MCON

[balmy quest]

MCON Kickstarter page by OhSnap: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/ohsnapofficial/mcon-the-switchblade-of-mobile-controllers-by-ohsnap

OhSnap MCON signup page: https://ohsnap.com/pages/mcon-signup-page

[bleak spear]

Found it

Had to add https://discord.com/channels/741895796315914271/1346351723299733554 to my list though

[balmy quest]

welcome ❤️

[bleak spear]

Crazy how this has grown so much

[balmy quest]

yeah it really is

but yeah i made this channel mostly so we have an MCON outlet expanding to a wider community

so any news posts or videos that might be interesting I’ll (re)post here too

[bleak spear]

Ok

[tropic hill]

Hey @left sky is there anyway of a 1.5 or 2.0 to look more like this? It is way more accessible than the controllers that turn your phone into a PS portal though. I'm losing bummers & triggers due to playing with one hand.

https://www.8bitdo.com/lite-se/

[bleak spear]

One hand playing? That would be a bit hard for him to do. Maybe he could in the future

[tropic hill]

Did you watch the video?

https://youtu.be/o5vhf26rwq8

[bleak spear]

Oh ok, just a model with the triggers as buttons on the front?

[bleak spear]

That could happen, but they would have be mostly through the main one first

[tropic hill]

yes

[candid cargo]

Everybody that got in on the $99 tier might really be getting a steal by the time these come out with the tariff situation. fingers crossed there is some sort of resolution to all of this by August.

[snow crystal]

https://youtu.be/VbeEXGt-0PY

[balmy dome]

https://youtu.be/xFLtH4jLkZ8?si=LZBiYytsLt6M9-sY

[candid cargo]

I will say the Slim gives off more Apple Vibes. Josh will pull it out of a regular envelope, like Jobs pulled out the Macbook Air

I do worry about it being too thin though. Like I have one of those Credit Card sized Tetris games, and I can only play it for a little bit.

One of these guys

[mint galleon]

Even more than just being too slim, that doesn’t seem like a lot of room to work with for combating top heaviness.

Dude seems like enough of my kind of perfectionist that I’ll let him cook, but I have concerns.

[snow crystal]

https://youtu.be/AJAx_VCrZpI

[snow crystal]

https://youtu.be/H8Gr1B_lQuM

[stray pelican]

Hello it me

[somber trail]

https://abxylute.com/products/abxylute-snap-on-mobile-gamepad

Hate to say it, because ive been super hyped for the mcon, but for 40$, unless your set up is fully based around your phone with like a powerful fold or gaming phone this is probably a better idea with it taking up so much less space.

They'd need to get the mcon down to like 100$ for me to prefer that again

[mint galleon]

I got in on the mcon early backer price, but I’ll probably end up with both of these for days when I’m expecting different amounts of down time.

I’m not a huge fan of analog sliders, so I’ll probably mostly use this for systems that don’t need them.

[marsh ridge]

Waiting on my early backer mcon as well. I did just back this too. Looks to be way more compact. I don't mind sliders at all, kinda wish mcon did a slimmer version with sliders

[final mirage]

I was really excited about MCON, but the final one ended up being so much more massive than the first concepts. And this abxylute thing seems too small. Will anyone make a middle ground option xD ?

[somber trail]

I switched from backing MCON to the abxylute, IMO, for how long you'll be playing during commutes and stuff its better to er on being smaller

I agreeid prefer one more liek the mcon but would like stop at the camera bump or something

[rose mountain]

They are making slim and lite models too

[rose mountain]

Slim prototype pic

[somber trail]

Now THAT would interest me greatly, source?

[somber trail]

Hmmm

Depends on price obv

[edgy dagger]

This thing looked so cool at first

The newest version looks too large

I can't fit that in my pocket bro 😂

[snow crystal]

https://youtu.be/aJCqSYR3PLs

[sweet pendant]

https://youtu.be/qx7RR4-e8Yk?si=_I6QsDa7Dys-nJZw

new update video alongside it

[fluid hemlock]

My MCON is out for delivery!

