Abxylute M4 Snap-On Controller Sticks Close and Has Up to 12-Hour Battery Life, Hits Kickstarter

Abxylute’s M4 Snap-On controller is available on Kickstarter today, and it is essentially a little palm rest that attaches to the back of your phone and transforms touchscreen torment into actual pint-sized gaming sessions. Early backers can score one for $39 while the early bird special is still going on – and you’ll get to try it out way ahead of the curve (deliveries start next month).

It’s an ultra compact accessory, measuring 75 x 70 x 15mm – about the size of a deck of cards – and weighing only 56g. This makes it almost unnoticeable in the normal pocket next to your phone, and you won’t have to worry about it weighting you down when you keep it in there. Its body attaches with magnets that connect to Apple’s MagSafe for iPhones or a comparable little ring for Android phones. If your phone does not have MagSafe, it comes with an adhesive ring that will keep the controller in place while gaming – but a slight tug and it will come off. The base has a pair of analog sticks for your thumbs to get stuck into, a D-pad on the left and action buttons on the right (all the usual suspects from old-school consoles), and four responsive shoulder buttons on top that are up to the work when the game gets frenetic.

The battery life is seriously impressive, lasting a full 12 hours on a single charge. That will easily take you through a weekend of gaming without needing to stick a plug in – the 300 mAh battery is a real trooper when it comes to keeping the show on the road. And with Bluetooth 5.3 on board, you know your connection to your phone (either iOS or Android) will be rock solid. And the magic trick is – when you yank the controller off your phone, it turns into a proper wireless gamepad for your telly or PC, which means its potential goes way beyond phones. Right now you’ve only got a choice of black, white, or orange, but the plan is to get some more out there, like GameCube purple or a translucent case that lets you see the innards.


Abxylute’s path to this point began with some rough summer prototypes, with engineers experimenting with various forms until they finally agreed on the T-shape, which places the phone screen directly above the grip. For mobile games that require a little more accuracy, like as racing games or fighters, those sticks and buttons actually work and provide control that a touchscreen simply cannot match.


Crowdfunding is always a gamble, but Abxylute has a pretty decent track record when it comes to manufacturing peripherals like the S9 Type-C controller and the C8 wireless pad, which have all demonstrated their dependability. Production should ramp up in December, but there’s always the possibility that shipping or obtaining the necessary magnets will be delayed, which might throw a wrench in things. Still, the $39 entry price is appealing to early adopters seeking for something that bridges the gap between playing on a phone and getting some serious gaming action going on.