8Bitdo Micro Gamepad Fits Anywhere, Even On a Keychain

Pockets are typically full of keys, wallets and phones but gamepads never make the cut. They sprawl on desks, take up space in suitcases and make every journey a logistical nightmare. Then there’s the 8Bitdo Micro, priced at $14.67 (was $24.99), a Bluetooth controller so small it fits on a keychain. It’s less than an inch wide and 24.8g. It fits in your pants.

Buttons feature a good amount of travel, and include a solid D-pad, 4 face buttons with a nice click, shoulder triggers, as well as menu/power buttons, all made of durable plastic that can take regular use. Its USB-C port can be used for charging or wired play, while a lanyard loop allows you to attach it to something. Pairing takes seconds, just hold the start button and it will sync to your device. The Nintendo Switch recognises it as a Pro controller, Android recognises it for native games and even the Raspberry Pi for emulation purposes. Battery life is up to 8 hours on a single charge which is plenty for a full commute’s worth of play before you need to plug in.

The D-pad tilts smoothly for diagonal moves in platformers and never skips inputs during fast jumps. Face buttons A, B, X, Y in the original layout respond to quick taps without mushiness. Shoulder buttons add that extra layer for actions like shooting or dodging. The free PC software from 8BitDo lets you customise. Download the app, connect via USB and map buttons to keyboard shortcuts or macros. Best of all, free firmware updates fix will be able to fix any connectivity issues and keep things running smoothly for months of use.

Beyond gaming, the Micro can be a remote in unexpected places. Clip it to your laptop bag and it becomes a productivity remote. Map the D-pad to scroll through spreadsheets or set face buttons to switch tabs in your browser. Connect it to an iPad in keyboard mode and you’ll be able to trigger gestures drawing apps. That’s not all, the software’s macro feature can chain commands together, so a single press can initiate a sequence that would take fingers ages to do on a trackpad.