I don’t usually like starting off on a negative with a review, but I feel I have to. Being only compatible with the new iPhone 6 and 6s range phones, the Gamevice has already open its doors to a few problems. What happens if the iPhone 7 has a completely different screen size to its predecessors? What if the lightning connector that comes with the Gamevice controller is no longer used on the iPhone 7? Time will tell I suppose, but for now, let’s celebrate this wonderful product.
The Gamevice comes in two separate pieces, designed to be used with the iPhone in a landscape position. On the left side you will find the two left shoulder bumpers, a joystick and a D-pad. On the right you’ll find the right shoulder bumpers, a joystick and the four buttons in a standardised A B X Y format, coloured similar to the Xbox One and 360.
On the right there is also a handy battery gauge giving you representation of the battery time still left in the 400mAh battery. The unit is charged via USB by plugging it into a laptop or desktop computer. This in turn will charge an iPhone if it is connected so you have uninterrupted gaming.
Being able to plug headphones into the Gamevice via a 3.5mm auxilery input was a nice feature, especially if you’re in a situation where game sounds just aren’t really welcome. Don’t worry parents, you won’t have to put up with the kids’ Angry Bird noises with this.
The design is classy, easy to hold and very comfortable to use on extended play sessions. The two sections are connected using the “flexgrip” attachment. Basically a rubber rectangle that sticks to the back of the iPhone to aviod unexpected slips.
Connecting the iPhone to the lightning connector was smooth. I didn’t feel worried about a possible snap. It’s built really well. The slider is on the rear of the device which can be locked into place depending on which iPhone size screen you have housed in the Gamevice.
The controller runs on a seperate app called Gamevice Live where you can find all of the compatible games and apps to download. It still uses Apple’s app store to get the apps but this didn’t feel like a problem.
Overall the experience with the Gamevice controller for iPhones was neat. We enjoyed playing some of the more popular titles like Metal Slug and Halo: Spartain Wars through it, as well as some of the smaller apps. The Gamevice app really helps when wanting to find controller-compatible apps. Well done Gamevice, this is a decent product.
