Just a couple of months after releasing the Razer Junglecat, Razer showcased the latest addition to their mobile controller family, the Razer Kishi. The Razer Junglecat features a Nintendo Switch-like approach, where the controller can split into two halves and snap onto the sides of one of four supported devices. It can still be used independently as a stand-alone Android or Windows 10 wireless controller. The Razer Kishi puts a twist on this concept, using a grip-like mechanism to clasp onto a much wider range of devices. If it fits, you have an all-in-one mobile gaming solution!
The Razer Kishi is a product of Razer’s collaboration with Gamevice, a mobile peripheral maker of device-grasping controllers for iOS and Android. The Razer Kishi features a traditional game controller layout of today’s day and age. You have dual analog sticks, a D-Pad, 4 front-facing action buttons, 2 bumpers, 2 triggers, as well as buttons that can function for Back, Start, and Home. Unlike the symmetrical placement seen on the Razer Junglecat or Gamevice products, the analog sticks on the Razer Kishi follow more of an Xbox stick layout, where the sticks are arranged at different heights on the face of the controller.
The Razer Kishi connects to your supported devices via either Lightning or USB-C, depending on the model you’re looking at, iOS or Android. You expand the controller to allow the sides naturally clasp onto the sides of your device. You then play in a sort of Nintendo Switch or PSP setup with your mobile device. One of the sides along the inside of the clasp will plug into the power slot of your device, where the port on the bottom of the Razer Kishi will double as power for the controller as well as a power pass-through. This will allow you to charge your device while you play by plugging in power into the Razer Kishi controller, whether it is Lightning or USB-C.
When not in use, the Razer Kishi compacts into a small form-factor for easy and space-saving transport.
The Razer Kishi will also utilize the Octopus overlay we saw in the Razer Junglecat, which allows you to map physical buttons and sticks with on-screen touch controls. This opens up the Razer Kishi to gameplay with mobile games that do not natively support controller use.
As much as we love the Razer Junglecat, at face value we already see some of the benefits that the Razer Kishi will have over the Junglecat. The immediate advantage is taking Bluetooth out of the equation, making potential wireless latency a non-issue. Being able to expand and grasp onto devices of varying sizes immediately expands the range of devices you can play in that Nintendo Switch or PSP setup. This will obviously dwarf the number of devices that the Razer Junglecat can connect to in this fashion. The power pass-through option is big, allowing you to play with the controller and your mobile device, uninterrupted, when connected to a power source. This is a feature you simply don’t have with the Razer Junglecat.
The Razer Kishi shows Razer’s continuing strides into providing solid and improving mobile gaming solutions for the gamers on-the-go. Keep an eye out for the Razer Kishi on razer.com, slated to come out some time around February 2020.
Razer also teased other additions to their mobile line, such as the new Gold-Black Arctech phone case sku for the iPhone 11.
You can check out Razer’s full phone case line-up here...