PowerA’s MOGA XP-Ultra is a unique transforming controller

PowerA has gone and made one of the weirdest looking controllers I’ve ever seen, and yet, it seems like it should never have made it past the concept stage, that it’s supposed to be wirelessly compatible on Xbox consoles. The first is a non-Microsoft gamepad. PowerA MOGA XP-Ultra isn’t just a name only a mother or Elon Musk could love; It wants to try to bridge the gap between mobile game streaming on services like Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and console and PC Play. and does this by offering a convertible form factor, transforming from a small-ish mobile gamepad to a full-sized controller – all for $129.99.

We’ve seen something like this before with the Turtle Beach Recon Cloud controller, but the attempt at cross-platform compatibility was hampered by the restriction of wired USB-C on the Xbox. PowerA went the extra mile with the MOGA XP-Ultra by licensing Microsoft’s proprietary wireless protocol to allow for wireless play, and again, went several extra miles to offer four different transforming controller setups: The compact mini-pad mode, the full-size mode with the attached grip, and then any of those that have the included mobile phone clip attached.

And what is all this for? Ideally, it’s meant to give you the best of all worlds. The MOGA XP-Ultra has it all: Wireless for Xbox as well as PC (if you xbox wireless usb adapter on PC), wired USB-C on Xbox and PC, and Bluetooth 4.2 LE wireless connectivity for PC and Android phones. But even though it has full Xbox compatibility, the controller doesn’t work with iPhones or iPads.

Outside of all the connectivity stuff, the XP-Ultra sports a built-in rechargeable battery, full-size sticks, buttons, and triggers—the latter impulse triggers with their own little vibration motors. The Core Mini-Pad has its own rumble motor, and when it’s locked into the full-size hand grip, it syncs up with the larger rumbler for a feel like a standard Xbox controller. (The rumble on the mini-pad alone is a bit tinny and at times an annoying noise.) Like many other PowerA controllers, there are two programmable buttons on the back of the attachable grip. The included phone clip is like the standard Moga phone clip, which uses a pressure clamp to hold your phone in place – although it’s a little easier to attach and universal since the XP-Ultra and its clip are designed Slightly more stable than for one another. Turtle Beach’s Recon Cloud may have it beat in terms of stiffness and firmness (its phone clip screws firmly into the controller), but the Moga Clamp offers more articulation that should better position a phone on top of your hands. helps to balance.

In my brief hands-on time with the PowerA MOGA XP-Ultra, I found it to be a mixed bag of ergonomics. The quality feels there, but my average-sized hands felt too big and clunky in mini-pad mode, yet a touch too small and the buttons’ normal, comfortable reach and sticks in full-size mode. It wasn’t enough to make things unstoppable, but I could feel that I was a little out of my comfort zone. And if you mount a bulky plus-size Android phone on top of it, especially using just the mini-pad, I fear it could become Hand Cramp City as you awkwardly hold it like a claw. Let’s take

What’s that saying about jack-of-all-trades? Be that as it may, XP-Ultra isn’t really owned by anyone. The stick, buttons, and triggers are on par with other PowerA controllers — some of which I admire for their excellent mix of quality and value proposition — but I can’t help feeling that most people buying this controller will see it as just a Can be arranged to use in. or two form factors. And at that point, you might be better served with a dedicated mobile controller for your game streaming needs, combined with a regular-ass controller for console and PC use. Perhaps the XP-Ultra might make more sense after some inevitable deals (as we often see on PowerA accessories), but at $130, you can get a xbox elite series 2 core and a basic PowerA Moga Phone Clip And have a better experience.

Antonio G. Photography by Di Benedetto / The Verge