We have been testing out a new controller that we have been playing with for a few weeks now, which is designed for gamers looking to turn their smartphones into mobile gaming devices. It is the Serafim S3 Universal Mobile Game Controller.
This one launched a few months ago, back in March, but this is the first time we have had a chance to give it a go to see how it holds up to a continuously growing handheld market. Its design should look relatively familiar to you, as it isn’t the first of its kind, as it shares a familiar approach to many brands, like GameSir, Razer, Gamevice, 8BitDo, etc. It’s just a popular approach to controller designs since it makes for a great solution for most smartphones out there.
It features a stretchable track that expands to fit various sizes of smartphones, and in some cases, even tablets. You stretch, slide it out until your device fits, and slide the USB-C connection into the device’s centered USB-C port.
The USB-C connection offers a flexible design so that it can easily plug in without putting any pressure on the port. This is a growing common now with most modern controllers and a useful perk to have since you don’t want to put any unusual wear on your device(s).
From there, it has a familiar layout with two (Hall Effect) joysticks, an XYAB button spread (Xbox-style), a directional pad, a start/menu button, and a few dedicated buttons for the app.
You have your typical top triggers and buttons that are used in most modern games. They don’t come with any physical adjustments and can’t be modified within the app, but they feel good to the fingers and get the job done.
Flipping it to the button side, you will find the normal USB-C port for pass-through charging and a 3.5mm analog audio jack for headphones, allowing you to fully take advantage of your phone’s USB-C capabilities.
The rear side features interchangeable grips that pop off and can be swapped between smooth or textured options (comes with both). So if you need a little grip for your controller, you can make it happen. They don’t pop in and out using magnets or anything, so you’ll want to use care when doing this so you don’t break any of the plastic teeth.
This is an interesting feature, although I do feel like the textured option should be a little more grippy. It’s just a plastic shell with a lightly textured surface, but there is no rubber-like layer of any kind to really bring out the grip. So if you start sweating (or even with dry hands), they can still slip around in your hands.
The buttons feel kind of like Joy-Con controllers when it comes to how they feel to your fingers as you click through them. These buttons feel natural, and I can see someone spending hours playing their favorite games.
When it comes to the joysticks, their distance seems a little tight, so you might feel a slight learning curve is needed on certain games that require accuracy (like first-person shooters), but I didn’t find that it bothered me at all. It just took me a few minutes to get used to it.
The overall weight of the controller is nice. It is very light in weight, but it does come with some sacrifice. Like many of these controllers that feature this design, there aren’t any haptics (rumble motors). If this is fine for you, then there is nothing to bother you. However, if you are obsessed with that haptic feedback, a normal controller is usually your style (with a phone mount on top).
This controller is officially Apple MFi certified, meaning seamless plug-and-play across modern USB-C iPhones. It also seems to be fully compatible with modern Android devices, as we couldn’t find a phone that didn’t work. This is common with most of these controllers, but still worth pointing out.
It does come with an app as well. It is the Serafim Console App, which is kind of cool as it gives you a console-like environment for all of your favorite apps. It links you to all of your favorite streaming and library apps, like Xbox Game Pass, PlayStation, Steam, and more. You can open all of these apps directly on your phone and get right to gaming, but this just creates more of a gaming-styled environment to start out with, while also providing additional features for content creators.
For content creators, it helps with taking screenshots, recording content, and live-streaming your screen. As well as firmware updates. There just isn’t any button remapping or stick adjustments for those who like to deeply personalize their controllers.
It is a neat app, but it does come with a paywall. You get a free year of full use, but you will be met with an annual charge ($30/year) to use it thereafter. If you choose not to pay, then it is basically just a tool for firmware updates.
Our Conclusion
It seems to be a solid mobile controller for modern smartphones and even certain tablets (depending on size). It is lightweight and offers 3.5mm audio and USB-C passthrough. It feels natural in your hands, as long as you have experience with this controller style. If not, then there is some getting used to it. But thanks to mobile solutions like the PlayStation Portal, the Steam Deck, and other mobile gaming devices, this style has been rapidly growing in popularity.
The app is a hit or miss, depending on what you prefer to take advantage of. The yearly cost to keep using the app is a little awkward, though. If you are familiar with Razer, you’d know its app is more involved and completely free. So charging for an app like this would likely require adding additional features, including features you can’t find with those competing options.
The company is also a little brave to target the market with a $89.99 MSRP. There is quite a bit of competition out there within this price range, with some offering interchangeable sticks, mappable buttons, and more. This one has interchangeable grips that I am still up in the air about (grips should be a little more grippy), but that’s about it. So it will be interesting to see where the company goes from here. Will it observe and learn from how the gaming community responds to this controller? Will this spark a new generation of unique models that help pressure the controller market? I guess all we can do is wait to find out.
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