Ideal for Xbox Remote Play, this controller will feel instantly familiar to Xbox owners, and it even has an Xbox button in the center, like the official model. It’s much lighter, but there are solid standard Xbox buttons, grippy thumbsticks, and a couple of programmable pushers on the back. The only disappointment is the mushy D-pad and the lack of any haptics. The clip design is smart, with two adjustable joints and a cradle that expands to accommodate most phones. It even has minimal forked prongs that avoid the power or volume buttons on the side of your phone. The connection to your phone is a choice of cable or Bluetooth.
With a 3,000-mAh rechargeable battery inside, the Moga XP-5 X boasts long battery life and can even double up as a portable battery pack. It charges via a MicroUSB port in the top, and there’s a USB-A port that can be used to plug a cable into your phone’s USB-C port (the supplied cable caters to both). Weirdly, there’s no Xbox support, so you can stream Xbox games from your console to your phone with Remote Play, but you can’t play on the Xbox itself with this controller.
Officially works with Android, Xbox Remote Play, and Windows
★ Upgrade pick: The PowerA Moga XP7-X Plus ($100) offers everything the XP-5 X does but you can also remove the stand in the center to slot in your phone (my Pixel 6 Pro fits nicely). It is sturdy, offers plenty of buttons (only a screenshot button is missing), and can wirelessly charge your phone. But it is expensive, has a MicroUSB port when I’d prefer USB-C, and only a 2,000 mAh battery, so stick with the XP-5 X unless you really want that spring-loaded cradle to fit your phone in.