[fluid hemlock]

It came!
My initial impressions are that it's beautifully built. The friction on the fold down grips and sliding the magnet to align the phone is just perfect.
But it's much less ergonomic than I had expected. The analog triggers are sharp, the fold down grips don't mate perfectly so they're a bit sharp. I've already ejected my phone off of it a few times collapsing it incorrectly. I think I'll take a bit of sandpaper to some of the sharp edges. For the fold-down grips, the two pieces don't mate together perfectly and for the analog triggers, they could have put a chamfer on the protruding edge.

I love the access screws. If somebody were to make some butyl over-molded fold down grips that were butt-dudesque that would be amazing.

I think I can just disassemble the fold-down grips to take off the hard edges and then reassemble, thus I won't mar the whole grip with sandpaper scratches.

here you can see the mating surface on the grips doesn't perfectly align and I can feel that edge

the sticks are absolutely incredible.

by far the best sticks I've ever seen on any handheld.

[fluid hemlock]

I took a needle file and rounded the sharp edges on the fold down grips, the razor sharp triggers, and the sharp plastic cover plate. Feel is much better but you're still resting your index fingers against an edge no matter where you put them.

you can see how hitting R1 causes you to push your finger into the sharp cover plate edge

[fluid hemlock]

Yeah, ergonomics go through the roof when you detach the phone and use the kickstand. Still, I think they could have improved the sharp edges. There's no real reason R2 L2 need to assault your fingers in dpad-only gaming like that, and the cover plate serves hardly any purpose so it doesn't need to be in the way of the shoulder buttons. If you cut off this section it'd still cover up the controls when collapsed.

I might bust out the soldering iron and remove this bit

I suppose it stops you from knocking your phone off... that sharp edge makes it so enthusiastic shoulder button presses don't eject your phone down the staircase

[atomic sluice]

I'm finding it just fine for the ergo, but def more so for dpad games / no handles stuck out. if iOS weren't so awful for cloud saves I could see this becoming my daily driver.

it's gonna be a duel of inconveniences thru the next year finding out whether this + App Store PPSSPP or the Retroid Dual Screen on my Mini is what gets me thru my PSP backlog

[fluid hemlock]

yeah, with the handles not deployed the super sharp L2 doesn't assault you. But with the handles down do you find a comfortable spot for your index fingers? How does it feel hitting R1 L1?

[atomic sluice]

i keep my index fingers curled around them the same was with the cover plate off / handles in, like gripping it as though controller were flat. the problem then isn't discomfort but accidental presses of the triggers. I may end up having to just unbind them in RA 🙁

not a problem in PSP at least

but unfortunate for PSX

[somber trail]

Mcon slim (left ~100$) and mcon lite (right ~60$)

I absolutely wont consider touchpad controlls for 100$ but if the lite actually gets down to 60$ that absolutely would be worth it over the abxylute m4 for me. Release window aim for september

[mint galleon]

I’d be curious to give touchpads another try, but certainly not for more money than sliders lol. Might pick up one of those used off someone who inevitably hates it on our marketplace or ebay or something.

I had a pretty alright time with the touchpads on the first Steam Controller, but I was always using right pad as mouse there.

[somber trail]

Exactly my thinking, such a ridiculous idea i wonder if they have them mixed up or something, but then again yeah id guess sliders would be cheaper then tge tech required for touchpads anyway.

