The new Scuf Nomad makes playing advanced games on your iPhone much more fun by adding physical buttons, triggers and sticks. It’s designed to go where you go, and works on nearly every iPhone.
The controller emphasizes customization, allowing you to change what the buttons do even if the game itself doesn’t support that. And there are rear paddles in addition to all the usual controls.
I happily played hours of games on the Nomad — here’s what it’s like to use.
Scuf Nomad review
The days when the best iPhone game was Angry Birds are long over. It’s now possible to play console-quality titles on your phone. Cloud-gaming services are one good option for this, and Apple arranged for multiple Resident Evil games to be ported to the iPhone 15 Pro models, and other AAA titles, too.
But don’t try to play these with on-screen virtual controls. It’s the fast lane to frustration. Get an external game controller instead.
The Scuf Nomad is among the best available. Wrap it around your iPhone and you’re ready for serious RPGs, FPS… any game where speed and precise control are necessary.
Table of contents:
- Portable and comfortable iPhone game controller
- Customizable buttons, triggers, paddles and sticks
- Bluetooth vs. Lightning vs. USB-C
- Let’s play!
- Scuf Nomad video
- Scuf Nomad final thoughts
- Pricing
- Comparable products
Portable and comfortable iPhone game controller
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Take a standard game cotroller, split it in half, add a telescoping arm in the middle, and you have Scuf Nomad. The sticks, buttons and triggers fit neatly under my fingertips while the iPhone is easily viewable.
Designing a mobile game controller requires mixing portability and comfort. Scuf leaned a bit more toward comfort and gave up a bit on portability. The accessory is 7.75 inches by 3.6 inches by 1.8 inches, and just under half a pound. I’ve tested smaller ones, but Nomad has much more comfortable grips than they do.
The accessory fits a wide range of iPhone models. I tested it with an iPhone 15 Plus, one of the largest iOS devices. And, unlike many rival game controllers, I didn’t have to take the protective case off my handset.
I like the look. Whether you choose the black out white color option, you won’t be embarrassed to pull it out of your bag and use it in public.
Nomad feels solid. The exterior is all plastic, but the product gives only slightly when I try to bend and twist it.
Customizable buttons, triggers, paddles and sticks
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
Like all gamers, I’m accustomed to the standard layout of of a game controller, whether it’s Xbox, PlayStation or some other. Scuf followed the pattern, so I was able to pick up Nomad and immediately start playing without my fingers fumbling for controls.
The only variation is the addition of paddles on the back. When playing, I made these the replacements for the left and right bumpers — the paddles are always under my fingers, and the configuration lets me keep my index fingers on the triggers.
And that brings up an important feature: configurable controls. The free Scuf Nomad iPhone application lets me swap buttons, etc. around. And this can be set for individual applications. I have a Star Ward game in which I’ve never been comfortable with what the X,Y, A and B buttons do. With Nomad, I can change these for just this app, and pick a completely different configuration for other games.
You can also adjust the sensitivity of the sticks with Scuf’s software. You won’t have to adjust for drift — the sticks use the Hall effect to prevent this. And the controller
Bluetooth vs. Lightning vs. USB-C
iPhone is transitioning from the Lightning port to USB-C, which is something of a challenge for accessory buyers. If you have an iPhone with a Lightning port, you can’t buy a game controller with USB-C but one with a Lightning connector won’t support your next iPhone.
Scuf Nomad’s answer is Bluetooth. The peripheral connects wirelessly to your handset so the connector is irrelevant.
This means the accessory needs its own battery. Scuf promises this is good for up to 16 hours of gameplay, which is outstanding. Especially as I’ve used the controller for 4 or 5 hours and its battery level is still at about 75%, so the battery life estimate seems reasonable.
Recharging is as simple as plugging a USB-C cable into the Nomad. There’s a top-quality charging cable in the box.
Let’s play!
Photo: Ed Hardy/Cult of Mac
The best part of reviewing a game controller is spending hours playing games and calling it “work.”
Because retro game emulators are all the rage right now, I started my Scuf Nomad testing with Delta. I then logged into Amazon Luna and went through a couple of levels of GarfiedKart just to confirm the controller works with cloud-gaming services. Most Apple Arcade games also support this type of accessory, so I played some Oceanhorn 2 — the best RPG on Apple’s gaming service.
I never had a problem with Scuf Nomad with any of these various gaming options.
Scuf Nomad video
Scuf made a video demoing the Nomad. Give it a look:
Scuf Nomad final thoughts
The best gaming console is the one you have with you. Your Xbox does you no good when it’s at home and you’re at work. But your iPhone goes with you everywhere, and with Scuf Nomad, you can play console-quality games whenever you have the time.
★★★★☆
The game controller is comfortable to hold, if not as small as some of its rivals. I love how easy it is to reconfigure the buttons on an app-by-app- basis. There’s no
Pricing
Scuf Nomad is $99, the usual price for a top-of-the line iPhone game controller… which this is.
Comparable products
As I mentioned, designing a mobile game controller is a balancing act. An outstanding rival product that’s slightly more portable but marginally less comfortable is the Backbone One — I reviewed this earlier in 2024.
Moving in the other direction, the design of the GameSir G8 Galileo makes it more comfortable for longer game sessions, but it’s larger and therefore less portable. I reviewed it, too.
Scuf provided Cult of Mac with a review unit for this article. See our reviews policy, and check out more in-depth reviews of Apple-related items.
