Best controller for the iPad Air?...

[dave4shmups]

I have an iPad Air, and while there are a few games I play on it, there are more that I would play with a controller. Games like Sonic the Hedgehog just don't work for me with touch controls. What's discouraging to me is the searching I've done for controllers that work on the iPad Air-there's only about 2 or 3, AFIK. And not all of them are compatible with the same games. (I would like to play a lot of Sega games.) There is a Logitech thumb stick, that you stick on tablet devices, that acts as a d-pad, but people say that they break easily, and aren't always effective.

I got the iPad Air for free, to make a long story short, otherwise I would rather have an Android tablet, with plenty of controllers available to choose from.

But if anyone has a controller that they like for the iPad, I'll definitely take suggestions!

[eightbitminiboss]

I like the NES30 that I normally use on my Macbook Air though to use it on an iPad requires jailbreaking last I checked for some emulators. Apps that use the iCade controls should work with it fine. It feels goods and the buttons are not bad. I got mine from Aliexpress, but is probably easier to get now.

[JBC]

I use a RetroBit 8-Bitty for mine & it's nice, but basically just like an NES controller so no ergonomics. I understand the SteeleSeries Stratus is supposed to be the best, but it's about $50-70 I believe.

[dave4shmups]

I like the NES30 that I normally use on my Macbook Air though to use it on an iPad requires jailbreaking last I checked for some emulators. Apps that use the iCade controls should work with it fine. It feels goods and the buttons are not bad. I got mine from Aliexpress, but is probably easier to get now.

Those both look like great controllers, but I don't want to jailbreak my iPad, and I'm not running any emulators on it. What about the SteelSeries Stratus Wireless controller? Number one on my list is game compatibility. I have purchased some games from Sega for my iPad, like Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonic CD, Altered Beast, and Streets of Rage, and I would love a controller that works with those games-although the touch screen controls are not terrible by any means.

I know about the Logitech Powershell, but AFIK, you can only use it on the iPod, not the iPad.

[shmuppyLove]

I have done some research recently looking for a controller for my Android phone, and decided on the Nyko PlayPad:



It comes with a really nice carrying case and a stand for your phone or tablet, and it has a few different modes depending on what the game will support, but as I understand it the de facto standard on iOS devices is "iCade" mode, and that's what you should look for.

Unfortunately the one I received didn't work at all, but at least I got a refund from the seller. After cracking it open (quite easy, just a couple of screws) I never really found what the issue was, could have been something simple like a voltage regulator, but since I got my money back I didn't care enough to try and diagnose it.

In general though, the buttons, D-pad and the little circular analog thingies felt really nice, and I read a lot of positive reviews of it. And it was very compact and everything fit really nicely into the carrying case.

They also have a Pro version which is a larger size, more like a Dual Shock or XBOX wireless controller.

[HydrogLox]

as I understand it the de facto standard on iOS devices is "iCade" mode

I don't know about "de facto" but the official standard since iOS 7 is MFi (Made For iPhone/iPod/iPad; e.g. SteelSeries Stratus and Stratus XL)
MFi controller support

iCade is specific to controllers from ION Audio (not sure if there are non-ION controllers that use (or are allowed to use) the iCade protocol).
iCade Compatible Games

What about the SteelSeries Stratus Wireless controller? Number one on my list is game compatibility.

I've used the Stratus with Phoenix HD, R-Type II, and Blazing Star on my iPhone 5s (with the Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter) and it works well. The Stratus is tiny for portability sake; the Stratus XL is full-size and seems to be currently available in Apple Stores.

[dave4shmups]

as I understand it the de facto standard on iOS devices is "iCade" mode

I don't know about "de facto" but the official standard since iOS 7 is MFi (Made For iPhone/iPod/iPad; e.g. SteelSeries Stratus and Stratus XL)
MFi controller support

iCade is specific to controllers from ION Audio (not sure if there are non-ION controllers that use (or are allowed to use) the iCade protocol).
iCade Compatible Games

What about the SteelSeries Stratus Wireless controller? Number one on my list is game compatibility.

I've used the Stratus with Phoenix HD, R-Type II, and Blazing Star on my iPhone 5s (with the Lightning Digital AV Adapter and Lightning to VGA Adapter) and it works well. The Stratus is tiny for portability sake; the Stratus XL is full-size and seems to be currently available in Apple Stores.

Thanks for the link to the afterpad site! That helps a great deal! I wonder if there will be more, and cheaper, iPad compatible controllers released next year? It won't be long before the Consumer Electronics Show arrives, so hopefully we'll find out then.

[HydrogLox]

I wonder if there will be more, and cheaper, iPad compatible controllers released next year?

I would be surprised.

• Good controllers tend to be expensive.
• Bluetooth controllers tend to be expensive.

Now expensive controllers aren't necessarily good - but "inexpensive" controllers tend to have an even lesser chance of being good because of the increased pressure to cut corners in order to have any chance of turning a profit. Also many iDevice owners will never use a controller as they judge it to be contradictory to the device's mobility/portability and all-in-one nature - so the controller manufacturers will never see the level of economy of scale that the Dual Shock 3 or Dual Shock 4 may enjoy. So as I see it the SteelSeries controllers aren't actually "expensive" but about the price that I would expect from a good product that only has niche/fringe appeal.

Another MFi controller is the MOGA Rebel but that is more squarely aimed at the iPhone or iPod Touch crowd for which it also features a holder. It is also in the same price range as the SteelSeries controllers. (The same site's Stratus XL review.)