[marsh ridge]

THIS is what I wanted the MCon to be. Either of these options over the brick of a controller that first released. Haven't even received my preorder yet, looks like I'll just sell it and put it towards one of these. Whichever is slimmer

[somber trail]

I think theres definitely a market for both styles but absolutely this wouldve sold better as the first edition

[rose mountain]

It's the thickness of a DSiXL, it's not that big

[marsh ridge]

Yes, but compared to these. These are what I was wanting for a sliding controller

[fluid hemlock]

seems like they beefed up the face plate to make it a bit more rounded on the slim one as well as raidiused the edge of the shoulder button to not be so stabby

[rose mountain]

I didn't have that issue on my KS one so it might've just been an early production error

[candid cargo]

Finally got mine

[fluid hemlock]

Oooh that clear looks nice. I'd be curious if you agree with my rant or have other opinions.

[somber trail]

For also being on the back of my phone thats alot

[candid cargo]

The way I hold it the button doesn't touch my fingers at all

[fluid hemlock]

L2 doesn't poke your middle finger there?

[candid cargo]

Nope. Must be the way I'm holding it. It feels like it should be pressing into it but I held the Triggers all the way down and it didn't touch my middle fingers.

[stray pelican]

mcon

[marsh ridge]

https://www.reddit.com/r/SBCGaming/s/2uSvg412mt

[somber trail]

I really wannt see how and if its viable for the trifold

[marsh ridge]

I'm sure you could do something like that. The Surface duo was an experiment to see if it worked. It's super heavy, and hurts to hold with it unfolded. Not so bad when the one screen is folded back

[somber trail]

See that super annoys me about the Samsung trifold, I WANT to have it just dual screen sometimes

Also that its 3000$ usd lol

[marsh ridge]

Ya the trifold is way out of my price range, so I guess I don't even think about it. I'm more interested in the wide 8 coming out. It'll be a true successor to the surface duo

[candid cargo]

MCON on the Fold 7 is pretty great

[sweet pendant]

was surprised this hadnt been posted here already

[soft plume]

How pocketable is the MCON sleeve? It’s clear from their marketing that it’s meant for backpack water bottle side pockets but I’m curious if I could make it work for carrying a Brick Hammer and slim front pocket wallet in the same pocket

[tropic hill]

The MCON Suite is on sale

[balmy quest]

I would be able to recommend it if mine even arrived

[mint galleon]

Love my controller. Had zero interest in the accessories.

If they had a dongle that let you get at the 2.4GHz connection on a PC instead of just the docking solutions, I’d really consider springing for that.

I have a million PC capable controllers, but this one feels so handheld native that I kinda love using it to emulate the occasional handheld game on PC (or play indie games with handheld vibes) even with more capable options available.

[balmy quest]

i want the accessories

[balmy quest]

they do.

the keycast doubles as a 2.4G dongle

you can just use it on pc

[mint galleon]

Really? I'd looked at the product page for it before and didn't see that. Huh.

Good to know, thanks

[balmy quest]

actually idk how well it works on PC

SINCE I DONT HAVE ONE

oh well

it'll arrive eventually

™

[mint galleon]

It'll be an exciting race between the Steam Controller 2 navigating the splash damage from the RAMpocalypse vs the MCON navigating the general concept that the rest of the world exists.

[balmy quest]

i currently have like 8 preorders and kickstarters racing against eachother whats arriving first

i think the Talking Flower and SMB Wonder DLC are the first ones since those actually have a set date

maybe the Nyxi Hyperion 3 arrives earlier if i get lucky with shipping times

[mint galleon]

I'm pretty much sorted besides the SC2 and like... praying the Alteron is even good enough that I want to order it.

[balmy quest]

im getting the Alteron regardless

[mint galleon]

If it generally functions and the D-Pad is good, I'm probably there too even if it ends up pretty compromised otherwise. Good D-Pad top with Switch support is so rare we had to wait for a dang modular controller.

[balmy quest]

yep

for switch 2 im getting the hyperion 3 and the m12 hd and the abxylute n6 and eventually the nitro deck 2 when i can find that one for less than an arm and a leg

m12 hd looks to be the best option tbh

[mint galleon]

My biggest concern with the M12 is that I feel like they're going to be back in a year having figured out the whole S2 protocol and make the one I actually want.

