Here’s My New Favourite Travel Gadgets for 2023

Turtle Beach Atom Mobile Gaming Controller

Honestly, this is by far my favourite gadget of 2023 so far, and while it’s not perfect, it has given me countless hours of fun as I rarely leave the house without it now. It’s a simple concept, a controller that you clip onto your phone. I’ve tried some of these in the past, and never found one that I liked or that really worked as promised, or still had some reliance on using touch screen for aim… no thanks. Plus, I’ve tried those ones that are like a full-size controller with a phone clip and again, they just didn’t feel suitable to me at all.

One of the best aspects of the Atom is how is can fit virtually any size of phone, My S22 Ultra fits in it, and that thing is HUGE. Plus it’ll handle a device depth of 67-92mm, so even a chunky phone will fit just fine and width isn’t an issue as the controller comes in two parts.

It has good quality sticks, buttons and analogue triggers that give it the general feel of an Xbox One controller, but with the flatter profile of a Nintendo Switch on the front, but it has a more ergonomic back like a controller, so it works exceptionally well. The only things it does wrong are that you can not use it as a standalone controller, as it needs to a phone to bridge the parts together, and the auto power saving feature kicks in a little too quick so it needs waking up after longer cut-scenes by holding the power buttons on each device. but to be honest, when I’m sat on the train playing Tony Hawks Pro Skater 3 on the PS2 emulator, or Super Mario Strikers on the Gamecube emulator, all on my phone, let’s just say I’m the envy of many who are sitting playing another bloody round of Wordle.

Even cooler is when you’re done, the two parts lock together making it compact and easy to store. It’s a little more expensive than the plentiful rivals you see on Amazon, but let me tell you, it’s worth the extra money as most of the rivals are pretty crap.

£69.99 @ Amazon.