Motorola has been on a roll in terms of launching new smartphone after the other. A few weeks ago, the company announced the launch of its Moto Z2 range of devices which included the Moto Z2 Force and the Moto Z2 Play. The company also launched a slew of Moto Mods that included a snap-on battery pack, a snap-on JBL speaker, a projector, a 360-degree camera mod and a gamepad mod.
We received the battery pack, gamepad and the 360-degree camera mods for review. Here then, is the first in the series of our Moto Mod reviews – the Moto Gamepad.
The Moto GamePad lets you transform your Moto Z into a handheld gaming console in a simple snap. The mod works with the Z2 and the Z range of smartphones. So if you have either of the devices, you will be able to experience the Gamepad. I used the Gamepad with the Z2 Play smartphone and I was really impressed with what we could achieve.
The Moto Gamepad offers dual control sticks, D-pad and four action buttons for a brilliant gaming experience. It also comes with a 1035mAh built-in battery – so running out of juice midway through your gaming session is not a problem.
What truly impressed me is that the Gamepad Mod doesn’t use Bluetooth for communication, like most gamepads on the market do. And it also does not require any app to work. You do however need to download the Moto Game Explorer app, which acts as a hub for supported games.
As mentioned earlier, the Gamepad Mod comes with a 1035mAh battery and that gives you around 7 hours worth of battery life, which is a lot for gaming sessions on the go. It also comes with illuminated LEDs on the triggers and on the back, a USB-C port for charging the controller, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The LED’s illuminate whenever buttons are pressed and can be shut off if you want to save power. The Moto Gamepad also comes with an optional wrist strap. The overall design and build quality is outstanding. The layout of the buttons combined with the curvature at the rear allowed for a comfortable gaming experience.
Our games of choice when testing out the Moto Gamepad Mod were Asphalt and Need for Speed. I was surprised at how fluidly the gamepad handled gameplay in both the games. For the first time in my life, I actually played games for almost 4 hours straight… on a smartphone!
If you are into mobile gaming, you should definitely get the Moto Gamepad Mod. Of course you would need a Moto Z device to go with it. The Gamepad Mod is comfortable to hold, easy to handle, and a pleasure to use. It’s ready for any game that accepts its inputs, with that library of games being quite large.
For a price of AED 399, the Moto Gamepad Mod is a brilliant piece of technology that does its job well.
Price: AED 399