For a whole lot of people, an extra year with the better controller is worth the price of admission, but I've pretty much only been picking up my Switch 2 to blitz through an exclusive in a week two or three times a year.

[balmy quest]

M12 Pro has the whole S2 protocol but they cant do HD rumble properly from what i can understand

same with the Hyperion 3

[mint galleon]

Oh, like, they don't think they'll ever be able to crack it?

[balmy quest]

well HD rumble 2 straight up copying is something they will get in trouble for and reverse engineering that part seems to be like

no

[mint galleon]

I kinda assumed they just felt it wasn't worth holding up the launch another several months to a year

Ah

[balmy quest]

HD rumble took some time to figure out but at least they can just use the same or similar hardware

with HD rumble 2 they cant

and on the S2 protocol they havent figured out how to do old HD rumble im p sure

it was something among these lines

but yeah M12 Pro and Hyperion 3 dont have any hd rumble for a reason thats something like what i just said

take what i said with a grain of salt but thats what ive gathered

[mint galleon]

Seems reasonable though

Well, maybe I'll grab one next time I'm spending a lot of time with the system

[balmy quest]

idk if youve watched reviews for the Hyperion 3 already but them doing the S2 protocol comes with sacrifices

M12 HD i assume is either just acting as switch 1 joycons or they do some funky other stuff with protocols idk that one ive yet to see what their plan is

[mint galleon]

Eh, I kinda just tuned out the Hyperion tbh. I've never been super impressed with their attention to detail.

[balmy quest]

yeah nyxi isnt as good as mobapad for Switch 1 controllers and Switch 2 is gonna be the same story again

M6 HD were the very best joycon 1 replacements

[mint galleon]

Nyxi's really good at taking an impressive spec sheet and sneaking dealbreakers into aspects of a controller you can't advertise against.

[balmy quest]

and S1 HD a close second, i do think for a lot of people those mightve been too small also the dpad is worse

[balmy quest]

what you just said is the perfect way to describe the Master P1 lol

on paper it should be better than the Ultimate 2C and Nova 2 Lite its priced right in between of (during sales)

but it just isnt.

also the main disadvantage of the Hyperion 3 is that they have cardinal snapping on the sticks (definitely a firmware thing)

hope they sorted that out before release

[mint galleon]

Oof. Yeah like... I wasn't so burned by my two Nyxi pads that I've written them off entirely, but I'm not really following their output anymore unless something gets enough buzz I hear about it without trying.

This... sure doesn't seem like the one so far.

[balmy quest]

oh yeah same the master p1 isnt written off at all

and if someone got it at a similar price i paid and enjoys it i cant blame them either

you could do wayyyyyyyyyyy worse

but yeah

mcon, hyperion 3, abxylute n6, smb wonder dlc and talking flower, solakaka e9 pro, kickstarter gamesir pocket taco (already have the testing unit), pebble time 2 are what i currently have preorder/kickstarter,
and the inevitable future preorder of the m12 hd thats coming soon too

my guess for the timeline of when things arrive

1. smb wonder/talking flower (26 march)
2. hyperion 3 (late march)
3. pocket taco (early april)
4. solakaka e9 pro (early april)
5. pebble time 2 (mid april)
6. mcon (mid to late april)
7. abxylute n6 (later than the rest)

M12 HD I'm adding whenever more is clear about a potential launch date

[mint galleon]

Oooh Pebble

[tropic hill]

Of course you do

[mint galleon]

Can't justify it but mannn I wish I could

[balmy quest]

of those 7, fun fact, pebble is the one with the best communication so far

well obviously excluding nintendo here because huge gaming company preorder nothing out of the ordinary

[balmy quest]

my fossil hybrid is EoL

and works horribly on my S25

so i felt like needing an upgrade

pebble time 2 literally couldnt have been scripted at the perfect time

well a few months late but ive been using my galaxy watch that came with my phone

not bad but horrible battery and e-paper better

[balmy quest]

https://tenor.com/81D1.gif

[mint galleon]

I'm on an Apple Watch 7 I think. It's not as much of a wrist computer as I ever wanted it to be, and the available task apps are all inexplicably horrible, so I mostly stopped wearing it when the novelty wore off.

