While its lack of symmetric design does bother me a slight bit, the Oppo Gamepad C1 Unicorn Gundam Edition (the name’s quite a mouthful) does give you a great handheld gaming experience. It features a telescopic expandable design that lets you fit a smartphone in, although it’s tailored specifically to visually complement Oppo’s Reno Ace Gundam Edition.
The C1 Gamepad’s most defining feature is its ergonomic, asymmetric design. It’s ergonomic to allow you to grip it better (especially with that curved back) while gaming… and that asymmetric design allows you to use the gamepad not just in landscape mode (with the right-hand controls being on-screen) but also as a makeshift GameBoy in portrait mode! The Gamepad also comes with two light-up notification/menu buttons to the right of the joystick and XYAB buttons, and for some strange reason, 3 shoulder buttons (as opposed to the standard 4 buttons).
The gaming controller sports its own USB-C port that allows you to charge it, giving you 40 hours of play-time on a full battery, and even features a nifty cutout along the grip on the right to let you plug your phone into a charger while gaming. Here’s the strange bit though… The controller comes with Bluetooth 5.0 for a lag-free gaming experience, but is compatible only with Oppo’s Reno series and with iPhones. I guess there’s some love lost between Oppo and the Android brand!
Designer: Oppo
