can probably get this item cheaper if you're willing to wait a week or two for shipping.

Though I picked the case out before I decided I wanted triggers, a quick scan of the Q&A suggested that it was compatible with them. It is trigger-compatible, sort of, but we'll get to that in a minute.

Speaking of triggers, there are about a half-dozen different designs or so, and I suspect that there are build-quality variations within the same design family, as different companies rush to make them more cheaply. I had watched a few YouTube videos and figured the best design was the one with the cam-actuated clamp on the back of the device. I chose pretty much at random, mostly trying to pick something under 10 bucks that still looked well-designed. Settled on these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07C8ZZT6H/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1


Note the slip case on my phone in the photo above. When I said above that the grip and triggers sort of worked together, that's the rub: this combination will not work without a case. And given the variety of cases, it might not work with all cases. It works with mine (a Magpul Field Case), but I think that's a matter of luck. If the case wasn't there to make the phone sit higher in the grip and the trigger sit higher relative to the phone, the back arms on the triggers wouldn't clear the grip case. The spring tension of the case and the foam padding sort of hold the phone in place, but pushing down on the trigger pushes the entire phone down, and levers the triggers out of position, causing them to stop working. Note that the triggers themselves work just fine with or without a case, but if you want to combine triggers and grip, you're going to need a slipcover case on your phone.

The Triggers:

There seems to be a lot of disagreement as to the quality of the triggers in general, their usefulness, etc. In part, that's probably because there seem to be a few different designs of trigger. As I mentioned above, I sought out one of the cam-locked, spring-actuated designs because it seemed the most sensible and stable. I think I may have lucked out, because these triggers are quite well built, have a smartly designed mechanism, and should last for a long time without wearing out.

The body of the trigger is made of ABS plastic, which is quite durable. There's no issue with flash or jagged mold lines, they're smooth and came from good molds. The outer arms have a non-slip sticker on the inside, opposite the cam-lock mechanism, that helps keep the triggers firmly in place. When using a phone case, the cam arms might be unncessesarty to hold the trigger in place; they firmly clip onto mine without any issue. The plastic is thick enough to savely bend as it slides over thicker phones and cases. Note that one trigger will sit on top of the power button or volume button. The design of the triggers, however, is such that the force of pushing the trigger mostly goes straight into the phone, not onto the button. You can accidentally push the power/volume button by pressing the middle of the trigger device, directly on top of the button, but normal use shouldn't be a problem. With a case on the phone this is even less of an issue.

The trigger mechanism is six pieces. The upper arm is the trigger itself, which you depress to actuate the mechanism. This levers the contact arm and its attached pad downward against the screen, against the pressure of two springs that offer good resistance. The interface between the two moving pieces is wrapped in what looks like fiberglass tape, presumably to make everything slide nicely and improve durability, as the mechanism won't wear out from plastic-on-plastic rubbing.

They won't survive being stepped on, but if you take care of them (they come with a case!) they should last long enough for you to get your ten bucks' worth out of them. Add in the fact that they're (at least in my opinion) a huge boost to gameplay---with or without a grip case---and I have to say I'm very happy with them.

Speaking of gameplay, the big thing here is that it's now totally possible to run, aim, and shoot all at the same time, without having to worry about getting carpal tunnel syndrome from using claw grip. (Seriously, I tried it for a few days. My wrists. Ouch.)

One of the first things you'll notice when using the triggers is that different combat situations make it more instinctive/easier to use the left or right trigger. In close quarters, the left trigger is superior, as your right hand is busy with large aim inputs, jumping/crouching/leaning, etc. Precise trigger pulls are especially harder with the right trigger when you're circle strafing. Meanwhile, the left hand is stable because the left thumb is always planted on the screen to control movement, and so the left index finger can be more precise.

On the other hand, when sniping or in long range combat, the right trigger just feels natural because most games use R1 as the primary fire button. When you have time to set up your shots, I feel like I get better reaction time and fast-tapping from the right trigger because right-handed. Sorta makes sense. But there's a notable deficit in close-in fights as even with a grip case, the need to lift your thumb to continue to pan the camera, etc just makes things clumsy.

In the end I settled on using L1 for fire and R1 for ADS; my preference would be to have both triggers be fire buttons and have some other method of activating ADS (3D Touch, maybe?), but the extra stability in close quarters is worth the slightly unnatural feel, which will of course get better with time. You could also just run both triggers to fire and keep ADS as a right-thumb function, which I've tried, but honestly the ability to ADS without moving your thumb once you zero in on a target is too good to go without.

Note that the two fire buttons are not the same. One of them will not let you adjust your aim if you are holding it down. The other will. Make sure you place the correct one underneath the trigger, or you will not be able to circle-strafe or even use automatic fire effectively.

The Case:

The grip case is not quite as well-made as the triggers. It's not bad, it has a few smart eatures, and it does improve gameplay, but its nowhere near as big of a boost as the triggers.

In terms of materials, it seems mostly to be made out of polystyrene or some other plastic more brittle than ABS, with the exception of the D-pad and it's armature, which are made out of some kind of softer, translucent plastic. The D-pad itself is pretty fragile looking; though it's theoretically possible to swap it to the right side of the device, I wouldn't want to put enough force on it to pry it out of its slot. The slot does give the D-pad a small degree of vertical adjustability in terms of where it lands on your screen, but horizontal placement is non-adjustable. Resistance comes from a simple plastic spring; there really isn't much centering force. But the strength of the D-pad comes from the fact you now have a much more stable grip while moving, because your thumb has actual physical resistance to sliding too far. Combined with the L1 trigger to fire, its game-changing.

You can use the case without the D-pad, and I might actually start doing that, as the D-pad interferes with the operation of parachutes and vehicles. It's great on foot, but you have to flip the arm out of the way every time you get in a car because there's no way to relocate the steering controls. If you use Mode 2 (single joystick), you can sort of steer, and the boost button lets you accellerate, but it's sub-optimal.

The fact that you have to use a slip case on your phone in order to make the triggers work unfortunately means that, at least with my case/phone combo, the slots in the side of the grip that allow for power and audio cable access no longer line up properly. The headphone jack is completely obstructed if the home button is on the left side (which I find more comfortable), and regardless of orientation, the power jack is partially obstructed. I used a razor to cut away some plastic to make room for the power cable.

As far as I know it doesn't have official controller support. You will need to use some sort of a button mapper possibly (which most require root)

I bought myself one of these which works fairly well.

I got mine at a night market while i was in Taiwan for $15. The link from amazon is the same one but it’s $50 🤦🏻‍♂️

anazon link

GameSir F1 Mobile PUBG Joystick Controller Grip Case for Smartphones, Mobile Phone Gaming Grip with Joystick, Controller Holder Stand Joypad with Ergonomic Design https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0769NK92M/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_aG8TBbMC5ZFDT

https://www.amazon.com/GameSir-Joystick-Controller-SmartPhones-Ergonomic/dp/B0769NK92M after just a quick Google. Not sure on quality