Express.co.uk has scored the ELO Vagabond 4.5 out of 5 after several weeks of testing, and named it the mobile controller worth buying if you are shopping for one. Reviewer Joshua Boyles ran it on an iPhone 15 Pro Max, streaming from his gaming PC and through Xbox Cloud Gaming, and found no lag he could pin on the pad itself. His conclusion was that a phone can genuinely pull double duty as a handheld console, with the whole setup weighing less than the Steam Deck he already owns.
Behind that score is hardware you would expect on a full-size pad. Hall Effect sticks that should not develop drift, mechanical face buttons he rated above his Xbox Series X controller, linear triggers that give real throttle control in racing games, and two rear paddles he remapped in minutes through the ELO app. A USB-C passthrough keeps the phone charging while you play, and the 3.5mm jack puts wired headphones back on devices that dropped the socket. It stretches wide enough for an iPad Mini, and slots a phone in without taking the case off.
Read the full article at express.co.uk.
