Apparently mobile gaming is the future. And that includes gaming on tablet.
If you agree with that statement then GAMESIR have got your back with their F7 Claw Tablet Game Controller; a piece of equipment which should, in theory, help you get the upper hand in the tablet gaming scene.
The GAMESIR F7 Claw is GAMESIR’s attempt at making the whole tablet gaming scene more accessible, giving players who frequent it the option to utilise physical buttons alongside the usual on-screen touch controls. It works well too – if you can find a game that supports it.
We’ll be honest – much of our mobile gaming is taken in via Xbox Game Pass and the power of xCloud, mostly on phone but occasionally through tablet. What that means though is that the likes of the Razer Kishi, and GAMESIR’s X2 Type-C and Bluetooth controllers have come into their own, giving direct connection to every touch screen command necessary.
The F7 Claw though is different. Split into two separate gamepad units that work side-by-side as one, these allow the gamer to rework the trigger and bumper buttons (or R1/L1 and R2/L2 if you prefer), allocating them to proper tactile presses. It’s here where the F7 excels and by attaching each of the two units to either side of your tablet, gripping it in place with the suction cup attachment, you’ll find that it’s a joy to hold your tablet with this attached.
Ergonomically it feels great. Your hands naturally sit pretty much as perfectly as you could want, as you grip the two units, with your index finger sitting in prime position on a top button which acts as R1 or L1 and then your middle finger situated right over the R2/L2 positioning. Not only do these therefore allow you to hit the buttons with ease, but with the F7 Claw attached to the tablet, it’s a whole load better in terms of comfort too. In fact, through testing I’ve even ocassionally been using this attached to a Samsung Galaxy Tab S6 even when not gaming – it just makes the entire tablet experience all the more better.
But it’s when you go gaming that the F7 Claw comes into its own. When positioned correctly each hit of the trigger or bumper will action a press on the screen, with whatever virtual button is placed under that area of the Claw actioned in-game. It works best – in fact, it only really works – with games which can allow for modification of on-screen button placements like PUBG Mobile; luckily a game that we are all familiar with. With your usual on-screen thumbsticks working exactly how you would expect, placing whatever other button you are wanting under the F7 Claw makes it super easy to control.
Once connected, the F7 Claw rarely gives up any slip either. The back of each unit is textured to ensure your hands don’t slip on it, but each of the gamepads are then held in place with no less than 16 tiny suction cups; this ensures a really strong bond between the tablet itself and the Claw. GAMESIR even throw in a couple of additional stickers that they request you to stick to the back of your unit for increased grip, but even without these, the F7 Claw rarely gives up. We don’t use a case on our tablets, but should you find that to be the, um, case then it may well be best to remove it; we’re not totally sure that the suction cups of the F7 Claw will play nicely with every case on the market.
But it’s not just a standard attach and play system here though and much like found on the GAMESIR X2 Bluetooth, a Turbo button can also be configured. If you’ve got a game that you love, but think it could be all the better with some super fast button pressing, thanks to a Turbo option on the triggers or bumpers, the F7 Claw is going to cover what you require.
With promise of 120 odd hours of charge coming from just 2 hours of USB-C power – something that we can’t dispute as the power held in these has kept us going for a few weeks already – as well as 200 days of standby use and a great feel to the F7 Claw itself, should you be one of the many who have found solace in the tablet gaming scene and are looking for just a little bit more, this may well help you out.
Just a little disclaimer if we may – we’ve tested fully on Android but there should be no reason why iOS players are left out. In fact, as long as your tablet is between 6-12mm in thickness, the F7 Claw should work fine.
The only real issue is that the F7 Claw Tablet Game Controller is only actually going to be of use for those games in which the virtual button setup can be fully customised, and that could be extremely restrictive for many. Aside from that though, this is another quality product from the under-the-radar GAMESIR company which is fast making a name for itself in the mobile gaming landscape.
Huge thanks go out to GAMESIR for providing us access to the F7 Claw Tablet Game Controller for review. If you wish to pick up the F7 for yourself, head over to GAMESIR direct.