Razer Kishi Gamepad "Turns" Your Phone into a Nintendo Switch

A major hurdle that made finding a reliable gamepad more difficult to use with your smartphone was around the time Android 10 and iOS 13 added native support for DualSchok 4 and Xbox One controllers. Even so, Razer decided to try to offer a more comfortable way to play games on mobile. Then came the controller called Kishi, an accessory that costs US$80 made by Razer in partnership with Gamevice.

The Razer Kishi is a compact controller that splits into two parts, something similar to what we have on the Nintendo Switch Joy-con. Connection to the device is made via a USB-C connector that connects to the other side via a cable.

Razer's gamepad has support for Razer smartphones, Google Pixel 2 and newer, Galaxy S8 and newer (apart from S20 Ultra), and Samsung Galaxy Note 8 and newer. Other phones are supported, but you'll need Android 8 or higher, a centrally located USB-C port, and dimensions that don't exceed 78,1mm x 163,7mm x 8,8mm.

The strong point of the Razer Kishi is the fact that USB-C charges the device's battery while gaming, not needing to charge the gamepad separately. In addition, there is lower latency due to the type of connection compared to Bluetooth used by other controllers. Depending on the game, the Kishi may have faster gameplay compared to the Xbox One controller.

However, there are downsides to the Kishi, such as the lack of input for wired headphones and the audio transmission via Bluetooth having delays due to high latency. In addition, we cannot ignore the fact that the Razer device quickly drains the smartphone battery when playing a game.

Regarding the positioning of the Kishi's controls, it is noticed that there is not a positioning as good as in the DualShock 4 or the Xbox One controller.

Razer plans to release Kishi for iPhones soon.