Serafim S3 Cloud Gaming Controller

Ron Mirasol

Review item: Serafim Gaming S3 Mobile Gaming Controller for iPhone 15/16/17 & Android Phones｜MFi Certified USB-C Gamepad with Hall Effect Joysticks Swappable Ergonomic Grips Stream & Record for PS Xbox Steam GamesI do quite a bit travel, mostly long haul flights, and have been looking for entertainment options. Gaming using my phone hasn't been a good option - touch controls block the screen, and the travel-oriented game pads I've tried have awkward feeling buttons / joysticks / d-pads.This gaming controller addresses those issues. First, "Made for iPhone" is prominently displayed on the instructions, but this was plug and play on my Android device, a Samsung Galaxy Fold 6. I was able to plug my phone into the controller and immediately play Vampire Survivors and PewPew Live. Now, these are games that only require directional controls - but both joysticks and the d-pad were easy to use for this. And the A button worked for the in-game menu selections. There's a dedicated button for screen grabs, for folks who like capturing significant gaming moments.I would prefer a little more resistance on the joysticks and a little less on the buttons, but that's really a personal preference thing - they function just fine as is. I also would have liked the USB C connector for the phone to be on the left side of the controller, as that would have let my screen fold open to extend above the controller, not below. I suspect it is this way because the USB-C input for power is on the right portion of the controller. It allows passthrough charging, but note that I did not get Fast or Superfast charging this way, even with a suitable power brick and cable.A nice feature that helps with my situation is the switchable backplates for the controller. By default it comes with the ergonomic ones attached (bigger curves), but it was easy to switch to the flatter backplates, and this will fit more easily in my carry-on bag.I did not try out the software, which comes with one year free - I am not keen on paying a subscription for this, and if other games I try require that I use it, I will deduct a star from this review. Priced as it is (as much as an OEM controller for many consoles), I would not want to pay a subscription on top of it.

Ron Mirasol

Review item: Serafim Gaming S3 Mobile Gaming Controller for iPhone 15/16/17 & Android Phones｜MFi Certified USB-C Gamepad with Hall Effect Joysticks Swappable Ergonomic Grips Stream & Record for PS Xbox Steam GamesI do quite a bit travel, mostly long haul flights, and have been looking for entertainment options. Gaming using my phone hasn't been a good option - touch controls block the screen, and the travel-oriented game pads I've tried have awkward feeling buttons / joysticks / d-pads.This gaming controller addresses those issues. First, "Made for iPhone" is prominently displayed on the instructions, but this was plug and play on my Android device, a Samsung Galaxy Fold 6. I was able to plug my phone into the controller and immediately play Vampire Survivors and PewPew Live. Now, these are games that only require directional controls - but both joysticks and the d-pad were easy to use for this. And the A button worked for the in-game menu selections. There's a dedicated button for screen grabs, for folks who like capturing significant gaming moments.I would prefer a little more resistance on the joysticks and a little less on the buttons, but that's really a personal preference thing - they function just fine as is. I also would have liked the USB C connector for the phone to be on the left side of the controller, as that would have let my screen fold open to extend above the controller, not below. I suspect it is this way because the USB-C input for power is on the right portion of the controller. It allows passthrough charging, but note that I did not get Fast or Superfast charging this way, even with a suitable power brick and cable.A nice feature that helps with my situation is the switchable backplates for the controller. By default it comes with the ergonomic ones attached (bigger curves), but it was easy to switch to the flatter backplates, and this will fit more easily in my carry-on bag.I did not try out the software, which comes with one year free - I am not keen on paying a subscription for this, and if other games I try require that I use it, I will deduct a star from this review. Priced as it is (as much as an OEM controller for many consoles), I would not want to pay a subscription on top of it.

Jason Hamilton

Nice, responsive controller, and easily fit my iPhone 17 Pro and Pixel 8 with cases. Holds firm and comes with two grip sizes. Both were comfortable for me.The sticks feel tight and responsive. The shoulder buttons are good, not amazing, and the face buttons and D-pad feel like standard digital controls. They don’t have the premium feel of a modern Xbox or PlayStation controller, but they work well, and have a low profile style that should be good for getting the controller in and out of a bag. Pass-through USB charging works, and they even had the “courage” to give it a standard headphone jack.That’s pretty much all you could ask for, so why 4-Stars? It’s due to this controllers placement in the market. An equivalent Razer or Backbone will have a similar price, from a known brand that will probably have better long term support. And the app requires a subscription. they give you a year for free, but why does it require signing up? At least I was able to check for a firmware update without signing up.

Jason Hamilton

Nice, responsive controller, and easily fit my iPhone 17 Pro and Pixel 8 with cases. Holds firm and comes with two grip sizes. Both were comfortable for me.The sticks feel tight and responsive. The shoulder buttons are good, not amazing, and the face buttons and D-pad feel like standard digital controls. They don’t have the premium feel of a modern Xbox or PlayStation controller, but they work well, and have a low profile style that should be good for getting the controller in and out of a bag. Pass-through USB charging works, and they even had the “courage” to give it a standard headphone jack.That’s pretty much all you could ask for, so why 4-Stars? It’s due to this controllers placement in the market. An equivalent Razer or Backbone will have a similar price, from a known brand that will probably have better long term support. And the app requires a subscription. they give you a year for free, but why does it require signing up? At least I was able to check for a firmware update without signing up.

