Razer Kishi Ultra

Clip-on mobile game controllers let you play supported phone-based games with physical buttons that feel much better than using a touch screen. They’re usually pretty cramped, with dinky sticks and buttons. The Razer Kishi Ultra ($149.99), however, is a beast of a USB-C controller that's comfortable in even the largest hands. It’s the most full-featured clip-on gamepad we’ve tested, complete with RGB lighting and haptic feedback. If you don't mind the price, sensitive analog sticks, and streaming workarounds on iOS devices, it's easy to recommend.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

How the Razer Kishi Ultra Feels

The Kishi Ultra is significantly chunkier than the Kishi V2 Pro bundled with the Razer Edge tablet, and that’s a good thing. Although the Kishi V2 Pro's grips are slightly wider and shorter than Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons, the Kishi Ultra feels like a full-size Xbox Wireless Controller split in half. It's fairly light without a phone or tablet in it, but the size and shape make it incredibly comfortable compared with smaller clip-on controllers. The trade-off is that at 9.5 inches closed, it’s a solid 2.5 inches wider than the Kishi V2 and Kishi V2 Pro, so stuffing it in a bag is a bit harder.

You get standard Xbox-style controls to go with the Xbox-style shape. The analog sticks are offset from each other, and the A/B/X/Y face buttons are arranged with the A button on the bottom. The big, clicky, disc-shaped D-pad has prominent up, down, left, and right directions. The buttons are likewise large and tactile. Small Home, Options, and Capture buttons sit on the controller's left half, right of the analog stick and D-pad. The Menu and Razer Nexus buttons are located on the controller's right half, left of the stick and face buttons. The gamepad's top edge has clicky bumpers, analog triggers, and a smaller, programmable square button next to each trigger. RGB light gives the pad a gamer-centric look.

A wide, springy plastic arm connects the two controller halves, accommodating phones and tablets between 4.7 and 8.3 inches long. Removable rubber feet on each arm end cushions the device connected via the USB-C port. In the box, you'll find rubber feet for the iPhone 15 Pro, Pro Max, and Plus, the sixth-generation iPad mini, and general Android devices.

You can simply snap a phone between the grips. Alternatively, you can use a USB-C cable to connect the Kishi Ultra to your PC as a wired gamepad. The USB-C port on the bottom of the right grip is also used for pass-through charging. A 3.5mm headphone jack on the left grip lets you use a wired headset.

The Razer Kishi Ultra feels better in hand than the Backbone One, a mobile gamepad that costs less ($99.99) and is easier to tuck away in a bag or jacket.

(Credit: Razer/PCMag)

Razer Nexus App: Some Compromises on iOS

Most Android phones and iPhones with USB-C ports should immediately recognize the Kishi Ultra and prompt you to download the Razer Nexus app. This serves as the hub for your Kishi-based gaming. It offers a simple front end for playing mobile games, though you must register each one using the software. The app also shows you various games and streaming options, with links to the relevant app store pages. 

It's easy to gather your games with just a few button presses, with one exception. Streaming on Xbox Game Pass doesn’t use a local iOS app, but a strange workaround where you load a web-based app. Nexus highlights streaming Xbox games and lets you view setup instructions to get started.

The first time I did this, it worked. I logged into my Xbox account, and the iOS web app let me use the controller. Every time after that, though, the iOS app stated that I had been logged out. It then either froze if I accessed it through Nexus or made me log in again if I accessed it outside of Nexus. Streaming games worked fine through the iOS web app when separately used from Nexus. It made me wish for the iOS Game Pass app to directly support streaming like the Android app does (which, incidentally, integrates perfectly with the Android version of Razer Nexus).

(Credit: Razer/PCMag)

The iOS version of Nexus leaves out a big feature found in the Android app, though. You can set up a virtual controller on Android for Genshin Impact and other games that lack physical controls, which you can't do on iOS. On the bright side, iOS tends to be much more consistent with controller support, so the virtual controller is slightly less necessary than it is on Android. Still, it's a pretty big omission.

Besides managing your game library and enabling the virtual controller on Android, Nexus lets you easily customize the Kishi Ultra’s RGB lights, map buttons or entire macros to the L4 and R4 triggers, and adjust analog stick dead zones and haptic strength.

The Kishi Ultra is a mobile controller, but it has another use: It can be used as a wired PC gamepad via a USB-C connection. It’s wider and lighter than your typical Xbox Wireless Controller, but the standard-size controls feel good. You just have to hold it with your hands farther apart.

(Credit: Razer/PCMag)

Playing Games With the Razer Kishi Ultra

I tested the Kishi Ultra with an iPhone 15 and a Google Pixel 8. In both cases, the Razer Nexus app lets me load games and configure the controller. It also worked when I plugged it into my PC.

The Kishi Ultra’s controls feel like a full-size gamepad, making Genshin Impact and Sonic Dream Team play like a dream on iPhone. The analog sticks are smooth and responsive, the direction pad is nicely clicky, and the face buttons are properly firm and springy. Xbox Game Pass cloud titles, such as Forza Horizon 5 and PowerWash Simulator, played well.

However, the Kishi Ultra's analog triggers felt twitchier than the Xbox Wireless Gamepad's when using them for forward and reverse acceleration in Forza Horizon 5. The analog triggers let you control how hard you step on the gas, but they have a lengthy dead zone and steep response curve. Oddly enough, the Kishi V2's smaller triggers offer more subtle control, despite the controller being much less comfortable to hold and use. An option to adjust the triggers’ dead zones or curves in the Nexus app would be a welcome addition, since you can tweak the sticks’ dead zones.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Playing Ultrakill and Vampire Survivors with the Razer Kishi Ultra felt as natural and comfortable as controlling them with a conventional gamepad. Although the Kishi Ultra's two halves are farther apart than a traditional controller, the bridge connecting them produces no distracting wiggle. The haptic feedback made the controller shake with every shot and impact when playing Ultrakill.

The Razer Kishi Ultra's haptic tech probably should have been left out to cut the controller's price, though. Although it works on PC, haptics are almost completely nonexistent on mobile platforms. I couldn’t find a single Apple Arcade release that uses force feedback with a controller, and I had no better luck on Android even when poking through a few emulators and titles that should support it. Even cloud gaming on Xbox Game Pass lacks vibration.

(Credit: Will Greenwald)

Verdict: A Better Way to Play Mobile Games

The Razer Kishi Ultra is easily the best-feeling, best-equipped gamepad designed for snapping around a mobile device. However, there are a few trade-offs, mainly in expense, bulk, and cloud streaming issues on iOS. If you can look past these issues, it's a worthy enhancement to the mobile gaming experience.