Microsoft's Project xCloud is still very much a preview, but it's had a strong start. One of the big decisions to make is how you're going to get the best experience right now, playing it on your phone with a controller.
We've looked at fairly elaborate, expensive solutions like the Razer Junglecat, but most of us started with a simple, generic phone clip from Amazon.
This is the first official Xbox licensed accessory for mobile use designed for xCloud (it says so right on the box), and if you're going down the route of clipping your phone to your Xbox One controller, it's the thing to get.
There's not a heap you can say about something like this, it is, after all, an incredibly simple accessory. However, the quality difference between this and the cheap, generic clips I ordered from Amazon when xCloud invites first went out is night and day.
The fit onto the Xbox One controller is, as you'd hope, perfect. The back piece is pretty chunky and made of a sturdy-feeling plastic, with cutouts in all the right places for the charging port and pairing button.
Where this clip stands apart is the piece of it that actually holds onto your phone. For one, the cradle has been designed in such a way that it makes it easy to avoid the buttons on the side of your phone without having to offset thanks to the gap between the prongs.
I've tried it with three different Android phones, and all could be fairly centrally gripped without interfering with any buttons, where the clip I've been using before this wasn't possible on any of those same phones.
What's also particularly useful is how stable it is. There are four individual points on the cradle arm that tighten and loosen. What this means is you can adjust the position of the cradle exactly how you want it to be, as well as reducing unwanted wobble and general instability.
What you end up with for just $15 is a well-balanced setup to get your xCloud fix. It's cheap, simple, and thanks to the Xbox license, a quality product, and if you're going to play xCloud like this, then it's the phone clip to grab.
The only way to xCloud with an Xbox One controller right now
The idea is simple, but the execution with this licensed phone clip makes it a no-brainer if you're playing the xCloud preview.