Jason Hamilton

Nice, responsive controller, and easily fit my iPhone 17 Pro and Pixel 8 with cases. Holds firm and comes with two grip sizes. Both were comfortable for me.The sticks feel tight and responsive. The shoulder buttons are good, not amazing, and the face buttons and D-pad feel like standard digital controls. They don’t have the premium feel of a modern Xbox or PlayStation controller, but they work well, and have a low profile style that should be good for getting the controller in and out of a bag. Pass-through USB charging works, and they even had the “courage” to give it a standard headphone jack.That’s pretty much all you could ask for, so why 4-Stars? It’s due to this controllers placement in the market. An equivalent Razer or Backbone will have a similar price, from a known brand that will probably have better long term support. And the app requires a subscription. they give you a year for free, but why does it require signing up? At least I was able to check for a firmware update without signing up.

Jason Hamilton

Nice, responsive controller, and easily fit my iPhone 17 Pro and Pixel 8 with cases. Holds firm and comes with two grip sizes. Both were comfortable for me.The sticks feel tight and responsive. The shoulder buttons are good, not amazing, and the face buttons and D-pad feel like standard digital controls. They don’t have the premium feel of a modern Xbox or PlayStation controller, but they work well, and have a low profile style that should be good for getting the controller in and out of a bag. Pass-through USB charging works, and they even had the “courage” to give it a standard headphone jack.That’s pretty much all you could ask for, so why 4-Stars? It’s due to this controllers placement in the market. An equivalent Razer or Backbone will have a similar price, from a known brand that will probably have better long term support. And the app requires a subscription. they give you a year for free, but why does it require signing up? At least I was able to check for a firmware update without signing up.

Kennie Marie

Great quality and design for mobile gaming. It has a subscription app and free trial for the first year. It has kinda ergonomic design to help with grip. Buttons function well, no lag input and comparable to a console controller.

Jonathan Feist

Update:Serafim reached out to me to troubleshoot my concerns. I'm happy to report that the gaming controller is working perfectly as intended now! I am increasing my review from 2 stars up to 5 stars.The issues I had encountered were completely my fault. Serafim showed me which of the setup instructions I had done incorrectly, now it all works. And now that it works, I can report that the joysticks have great feedback for the games, things are smooth, and it's very nice having additional and some pressure sensitive controls for games.Original review:I tried this gaming controller with five different Android phones - the Pixel 9, Galaxy S25, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S20 Ultra, and Axon 30 Ultra. In all cases, no success in playing games.After trying all of the games I already had installed, I made sure to load games listed in the Serafim app, I downloaded them and launched them from within the app. The controller successfully connected to the phones, I know because the Screenshot button worked every time, but not one game was controllable via the controller. I spent an hour looking through settings, reading the provided documentation, and just trying more games, no luck.As for the controller itself, the material is a hollow-feeling plastic, but is a comfortable shape, texture, and size. The buttons and joysticks all feel smooth and solid. The interchangeable grips are a nice addition.I really like the available features of this remote, I'm sad I couldn't try them out.

Jonathan Feist

Update:Serafim reached out to me to troubleshoot my concerns. I'm happy to report that the gaming controller is working perfectly as intended now! I am increasing my review from 2 stars up to 5 stars.The issues I had encountered were completely my fault. Serafim showed me which of the setup instructions I had done incorrectly, now it all works. And now that it works, I can report that the joysticks have great feedback for the games, things are smooth, and it's very nice having additional and some pressure sensitive controls for games.Original review:I tried this gaming controller with five different Android phones - the Pixel 9, Galaxy S25, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S20 Ultra, and Axon 30 Ultra. In all cases, no success in playing games.After trying all of the games I already had installed, I made sure to load games listed in the Serafim app, I downloaded them and launched them from within the app. The controller successfully connected to the phones, I know because the Screenshot button worked every time, but not one game was controllable via the controller. I spent an hour looking through settings, reading the provided documentation, and just trying more games, no luck.As for the controller itself, the material is a hollow-feeling plastic, but is a comfortable shape, texture, and size. The buttons and joysticks all feel smooth and solid. The interchangeable grips are a nice addition.I really like the available features of this remote, I'm sad I couldn't try them out.

Jonathan Feist

Update:Serafim reached out to me to troubleshoot my concerns. I'm happy to report that the gaming controller is working perfectly as intended now! I am increasing my review from 2 stars up to 5 stars.The issues I had encountered were completely my fault. Serafim showed me which of the setup instructions I had done incorrectly, now it all works. And now that it works, I can report that the joysticks have great feedback for the games, things are smooth, and it's very nice having additional and some pressure sensitive controls for games.Original review:I tried this gaming controller with five different Android phones - the Pixel 9, Galaxy S25, Galaxy S23, Galaxy S20 Ultra, and Axon 30 Ultra. In all cases, no success in playing games.After trying all of the games I already had installed, I made sure to load games listed in the Serafim app, I downloaded them and launched them from within the app. The controller successfully connected to the phones, I know because the Screenshot button worked every time, but not one game was controllable via the controller. I spent an hour looking through settings, reading the provided documentation, and just trying more games, no luck.As for the controller itself, the material is a hollow-feeling plastic, but is a comfortable shape, texture, and size. The buttons and joysticks all feel smooth and solid. The interchangeable grips are a nice addition.I really like the available features of this remote, I'm sad I couldn't try them out.