Nobody really expected Xbox to reveal a smaller controller last month, but that’s exactly what they did in the Xbox Nano controller, which takes all of the functionality of a standard Xbox controller (which many would argue is the best controller to ever exist) and put it into a much more portably form factor.
The best thing about the Xbox Nano Controller is that despite weighing less than half of a standard Xbox controller and being extremely pocketable, it retains every single button that the standard controller has with all 18 coming over. It even adds the action button which replaces the share button on the standard controller and can be customised to do a bunch of different actions.
I’m really impressed with the ergonomics of the controller given its size. It fits in the hands perfectly and is really comfortable for longer play sessions. The analogue sticks whilst being ever so slightly smaller retain many of the same qualities including those textured grips, but still feel super responsive and the d-pad is almost identical as well, but maybe ever so slightly flatter.
The face buttons probably see the biggest change with them being probably 70% of the size of the original, but still totally useable and don’t feel out of place. The shoulder buttons retain their analogue quality and obviously take the biggest hit. The triggers feel pretty good, but transitioning to the bumpers can be a little bit awkward, but obviously this is intended for more casual gaming or younger gamers rather than competitive gaming.
The only tangible trade off that I could think of when using the controller is that there is no vibration, and I’d assume that’s due to battery life, which I haven’t used up yet, but I’d estimate that the rechargeable battery comes in at about 30 hours.
As far as pairing, you can use it with any Xbox console, or any other device that uses Bluetooth, with me able to pair it to my iPhone Duo within seconds and get gaming. There’s also a rumoured upcoming feature that allows it to pair to Wi-Fi directly for low latency Cloud gaming, which will be a little glimpse into the future of Xbox.
All-in-all, I wouldn’t recommend anyone go and throw their standard Xbox controller in the bin when it comes to longer gaming sessions, but as a secondary controller, one you can give to your kids or just take on the go with you, this feels like an Xbox controller without any compromises.