GameSir X2s Type-C Mobile Controller Review

Over the years, I’ve been more and more impressed by the products to come out of the GameSir stable. They started relatively simply, offering up early mobile controller options as a new wave of Game Pass, Cloud and mobile experiences came to the fore. And since those early years, they’ve slowly and surely developed things, integrating new ideas, new methods, culminating in the GameSir G8 Galileo, a controller a world away from the early GameSir X2 controllers. 

But now GameSir have looked to take what worked for them years ago, deciding to bring it a little more up-to-date. They are doing so with the X2s Type-C Mobile Controller. The thing is, we’ve been a little disappointed by it. 

Things have moved on massively in the world of mobile gaming. There’s obviously a huge market on iOS and Android, but then Xbox have fast muscled in, pushing Game Pass and Cloud Gaming to all new levels. It means the X2s is probably a good fit for what is required by many gamers. But whilst it feels decent in hand and works well, there are some oddities we can’t get over. 

Inspired by an old-school Nintendo 2DS (although them’s GameSir’s words as we’re struggling to see many similarities), the X2s comes in a rather delightful colour scheme. It comes to market with contrasting light and dark greys, complemented nicely with some lilac details covering the d-pad, face buttons and both bumpers and triggers. Honestly, it’s not going to be liked by all, but we think the colour scheme fits. 

It looks good around the rear too. That lilac colour makes up most of the rear, broken up by a GameSir logo slap bang in the middle, as well as some textured rubber grips on either side. These are perfectly placed as you grip the X2s, feeling very nice in hand. Don’t expect any rear-mounted buttons of trigger locks round there though; this is a fairly simple piece of kit. 

Front-side sees everything you would expect of a mobile controller. The thumbsticks click in nicely, rotating like the best of them with anti-friction glide rings and Hall Effect skills to ensure that they feel precise enough, whilst the d-pad (albeit plasticky) works as it should. The face buttons are set up in an Xbox-stylee too. And then you’ve got four different menu buttons in place – a G, S, Home and Capture buttons. This isn’t officially licensed for Xbox though so don’t expect any big Xbox Nexus button to be found. 

Everything on the GameSir X2s feels decent to use. Microswitched bumpers stand out alongside curved triggers, but in testing nothing has felt ‘bad’, working as intended each and every time, as we’ve made the most of some Game Pass games through the cloud. Oh yeah, and there’s USB-C passthrough on the underside of the unit too, ensuring you can keep playing and powered. 

But – and we guess you could see this coming – the GameSir X2s Type-C Mobile Controller isn’t one that we see ourselves using long term. Reasons? Well, there are various. 

The GameSir X2s Type-C Mobile Controller utilises a pull and clasp system to keep your mobile phone front and centre. It comes with universal compatibility at the core and this should mean some seamless integration with iPhone 15 series and Android phones – we can’t speak for the former, but have used multiple Android phones. You should be sorted no matter what your phone, as it’s pretty adaptable, catering for phones ranging from 110mm to 168mm in length, with no width restrictions. With rubber grips on either side of the controller, pulling it apart, sticking your phone into the USB-C port and closing things off is a cinch. And those grips keep your phone safely clasped too; there’s never a chance this thing will let slip. 

And we’ve used a few phones too. A Google Pixel 7 Pro, a Pixel 4A, an older Pixel 2XL all fit. But ALL require cases to be removed. And that’s because, much like we found with the G8 Galileo, the moveable USB-C connector that is attached to the X2s feels too short. Remove those cases and things slot in absolutely fine, the X2s powering up the second it recognises the phone, but even though our cases are fairly minimal it seems like even the smallest bumper stops connection from being made. It’s a strange call by GameSir to run such a short USB-C connector and we certainly don’t want to remove a case every time we want to use it. Bear that in mind should your daily driver be cased. 

Further, that USB-C connector is on the wrong side of the X2s. We’ve used a ton of mobile controllers over the years and the vast majority of those have seen the connector on the right arm of the controller, phone slotting in, volume and power button left topside. But the X2s utilises a left-sided USB-C connector and so attaching a phone immediately feels strange. What’s more, we’ve been left scrabbling around for the volume that is then on the underside of the unit. A strange call indeed.

What’s more, the thumbsticks, straight out of the box, are convexed up and over the lid of the stick. It’s not something we like, much preferring a more concaved system. Again, personal? Probably, but let it be known that if you agree with our thumbstick way of life, you’ll need to fit two of the – included in box – concaved thumbstick toppers. 

The big kicker for the GameSir X2s Type-C Mobile Controller though? Well, we don’t know what the ‘s’ stands for in X2s, but we’re going with ‘small’. Again, this may be rather personal and we have come straight in from general use of the bigger G8 Galileo, but the X2s feels tiny in hand, the face buttons being of a ridiculous size. It means that we’ve felt pretty cramped whilst using the GameSir X2s Type-C Mobile Controller for gaming sessions. And whilst that is fine for a short while, and it does mean that at just 170 grams it’s an easy piece of kit to chuck in a rucksack, long term use is not something that excites. 

If you can look through those issues, then the usual GameSir mobile controller features are present. The GameSir App (on Android for us) is fairly decent, letting you test the controller, amend key settings, stick some hair-triggers on, utilise a turbo mode and the like. Much of that is possible via key shortcuts on the unit too. Do you need these things? We don’t think so, but it’s nice they are there for those looking for it. 

Lag-free thanks to that USB-C connector, if you’re looking for an entry level mobile controller to help you out with the likes of Game Pass and Cloud Gaming, the GameSir X2s Type-C Mobile Controller is okay. Just be mindful that this is a small unit and there are some weird quirks about it. Personally, we’ll be sticking with our GameSir G8 Galileo. 

Huge thanks go out to GameSir for providing the GameSir X2s Type-C Mobile Controller for review. Grab a unit for yourself from GameSir direct, expecting to pay around £49.00.