How it’s done
iRazer Kishi
Razer’s new Kishi Universal Controller is here to turn your smartphone into a play-anywhere system, with real buttons and joysticks. Join us as we tear down this stretchy controller to take a closer look at its inner workings.
Major tech specs
• Standard A-B-X-Y buttons, two clickable analog thumbsticks, one eight-way D-pad, plus a shoulder button and trigger button on each side
• Connectivity to a phone via USB-C or Lightning connector
• No internal battery, no Bluetooth, and no headphone jack
• Compatible with Android 8 Oreo/iOS 9 or higher, supporting device dimensions of 145.3-163.7mm (H), 68.278.1mm (W), and 7.0-8.8mm (D)
Key findings
• Two slide locks on the back of the Kishi secure both halves of the controller, keeping it compact when there’s no phone attached. Pulling outward on both inserts releases the clip, so you can extend the Kishi until your phone fits in between.
• We blast off 10 tri-point screws from the rear side. Thankfully we came equipped with 64 bits of Mako Driver Kit goodness. Beneath the back cover, we find two Steam-ish booby-trap interconnect cables – each one snaking off to a separate circuit board.
• Instead of the tri-points in other portable gaming options, we find Phillips #0 screws inside the handles. We’re happy to go on a Phillips fetch quest. There’s no boss battle here yet – just a couple of boards, which we quickly extract.
• On the back of the board is an ARM 32-bit Cortex-M0 CPU and breakout board for the second shoulder trigger, which is attached separately so is easier to repair. This one seems to use some sort of rotary knob, offering not only an on/off status but a gradual push depth of the shoulder trigger.
• Extracting the left circuit board reveals another joystick that is also soldered in place, four golden contacts for the D-pad (similar to the ones on the first circuit board), a soldered-on shoulder button, and a shoulder trigger breakout board. Gamevice has unmistakably left its mark here – in case you wondered with whom Razer partnered up for this controller.
• What remains is the telescoping slider mechanism that supports the phone. It includes a folding rubber cushion that attaches to the back cover with small springs, which saves you from worrying about scratches on the back of your phone while gaming. All external faces of the controller can be separated from the electrical components, which will make individual paint jobs a breeze.
• Quest complete! Let’s recap: Easy disassembly (with the right drivers); some danger of losing small components and buttons; no ability to save your progress, so finish your homework and take out the trash before you start.
• Repairability Score: 6 out of 10 (10 is easiest to repair). No adhesive was used, and components are attached with screws. The controller’s relatively modular construction means that replacing most components will be simple. One of the most strained parts – the phone connector – is plug-in and easy to replace. Using two different types of screw – one of them being tri-point – is unnecessary and a bit annoying.