I've been gaming on my phone with the GameSir G8 Galileo, and it's the closest I've come to replacing my console

GameSir G8 Galileo: one-minute review

The GameSir G8 Galileo is an excellent mobile controller that packs plenty of value for both casual and more serious mobile gamers. With full-size grips, Hall effect thumbsticks and triggers, and a pair of programmable rear buttons, it comes close to replicating a true console controller experience.

From my time with the G8, its thumbsticks are a real highlight. In testing, I found them to be smooth and precise, though they are quite sensitive and may take a little getting used to if you’re not familiar with a pro-style controller. The triggers are equally refined with configurable deadzones and a useful hair-trigger mode for instant response. The buttons are membrane yet tactile and reliable, with two more hiding around the back. It’s just a nice bundle of inputs all round.

As a die-hard fan of the Xbox Wireless Controller, it feels incredibly familiar. The grips are pleasantly sculpted with the same chunkiness as a stock Xbox controller, and they stayed comfortable through long play sessions, thanks in part to some gentle texturing on the back. It's not without its shortcomings, though.

You’ll likely need to take your phone case off, and the screenshot button lives dangerously close to the firing line. That said, at $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$129.99, the GameSir G8 Galileo is hard to look past.

GameSir G8 Galileo: price and availability

• List price: $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$129.99
• Available via Amazon, GameSir, and major retailers
• Watch out for similarly named versions to ensure device compatibility

The GameSir G8 Galileo launched at the backend of 2023, but make no mistake, it’s not showing its age and still holds its own against more recent rivals. At its $79.99 / £79.99 / AU$129.99 price point, the G8 Galileo undercuts both the Backbone One 2nd Gen ($99.99 / £99.99) and the Razer Kishi Ultra ($149.99 / £149.99) by a comfortable margin, which is particularly impressive given that its feature set stacks up well against them both. No carrying case is included in the box, though GameSir does sell a bundle with a basic pouch for around $10 more.

GameSir hasn’t made things simple with naming and compatibility, so you’ll need to stay switched on when shopping. I’ve been testing the G8 Galileo Type-C, which only lists Android compatibility officially. That’s all that’s shown on the box, too, but I was able to use it natively with an iPhone 17 Pro, though it wasn’t recognized by the GameSir app. There’s also the GameSir G8+ (sometimes called the G8 Plus), which comes in both Type-C and Bluetooth forms.

GameSir G8 Galileo: Specs

GameSir G8 Galileo: Design and features

• Full-size console grips make this feel like a proper controller
• Pivoting USB-C connector for stress-free installation
• Swappable thumbsticks with three additional shapes included

The first thing you notice about the GameSir G8 Galileo is its size. Where most mobile controllers try to stay as slimmed down and portable as possible, the G8 holds its form. It has chunky, pleasantly contoured grips with a textured finish on the back.

The marketing materials proudly boast this design is laser-engraved, though I wouldn’t have known to be perfectly honest, sorry, GameSir. It feels like any other grip texturing I’ve tested, but it’s nice enough and does its job. The whole thing feels closer to holding an Xbox controller than it does any other mobile pad I've used, or any handheld console for that matter.

For anyone who's found the Backbone One a little too compact, or who just doesn't get along with flatter, Joy-Con-style mobile controllers, this could be the answer. If it weren’t for being a bit wider, you’d have convinced a blindfolded me that this was an Xbox controller.

Build quality is solid throughout, helped, I’m sure, by the choice to go with a full-height phone deck rather than a smaller bracing bar. It gives the G8 a real heft that I personally think is to its credit, but I can’t argue doesn’t make it considerably more of a lump to store in a bag.

There's no creak or flex anywhere in the chassis, the spring-loaded extending mechanism moves confidently, and the rubberized grips inside the cradle hold everything securely in place. It’s a tidy system, and I never felt like my phone was exposed or at risk of going anywhere. I tested with both a Poco X5 Pro 5G and an iPhone 17 Pro, and the camera bump sat neatly in the extended section without any issues for both.

Shoutout to whoever at GameSir came up with the pivoting USB-C connector, because it’s excellent. It tilts up and down to make the process of seating and removing your phone feel far less nerve-wracking. It's a small quality-of-life detail, but one I really appreciated and frankly hope others copy.

