Checking Out the “abxylute M6” Mobile Game Controller

For the last week and a half, I’ve had abxylute’s coming M6 gaming controller in my possession. It has since followed me halfway across the globe as I put it through the wringer, both the kinds that involve it sitting in jacket pockets as plane turbulence sent my nards into the heavens and the kinds that have me smashing into the keys as I frantically salvage my S-ranks in Zenless Zone Zero’s endgame challenge content.

Off the bat, I’m a fan of this thing. At least in theory. The abxylute M6 is an absolutely tiny little controller. The grip it comes housed in doubles its size, that’s how much pocket real estate this thing saves especially when its form factor allows for your phone to simply snap onto the base of the device. This is easily the controller’s finest selling point especially for us with those massive winter coat pockets.

I actually had this thing for a bit longer than that at first—the company sent me two engineering samples of the coming unit, essentially a prototype of the final device that has some issues here and there. The first controller came with its magnet installed backwards (the square block you see right atop), making it fairly impossible for me to use the controller as intended. The other was the one I took to the other side of the planet with me as I replayed ‘Batman: Arkham Asylum’ off my Android phone and ran through my gachas… Before I gamed a little too hard.

The M6 features symmetrical analog sticks comparable to the ones on the PlayStation Vita (this means life), though these can be pressed down. Much like staring at a Famicom controller, abxylute’s prototype is akin to a fully-featured retro controller and I love it! Mostly.

First off, I actually don’t find the grip that the M6 comes in to be comfortable at all. As someone who quite enjoys the presence of the XBox Duke controller, the abxylute M6 opts to be nearly just as wide as the Duke, but because the controller sports symmetrical sticks, I found that keeping my thumbs on the controller while reaching for the bumpers and triggers to be a bit difficult especially with the grip on.

Popping it off, I found the unit to be a lot more comfortable to use, all though the flat, ice cream sandwich-like form factor is obviously going to have its limits on how much you can rest your middle and ring fingers as they prop up the unit. I’m generally used to concave “comfort” points on controllers like my daily driver the GameSir G8+, but in spite of those advancements the abxylute M6 ends up feeling quite balanced as a whole, which I suspect is in part thanks to its focus on symmetry—though the heft of your phone as it rests atop will ultimately be the deciding factor, I had no issues keeping an iPhone 17 Pro Max, a Galaxy S25 Ultra, and a Pixel 9 attached to the M6.

So! I carry a few thoughts on this controller. It’s surprisingly comfortable to hold but its selling point, in my eyes, is the ability to easily put it away. The buttons feel good to press and you can be very competitive in your endgame challenges without having your fingers burn up pressing against your powerful brick screens. I am mixed on the placement of the bumpers and the triggers. Why? Because in a frantic battle in ‘Genshin Impact’, I ended up snapping off the left trigger of my controller!

Again, it’s worth noting that these are prototype units. The company offered me a whole list of known issues that will be cleared for the final controller release, so no hard feelings here. Making good hardware is tough and it takes time. But in terms of design, I found that my hands simply did not roll off between the bumpers and triggers as well as I would have hoped.

See, controllers tend to hook the triggers behind the bumpers for good reason. Sort of, anyway. Your fingers being able to naturally roll between both bumpers and triggers means that there is less time being spent having to lift your fingers, ergo you are as close to your inputs at all possible times. Depending on the control schemes of your games, you may find that you’ll need to “claw” your index fingers because otherwise your fingers will be bumping into both the bumpers and triggers—and that’s likely what I managed to do in breaking the prototype’s left trigger.

Now it’s too early for me to review the controller, but the form factor of the abxylute M6 is easily its best selling point. It’ll snap onto any MagSafe phone case and being able to close and open the controller freely while the con smartly disconnects and reconnects makes this unit incredibly flexible for us mobile gamers. I love that aspect of this thing!

As for the bumpers and triggers, I’m a little wishy-washy. I would have preferred if the triggers sat behind the bumpers, but I also understand that it would break the form factor goal of this unit. Maybe instead of having the triggers concave horizontally, they’d be better off sticking out a little more? Differentiating between bumpers and triggers is fairly critical to a comfortable experience, so I am curious to see what the final unit will feel like when I get a hold of it.

At 69 US dollars, however, it’s a well-priced controller considering its available connection types, form factor, and ease-of-access for mobile devices. For those who want an even slimmer experience, albeit wider, check out the abxylute M5 alongside the M6 over on the company’s Kickstarter page for the product—with about a week left on the clock to potentially snag your own. ∎

Enjoying DayOne? Do us a favour, and make us a ‘Preferred Source on Google‘ – that way, you’ll only be delivered more gaming coverage from our team.

Want to get involved?

There’s plenty of ways to become a part of DayOne.

Head over and let us know your thoughts in the DayOne Forums, the perfect place to chat about games if you’re a little more old-school and prefer things in a longform form, and if you mainly play on PC, join our Steam Community to connect with other members and maybe make some new friends!

Prefer the chaos of live and fast moving conversation? Come and make some noise in the lively DayOne Community Discord Server instead. If you’re rocking a DayOne Membership, both places give special access for our supporters, and you’ll unlock a ton of exclusive content, just for you.