Razer Kishi V2 review: new design, frustrating problems

With the Kishi cell controller that launched in mid-2020, Razer succeeded in turning telephones into pseudo-Nintendo Change consoles. It supplied a intelligent design that sandwiched your telephone in the midst of two controllers. To not point out, it was a extra snug, console-like approach to play cell video games, in addition to cloud streaming providers, like xCloud, Stadia, and extra. Now, with the $99 Kishi V2, it looks as if Razer’s purpose was to get a leg up on a competitor who did all of it higher on its first attempt: Spine.

That one-hit marvel of an organization swooped in after the Kishi launched with an much more formidable cell controller for iPhone, the $99 Spine One. It featured an easier, cozier design, extra performance, and an interface that felt simply shy of a full-blown console working system. It turned gaming on the telephone right into a extra fleshed-out expertise, making the Kishi’s worth proposition weaker and rather a lot much less fascinating by comparability.

So, with the Kishi V2, Razer determined to ditch its first-gen design for one thing very just like the Spine One. There isn’t a lot right here that Razer can take a lot credit score for. The V2 has a equally minimalist design to the Spine and the identical type of pull-to-extend bridge mechanism to allow you to slot your telephone into its break up controller association. The in-game seize button is right here on the left aspect, together with an choices button on the fitting, and there’s a brand new button that takes you to — sure — Razer’s personal spin on a gaming dashboard referred to as Nexus. It’s not obligatory that you just use it, but it surely’s there.

There are some key perks that the Kishi V2 has over Spine’s controller. The massive one is that the Kishi V2 is made for Android. There’s additionally an iOS model coming later in 2022. Spine (frustratingly) hasn’t made a model of its controller with USB-C, except you depend that subscribers to its paid service can join it to an Android gadget with a Lightning-to-USB-C cable. When you play cell video games with complicated management schemes, Razer’s new mannequin options two further programmable shoulder buttons — one on all sides. These could be remapped throughout the Nexus app.

And whereas Spine’s design hit its restrict with the iPhone 13 Professional Max’s large digital camera bump (it supplied free 3D-printed adapters to make it work), the Kishi V2 consists of adjustable rubber inserts to broaden its compatibility with Android telephones and their varied digital camera bump dimensions — even these in skinny instances. The total listing of supported telephones consists of each Razer telephones; Samsung’s Galaxy S8 by means of the S22; the Galaxy Notice 8 by means of 20; Google Pixel 2 by means of 6; and “many different Android gadgets.” It helps as much as 11.5mm-thick gadgets, together with a digital camera bump — I used to be stunned that I needed to take my Pixel 6 out of its skinny (and yellowing) official Google case to make it match.

Total, the match and end of the Kishi V2 are nice, however its new options — each within the Nexus app and people bodily current on the controller — are much less complete and polished than what’s out there on Spine’s One.

Inside Nexus, which fails to launch with greater than half of my button press makes an attempt, you’ll see a barren dashboard that may function a recreation launcher for ones that you’ve got put in. Scrolling down by means of the app reveals recreation strategies per style, which both highlights how a lot worse the sport choice is on Android than on iOS or how awful Razer is at curating them. As a recreation discovery instrument, I’d say Nexus is perhaps slightly worse than simply looking on the Google Play Retailer, which is already a lower than stellar expertise.

Within the app, you may start a livestream by means of YouTube or Fb Stay. If you wish to take a screenshot or a video, you are able to do that with a button devoted to these capabilities on the left aspect. Although, there’s a dire lack of on-screen or haptic suggestions all through, particularly with display screen or video captures. As an illustration, after urgent the screenshot button or holding it to seize a video, I do not know if the command was registered till I open my Google Pictures library. A easy display screen notification (a minuscule Forged icon seems within the Android notification toolbar throughout display screen recording, but it surely’s straightforward to overlook) or a delicate vibration may have executed the trick. It’s the little stuff like that, which Spine received proper two years in the past, that makes the Kishi V2 irritating to make use of.

Razer switched its face buttons to the identical type of clicky, mechanical switches present in its Wolverine V2 controller. And whereas I preferred them within the bigger controller, I dislike how they really feel right here greater than I anticipated to. The journey is shallow, and the clicking is so delicate and requires so little pressure that, if I’m hammering a button down throughout intense gameplay, it doesn’t present sufficient suggestions to let me know if I’ve made a press. It virtually jogs my memory of utilizing one in all Apple’s dreaded butterfly keyboard switches with mud caught in it.

The Kishi V2 affords USB-C passthrough charging, so you may preserve your telephone charged by plugging a cable into the underside proper aspect of its grip, identical to the earlier model. I suppose that I could also be in a minority of reviewers to make a stink about this, however I actually want Razer had inbuilt a 3.5mm jack for wired listening. Audio lag is, sadly, nonetheless an space the place Android is inexplicably behind Apple, and it’s largely simply odd of Razer to not embrace one, particularly since Spine does.

The Kishi V2 looks like a tool that was made to show that Razer gained’t take it mendacity down within the gaming house from a newcomer. It took a surprisingly very long time to launch its rebuttal, which is okay. Forgetting concerning the Spine One for a second, the Kishi V2’s improved design and considerate options make it among the finest plug-in-and-go cell controllers for Android customers. However in its present state, what little that makes the Kishi V2 distinctive doesn’t overshadow how significantly better Spine’s first-gen product nonetheless is.

Pictures by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge