M5 vs M6: Abxylute's MagSafe Controllers Take Aim at MCON
Abxylute has spent years orbiting the handheld scene without landing a signature hit. The streaming-first handheld fizzled, the telescopic controllers were solid but forgettable, and the compact M4 arrived to a chorus of ‘why?’. The M5 and M6 are the company’s clearest statement yet: it wants MCON’s crown. Both are MagSafe controllers that latch onto the back of a phone and slide out into a playable grip — a PSP Go-styled concept OhSnap has been developing since at least CES 2026. The M6 transforms from a compact puck into a full ergonomic grip; the M5 is built to be exceptionally slim. Two controllers, two philosophies of portability.
The Kickstarter goes live soon, and Abxylute hasn’t announced prices. That silence is fitting for a category still defining itself. The sharper point for anyone who games on the go: two companies now believe the future of phone controls is a controller you don’t have to remember to bring.
The Slim vs. Grip Divide Is the Real Product
The M6 is the ambitious bet. A slide-out controller that unfolds into a full grip has to survive constant mechanical stress — sliders that don’t wobble, triggers positioned where fingers actually land, and enough weight distribution to counterbalance a modern phone slab. Telescopic controllers have historically failed on exactly these points, and MagSafe adds a second vulnerability: the whole assembly hangs on a magnetic ring, so a weak connection means disaster mid-session. The M5 avoids those risks by design, sacrificing ergonomics for a profile thin enough that you’ll forget it’s on your phone. One is for deliberate gaming sessions; the other is for keeping an option in your pocket. By covering both, Abxylute is betting the category’s winner isn’t a single design — it’s anything that gets people carrying a controller at all.
Second to Market, First to Kickstarter
Being second has advantages. MCON did the hard work of introducing the slide-out category, and Abxylute gets to iterate on that education — and use Kickstarter to test demand before committing to manufacturing. But ‘before committing’ cuts both ways: backers absorb the risk on slide-rail durability and Bluetooth latency, and the M4’s tepid reception shows Abxylute doesn’t automatically earn trust. Those two factors will separate these from the MagSafe phone controllers already competing for your pocket — a market where value controllers like the 8BitDo Ultimate 2C have already won on price.
For handheld players, the appeal is real: a slide-out controller turns your phone into a cloud gaming and remote play machine with zero bag space — the destination Abxylute’s streaming-first origin always pointed toward. But excitement and prepay are different things. The M6’s grip promise and the M5’s slenderness are both compelling; neither is worth buying blind from a Kickstarter page. Wait for hands-on reviews, then decide which philosophy fits your commute.