Where things aren’t as flexible and friendly is case compatibility. GameSir says cases under 1mm should work, but that’ll only account for the absolute thinnest of featherlight cases. I was able to connect while keeping my slim iPhone case on, but having taken a closer look at the angle it forced the USB-C connector into, I swiftly lost my nerve and took it off. If you use a case of any substance, you're almost certainly taking it off every time you want to play. Not a dealbreaker, but certainly an annoyance if you’re out and about.

GameSir includes three replacement thumbstick caps (short, tall, and dome), which are easy to swap thanks to clever magnetic faceplates. However, you only get one of each alternate option, meaning you can't run a matching pair unless you stick with the defaults.

Those default sticks are nice enough, with textured edges that look suspiciously like those on an Xbox Series X controller, but it seems like an oversight or needless cost-saving measure to include singles and not sets. The face button caps aren't swappable on this model either; you'll need to upgrade to the G8+ MFi for that.

GameSir G8 Galileo: Performance

• Hall effect sticks and triggers with app customization and hair-trigger mode
• Two programmable additional buttons on the back
• Some games need a nudge before they'll recognize the controller

I’m a relative newcomer to the kind of mobile gaming that calls for an add-on controller, but the GameSir G8 Galileo quickly converted me. It only took a few minutes of Fortnite for me to begin to forget I was actually playing on my phone. It’s a natively supported title, and that’s evident while playing, though I did often have to launch the game through the GameSir app to ensure it was recognized.

Other games rely on hardware mapping, which I found equally finicky to launch at times, though intuitive enough when I got going.

The Hall effect joysticks are excellent, buttery smooth, but I found them highly sensitive, too. For more serious players than myself, this will be a plus with loads of intricate precision on offer. For more casual players (a category I’m firmly a part of), they took a little getting used to. My unit did need calibrating out of the box to centre the left stick, but the process was straightforward in the GameSir app, and the sticks have been faultless since.

The Hall effect triggers are equally impressive. They're analog with a full range of travel, and I felt like I had plenty of throttle control while playing Forza Horizon 5 via Xbox Game Pass cloud gaming. For faster response in shooters, there’s also a hair-trigger mode, which I found was snappy and reliable. What I particularly appreciated was that hair-trigger mode still respected the deadzone settings configured in the app.

The D-pad is clicky with a short travel distance when you commit to an input, though it has a slightly mushy initial feel and quite a bit of wobble overall. More of an issue is the screenshot button placement directly below it, which sits just a little too close to the D-pad down for my liking. I accidentally fired it off mid-game a couple of times, and I can’t help but feel like it would have been better placed further out of the firing line.

Around the back of the G8 are a pair of programmable buttons, something of a rarity for mobile controller grips. I have a love-hate relationship with back buttons, but I got on well with these. They’re well-sized and perfectly placed to be easily accessible without getting in the way, and they take just the right amount of actuation force to avoid accidental misclicks. Worth noting they’re unbound by default, so you’ll need to head to the GameSir app to configure them to your liking.

The 3.5mm headphone jack at the bottom of the controller is a welcome inclusion for latency-free wired audio, particularly useful on phones that have dropped the port themselves. Passthrough charging worked reliably throughout my testing, with both phones still reporting fast charge speeds while connected through the controller and no problems with overheating.

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GameSir G8 Galileo: one-minute review

• I spent a few days testing across Android games, cloud gaming, and exploring the GameSir companion app
• I tested on a POCO X5 Pro 5G playing Fortnite, Call of Duty Mobile, Need for Speed No Limits, and Forza Horizon 5 via Xbox Cloud Gaming
• While it’s not officially listed as compatible, I also explored functionality with an iPhone 17 Pro

My testing covered most of the workload a controller like this will handle: native mobile games with controller support, a competitive shooter, a racing game, and cloud gaming via Xbox Game Pass. I used the GameSir companion app to calibrate the sticks out of the box, tested hair-trigger mode in Call of Duty Mobile, and tried all three replacement thumbstick caps to check out the magnetic faceplates and swap system.

I also spent time troubleshooting some hardware mapping recognition issues in Call of Duty Mobile and Need for Speed No Limits, which turned out to be a game-side requirement to complete the tutorial using touch before any hardware input is accepted.

Read more about how we test

First reviewed April 2026