Leadjoy M1B Mobile Gaming Controller Review

Don't you guys have a cell phone?

Since the remarkable sentence at the BlizzCon 2018, a lot has changed in terms of mobile gaming - also for consoles and PC gamers. Gaming on the go is growing fast. Major titles have been released for our smartphones, and last but not least, various announcements and ten-year contracts from Microsoft with various cloud providers, e.g. to make Call of Duty available there, have caused a stir.

Cloud and mobile gaming already works today and will certainly work even better in the future.

However, we console gamers in particular have problems with touch input every now and then. So it is not surprising that there are gradually special controllers for smartphones.

Today we present the Leadjoy M1B Mobile Gaming Controller for iPhone. What the controller can do and whether it makes our favorite hobby more mobile, we will show in the following.

The company Leadjoy has provided us with the M1B free of charge. Many thanks for that. This has no influence on the rating.

The Leadjoy M1B comes in a black cardboard box that can be opened at the top. The controller is embedded in foam, and there are also instructions in several languages, a USB-C to Lightning cable, and an adapter (rubber cushion) for older iPhones. The M1B is only intended for iPhones, but here for all with iOS 13 or higher. Thus, from the iPhone 6s to the current iPhone 14 all devices are supported.

So quickly unpacked and immediately clamped my iPhone 14 Pro Max. Even the largest iPhone can be connected without any problems, as there is enough space between the left and right handles, which are pulled together by a sturdy bar with a spring mechanism. Unfortunately, the springs are relatively weak, so the iPhone does not find much support on the left side. There is only about a third of the width rubberized, which can thus provide grip.

It is also the case with the M1B that the iPhones unfortunately only fit in the controllers without a sleeve. This is a bit of a shame and unfortunately also inconvenient. To protect my Lightning connector on the iPhone, I always start by inserting the top of the iPhone into the controller first. At least I imagine it minimizes the possibility of scratches.

However, I like the fact that the manual points out to pay attention to the protective foil when inserting the iPhone into the controller and not to press it too tightly. Reading instructions can be useful from time to time.

After the phone is inserted, the white ring around the "burger" button on the left side at the bottom of the controller lights up, signaling that it is ready for use. Of course, the first thing I did was try out Xbox Cloud Gaming. With Forza Horizon 5, I also got one of the more demanding games for Cloud, but also gave the controller itself a good try. After all, the LeadJoy M1B promises extremely responsive and precise feedback with its analog triggers with Hall effect and mechanical buttons with only 0.6 mm actuation distance. The mechanical keys are not only for the buttons ABXY (arranged in Xbox style), but can also be found in the D-pad. The convex, i.e. outwardly curved, sticks are distributed asymmetrically.

Whether convex or concave, everyone surely has their preferences. Opinions vary widely. Unfortunately, there are no attachable rubber caps for concave triggers.

Since the M1B plugs directly into the iPhone, it delivers ultra-low latency and can also be charged during extended gaming sessions on the bottom right. I really like the fact that a USB-C to Lightning cable is included. A headphone jack is not available. You have to use Bluetooth here. However, that is standard by now.

Back to the gaming experience and Forza Horizon 5. In short, everything works as expected. The reverb effect triggers deliver a wonderful feel. The sticks are great to control with and all the buttons work.

Some will now say, yes Cloud and Forza Horizon 5, that all doesn't fit so well together and Cloud in general and so...

Of course, I have also tried other games. It's just always a very tangible example, because many of you can then draw a direct comparison. So I also tried some Apple Arcade Controller supported games, Call of Duty Mobile, Genishin Impact and especially Diablo Immortal, but also Amazon Luna works fine. I did not test the services from Geforce Now, SteamLink, PS RemotePlay, Rainway and Moonlight, which all should work according to the specifications. I did not encounter any problems. The controller works and does exactly what it is supposed to.

By the way: Leadjoy also actively promotes a 3DS emulation, which can be explicitly downloaded for free on iOS. Since we were not informed about the licensing model of the 3DS roms, we will refrain from further details on this at this point. Nintendo handles this topic very strictly.

For those who like to share their gameplay and take screenshots or record video, the Leadjoy M1B has a button that supports this. Pressing the buttons on the left side twice triggers a screenshot, and pressing it longer starts the screen recording. All the shots are right in your photo library, as usual. Through the tutorial I noticed that there is an app from Leadjoy. But here you can only test the function of the buttons and sticks and nothing else can be set. Too bad, here they have missed a chance to adjust button mapping or trigger stop via software. Let's keep our fingers crossed that it will be delivered later.

After collecting my first impressions, I wondered what this rubber cushion was for and used an iPhone XS. It should work for all iPhone 6-13.

The current iPhone has a thick camera hump. To compensate for this and so that older iPhones with fewer lenses also lie well in the controller, this rubber cushion helps. Unfortunately, this is glued and I think multiple "in-out" it will not cope well.

By testing with an older iPhone, I then noticed the weak point. On the iPhone 14 Pro Max, one of the camera lenses rests directly on the bar of the controller. My first impulse was "oh my god", the controller is scratching my lens. I think that's probably not that dramatic, since the lens is already very scratch resistant. But you can already see slight marks on the controller bar. However, I cannot say how this behaves for the iPhone 12 and 13. It will also be exciting to see whether there are adapters for the iPhones 15, which are expected in the fall and will probably come with a USB-C port. Space would probably be available, though.

Conclusion

In summary, the Leadjoy M1B is a solid controller for a lot of iPhones and a huge range of possibilities. Every mobile game and cloud service I tested worked flawlessly. The triggers and buttons are very good. The sticks are a matter of taste, I would have preferred concave sticks for example. The grip of the device in the controller and the position of the iPhone 14 Pro Max should be improved. The RRP is relatively high at 89.99€/ $69.99 and thus in the range of various big-name competitors.

What is nice:

• Charging cable included in the box
• Hall effect triggers
• Mechanical buttons
• Screenshot and video recording at the touch of a button
• Support for all controller compatible services and games

Whats not so nice:

• Fixation of the iPhones (more grip desired)
• iPhone 14 Pro Max rests on the bar which could scratch the lens
• Unusually high price for a small, new manufacturer

You can shop the controller at Amazon (DE) for 89,99€* (from all over Europe; maybe also available in other Amazon EU stores) or at Amazon.com (USA) for $69,99*. However, you have to add about $10 for import fees and shipping. Nevertheless, you end up with about 73€ and thus well below the RRP in Europe of 89.99€.

*The given links are affiliate links with which we can receive a small commission.