Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
Razer has been oddly quiet in the burgeon world ofhandheld gaming PC . When I met up with the company at the Game Developers Conference ( GDC ) to learn about its fresh production , I was happy to hear it had an answer to the succeeder of the Steam Deck .
But it was not the type of answer I was expecting .
Jacob Roach / Digital Trends
It ’s the Razer Kishi Ultra . Similar to the Kishi , it ’s a telescopic comptroller — that ’s a comptroller that wrap around your phone and turn a mobile screen into a handheld play equipment . It ’s much large than theoriginal Kishi , with full - size joystick and buttons , and its big title to fame is support for a tablet as large as theiPad mini .
The future of handheld gaming
By definition , it ’s not a handheld gaming PC , but according to Razer product director Joey Hanna , it fill up a like role . Hanna make on the original Kishi and the Android - establish Razer Edge , which is where theSteam Deckcomparison come into turn . When meeting up with Hanna at GDC , the Kishi Ultra felt like an inflection point .
Hanna insisted that the Kishi Ultra actually had some unique advantages over the Steam Deck and devices like theROG Ally . The bioengineering were a key point , with clicky brass buttons that feel tactual and responsive , as well as curved grips that remain in your mitt like an Xbox comptroller . The adjustable credit card back helps , too ; it holds the two ends of the controller firmly in place , so you do n’t get the inept wobble you unravel into with the original Kishi .
In the demonstration , Razer show me the Kishi Ultra set up with an iPad Mini — and I have to admit , even play introductory mobile games on an 8.3 - column inch Liquid Retina display was stunning . You ’re not contend with fan noise , high temperature , and a duo of hours of assault and battery spirit either , which are element of a hand-held gaming personal computer that I ’ve become acutely familiar with .
The package is first-class here . Razer ’s Mecha - Tactile face buttons and D - launch pad feel keen , as do the Hall Effect analogue gun trigger and Razer haptics . You have entree to Razer Nexus , too , allowing you to rebind controls , cook the built - in RGB kindling , and map buttons to touch ascendency for those game that do n’t keep going a control .
If you were to believe Razer , this is the future of roving gaming . The devices are muscular enough to play game natively , and you have the cloud for anything more demanding . You also have access to a gamey - quality controller that can slash on one of the skilful nomadic displays you may buy — the iPad Mini . It ’s a convincing story , but after using the Kishi Ultra , I ’m not certain I agree with it .
I’m skeptical
The Kishi Ultra is $ 150 , which is a steep price no matter how you slice it considering this is , at its core , just a controller . Add on top of that the $ 500 you ’ll drop on the cheesy iPad Mini , and you ’re already spending more than what you ’d expend on aSteam Deck OLEDor ROG Ally . If this is the future of mobile gaming , it ’s an expensive one . you could just utilise your earphone or a punk Android pill , but that really does n’t make the Kishi Ultra shine .
There ’s also the underlying flaw with this purpose that plagued theRazer Edge 5G. There are area in the country where accession to fast Wi - Fi and 5 G is abundant , but far more where it ’s not . Are you not going to practice a $ 650 handheld gambling setup on a plane ? Or a road head trip ? The problem with dramatise the Kishi Ultra as your main handheld is the same problem with cloud gaming in general — even in 2024 , it ’s inconsistent .
The regular Kishi has its place as a comrade twist , but Hanna tell me the Kishi Ultra is exit after a unlike gang — heart gamers who require a complete fluid gaming experience on the go . The quality is there when it comes to the controller itself , but the practically of using this setup in place of a Steam Deck or ROG Ally falls flat .
Not your replacement
I leave my unforesightful demonstration with the Razer Kishi Ultra impressed , but not convert . It ’s a mellow - character controller and a clear stone’s throw up from the even Kishi , but it fills the same purpose that the Kishi does . This is n’t a replacement for your Steam Deck or ROG Ally .
Razer has been focalize on the mobile gaming crowd for a few geezerhood now with devices like the Edge 5 G and now the Kishi Ultra , but I ’d be curious to see what a true hand-held gaming microcomputer from Razer would look like . After all , Razer already make some of thebest gaming laptop computer , and with disappointing releases like the MSI Claw , a moment more rivalry among PC handhelds would n’t be a big matter .
