Hands On: Genki And 8BitDo's PocketPro Collaboration Is Neat, If A Little Pointless 1
Image: Damien McFerran / Time Extension

Accessory maker Genki has given us some genuinely interesting products of late, with the Shadowcast 2 and SavePoint being two of the more notable examples.

It has also collaborated with 8BitDo to produce the Genki PocketPro, a Bluetooth controller which can be used with Windows, Apple (iOS & Mac), Android, Switch and Steam. If it looks a tad familiar, that's because it's essentially 8BitDo's SN30 Pro controller in slightly different clothing.

Like the SN30, it takes inspiration from the iconic SNES controller, with a similar D-pad and button layout. There are Hall effect analogue sticks (introduced in the refreshed SN30 Pro), a rapid-fire mode, rumble and even gyro controls – although the latter will only work on Nintendo Switch.

The 480mAh Li-on battery is charged using USB-C (there's a USB-A to USB-C cable in the box which can also be used to run the controller via a traditional wired connection) and gives around 18 hours of use out of a single charge, which takes around two hours.

Like the SN30, it's a fantastic device – but there's little reason to pick one up if you already own 8BitDo's version. On the plus side, I really like that the three connection modes are printed on the top of the transparent casing, as it makes it easier to switch between them, and the face buttons are a lovely quartet of colours, too.

The Genki PocketPro is certainly a great wireless pad, but don't go expecting any improvements on the existing SN30 Pro.