GameSir X5s Wireless Stretchable Controller for Mobile and Switch

Nowadays, mobile phones are powerful, and there are many good games—native ones and various emulators—there are an extremely large number. However, mobile phone screens are small, and when operating on them with fingers, the screen feels even smaller, and for some types of games, the operation is relatively poor. So, although there are many games installed on the phone, the ones actually played are not many. In addition, I also have a Switch in hand, so the main device is still the Switch console. This time, with the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle, both mobile games and Switch can be played in the future. I have used stretchable controllers before, but compatibility with the increasingly thick camera modules nowadays was very poor, and the grip was not tight, so I gave up. But the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle can perfectly be compatible with mobile phones with all kinds of large and thick camera modules, and it can also support the Switch, replacing the Joycon. In this way, bringing one controller when going out can perfectly fit both mobile phones and Switch, which is quite convenient.

The packaging box of the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle is quite long and narrow. The top left corner is the GameSir brand logo, the middle is a rendered image of the controller, and the bottom left corner is the type of gaming devices supported. The back of the box introduces the functional features of the controller. Opening the box, it contains: GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle + protective case, data cable, 3 silicone pads (1 thick, 2 thin), a pair of Switch 2 special silicone pads, logo stickers, and paper documents such as the manual.

The GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle comes with a dedicated protective case, which must be praised, so there’s no need to worry about the protruding joystick and buttons being pressed by other items when carrying it out. In addition, this protective case has an opening at the controller’s charging port, making it convenient to charge the controller when not in use, ensuring battery life—this small detail is very considerate. Opening the protective case, you can see there is also a button clip inside, which can be used to remove the ABXY buttons to adjust the button layout.

The GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle adopts an Xbox button layout, with a half-width telescopic rod in the middle. The hollowed-out upper part can be paired with a dedicated cooler to cool the phone. It uses customized Hall joysticks with a lifespan of 2 million times, accurate positioning, no drift, smooth operation, and durability. At the upper right of the left joystick is the View button, and at the lower right is the M button.

On both sides of the telescopic rod of the controller, silicone pads can be installed to protect the edges of the clamped device from damage. At the same time, different types and thicknesses of silicone pads can be replaced to adapt to different devices. Installation and removal of the silicone pads are very easy. The top of the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle has RB, RT, LB, and LT buttons, among which RT and LT adopt Hall linear triggers with 256 levels of travel, providing delicate feedback, more precise operation, and the ability to switch to fast trigger mode to adapt to different types of games.

The bottom of the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle is designed with a Type-C charging port, and the right side has a pairing button. The back middle features the GameSir brand logo. From the appearance, both side grips adopt ergonomic design to better fit the shape of the palm, and the surface has laser anti-slip texture. This grip feel will definitely be much better than the Joycon.

The telescopic range of the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle is 110–213mm, and when extended to the maximum, the stability of the telescopic rod is also very good, with very little wobble in the middle. It can support not only mobile phones but also tablets and Switch, making compatibility excellent. Nowadays, many people use tablets for gaming mainly for the large screen. The shapes of different tablets are not always comfortable to hold, but if paired with the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle, the grip will definitely be more comfortable.

The ABXY buttons of the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle use elastic silicone with a lifespan of 2 million times, and the keycaps are also removable and replaceable. Through the button clip inside the protective case, the keycaps can be easily removed and then reinstalled in other positions, allowing switching between Xbox and Switch button layouts. Of course, this is just a surface layout switch—actual button functions can be switched through combination keys or an app for perfect matching.

The stretchable controller I used before could not be compatible with the increasingly thick camera modules of phones, so it could not be used. Therefore, for the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle, I tested with two phones. One is the Redmi K60 Supreme Edition, which can be installed using the pre-installed thin silicone pads. You can see that the two-stage thickness difference of the telescopic rod well solves the protrusion of the camera module. I also tried installing this phone rotated 180°, and although it could be installed, it was tilted left high, right low. Then I tried the Xiaomi 15 Ultra—since its camera module is much larger, the thick silicone pads must be used; otherwise, the camera module would be stuck by the telescopic rod. After installing the thick silicone pads, it perfectly fits the Xiaomi 15 Ultra’s camera module. This design that allows installation of silicone pads with different thicknesses and shapes is very good. From the top view, it is indeed perfectly compatible.

The GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle can be used with the GameSir World APP, where you can not only download games but also test and set up the controller. In the controller settings page, you can see the current battery level of both sides; in the controller test, you can test buttons, joysticks, etc. The button settings mainly switch between Switch and Xbox layouts. Joystick settings allow enabling/disabling D-pad diagonal lock, as well as separately setting dead zones and functions for the left and right joysticks.

Trigger settings allow adjusting the dead zone range for the left and right triggers and switching to fast trigger. Motion settings are for the gyroscope switch. Vibration settings allow adjusting vibration strength in 5 levels. The GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle uses the same ALPS linear vibration motor as the Switch, with distinct vibration layers and delicate feedback, making the game more immersive. Lighting settings mainly adjust the logo light—personally, I feel the lighting area is too small and hope more models with larger RGB lighting areas will be released.

The GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle perfectly supports games like “Peace Elite.” The controller supports G-Touch hardware mapping mode, which does not require additional activation and allows easy game control via the controller (touch control is also possible, but controller and touch cannot be used simultaneously). There is also V-Touch software mapping mode, which requires activation but allows simultaneous controller and touch operation. As for games that natively support controllers, just use them directly.

Next, let’s try it with the Switch—you can see that the Switch tablet and the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle fit perfectly. Comparing Joycon and the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle, it’s obvious the grip design and button layout of the GameSir X5s are better. Here I switched the button layout to Switch mode. The Switch easily connected to the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle. The test game was “The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.” In actual gameplay, the GameSir X5s had no delay, smooth joystick movement, accurate positioning, good D-pad and ABXY button feel, sensitive motion sensing, clear vibration feedback, and most importantly, comfortable grip—definitely better than the Joycon. And the GameSir X5s weighs only 174g, so long-term holding won’t cause fatigue.

With the GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle, you can even go out without bringing Joycon, making the Switch more portable. One controller perfectly fits both mobile phones and Switch. The GameSir X5s Bluetooth Wireless Stretchable Controller Handle has good operation feel, comfortable grip, compatibility with various gaming devices, especially with flagship phones’ large camera modules, and can even mount a cooler. Overall, I am very satisfied—this will be the main gaming peripheral in the future.