But it still does the thing too well to justify an upgrade, and also I don't wear it enough to justify an upgrade without some utility I don't have now

[balmy quest]

i just use mine as a watch that also gives notifs and also does basic tracking

i dont need more than that

and i really need good battery

having a small weather widget is also nice but not mandatory

[mint galleon]

I'm personally never in a situation where I need to know the time but can't have my phone on the desk or maybe ask Siri if it's in my pocket.

[balmy quest]

my bicycle doesnt have a clock

some cars ive used dont have a (clear) one

when im in the train the screens often dont work

etc.

also its rude to be on a phone in meetings and a watch is much much more subtle

and the same goes for the notifs with all of the same usecases

and visually i like how watches look (except smart watches with an ugly black circle on your wrist)

[mint galleon]

The main idea was to have a way to capture to-dos before I forgot them, and maybe check off my existing ones without having to pull out a phone. The apps for that exist, but they're all unreliable or take so many steps that I may as well have just pulled out the damn phone.

Been really frustrating, because I don't feel like I was asking for a lot there, but it's just super janky in the exact way that saw me settle for the Apple ecosystem to avoid.

[mint galleon]

Think my favorite configuration on the Mcon so far is extending the wings all the way past the click so they're flat again while deployed.

It's not quite as comfortable on the D-Pad and face buttons, but I still get good grip, can reach the sticks easier, and the weight of the phone is fully off my index fingers so it's easier to hit the shoulders.

[candid cargo]

Loving my MCON+Z Fold7. Having this pocket console setup on me all the time is crazy.

[somber trail]

https://ohsnap.com/products/mcon-day?variant=45273658523839

On sale for 100$. Thats actually really good value.

[sweet pendant]

damn, yeah thats basically what all the original backers paid on it

[balmy quest]

Funny that I'm an original backer and my kickstarter isn't here yet

[balmy quest]

https://youtube.com/shorts/0gO5bEt_Qms

[tropic hill]

Is this the bundle that's on sale?

[sweet pendant]

glad to see you finally got yours 🙂

[balmy quest]

No idea, this is my kickstarter

[balmy quest]

https://youtu.be/e4KSGevc7tk

[tropic hill]

I'm suprised you don't get copywrite strikes for those bangers

[balmy quest]

im surprised too

but also

video too small and noise in between helps?

[fluid hemlock]

So what's your take? How do you like it?

[balmy quest]

Love it so far

[acoustic vortex]

I got mine today and.... The adjustable MagSafe mount is cool but for phones like mine, it's really not stable

For iPhones where the MagSafe mount is pretty centre, I can see this being awesome

On my older android device where the magsafe ring is pretty much dead center, it's great. But for devices like that one where the mount sits quite low, it's just not stable

[acoustic vortex]

A grub screw or 2 to lock the MagSafe mount in place after setting the optimal position would go a long way... Something I may look into myself, or 3d printing a purpose made mount 🤔

[acoustic vortex]

I remade the little square dohickey the magsafe slider slides on, attached it in a place where the other side of the slider utilises it so it's supported by both sides when extended too far

[acoustic vortex]

effectively eliminating this play and it's usable now on this huge camerabump phone \o/

right now it's double sided taped... just gotta decide if i want to glue it down or drill a hole into the plate and screw it down.... latter would be easier for removal

[mint galleon]

Glad you got it working, but ngl, I wouldn’t account for that monster camera in my product design either lol.

[acoustic vortex]

it clears the camera fine tbh, just the length the slider extends to is not quite enough 😅