GameSir F8 Pro Snowgon, Trust Smart LED Bulbs
Losing its cool with iPhone 12
$39.99 (about £29) FROM GameSir, gamesir.hk FEATURES Fan with cooling pad, controller-style grip, built-in joystick, kickstand
Apple’s iPhones are adept at handling games, but after a while they can get hot, and that in turn can impact performance in the long run. GameSir’s F8 Pro Snowgon is an attempt to combat that. It’s a controllerstyle mount for your iPhone that has a small fan strapped to its back. This cools a silicone pad which in turn presses on your iPhone and lowers the temperature. It’s not just for games either, as the included kickstand is also handy for viewing content while avoiding the heat.
There’s a problem, though. Whenever we mounted our iPhone 12 Pro, the fan speed dropped dramatically and often stopped. GameSir told us this was due to the iPhone’s magnetic ring interfering with the magnet inside the fan. Seeing as recent iPhones need these magnets for MagSafe to work, that doesn’t bode well for the F8 Pro’s compatibility with iPhones going forward.
Undeterred, we tried an iPhone 11 instead – and there the Snowgon helped us keep our gaming cool while playing Call Of Duty Mobile and when movie watching, and the grip certainly made handheld gaming easier, although the joystick felt simultaneously stiff and flimsy. It was of little use during gameplay – in fact, we quickly learned to live without it. The built-in fan also relies on a tethered connection via a USB-A to USB-C cable.
Judging by how cold the F8 Pro’s pad gets it could be a great device. Unfortunately, its compatibility issues mean it gets a frosty reception.
Alex Blake