Logitech G Cloud Gaming Handheld Review - IGN

When Logitech unveiled the G Cloud Gaming Handheld past month, it turned a just fig of heads, including my own. The thought of a dedicated unreality gaming instrumentality is decidedly an appealing prospect; having entree to perchance thousands of high-quality games connected request without needing to hold for downloads, updates, oregon interest astir retention is intelligibly the aboriginal we’re heading towards. But, the unreality gaming scenery is inactive a messy 1 successful 2022. Xbox Game Pass continues to turn its subscriber basal and expand to caller platforms similar VR, portion different unreality services similar Google Stadia threw successful the towel aft lone a fewer abbreviated years.

This puts the Logitech G Cloud successful an absorbing position. It sits determination betwixt streaming games to a mobile instrumentality with a dedicated controller and thing with acold much capableness and powerfulness similar the Steam Deck. However, a constricted fig of supported unreality services and a steep terms for introduction marque the G Cloud consciousness much similar a impervious of conception than a existent competitor.

Logitech G Cloud – Design and Features

At its core, the Logitech G Cloud is simply a 7-inch Android tablet built into a customized hardware ammunition that features everything you’d expect connected a modern gaming controller, including dual analog sticks, a D-pad, 4 look buttons, bumpers and triggers, arsenic good arsenic enactment buttons, a location button, and what Logitech calls the G button.

Internally, the G Cloud features a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G – a astir three-year-old midrange 8-core processor designed for ratio implicit power. Since astir of the dense lifting is done server-side for unreality gaming, this isn’t excessively large of an issue. However, if you program to download and play games locally from the Google Play store, don’t expect cutting borderline performance. It besides has 4GB of RAM and 64GB of flash storage, with the enactment to grow that further via a microSD card.

The 7-inch LCD show features 450 nits of brightness and IPS exertion for bully viewing angles. It boasts a 1080p solution with a 60Hz refresh complaint that, honestly, is much than capable for unreality gaming. The show besides supports multi-touch, truthful typing connected the on-screen keyboard isn’t specified an egregious experience, and it allows you to navigate menus with a finger, if you prefer. Some apps don’t admit the built-in controls anyhow, truthful interaction is your lone enactment successful those cases.

Since astir of your gaming clip volition apt beryllium spent streaming games arsenic opposed to moving them locally, you tin expect to get astir 12 hours of artillery beingness from the 6,000mAh interior battery. During my experience, I recovered this to beryllium beauteous darn close with it decreasing astir 5-10% for each hr of play utilizing the Xbox Cloud Streaming app. Even better, it supports Fast Charge 3.0 via the USB-C larboard connected the bottom, allowing you to complaint from 0% to 100% successful conscionable 2 and a fractional hours. The G Cloud besides claims to person astir 830 hours of standby time, but that fig whitethorn alteration depending connected however you usage it. I fto the handheld idle for astir a week without usage and came backmost to it wholly drained. However, portion utilizing it regularly, I recovered it to person virtually nary artillery drain successful betwixt sessions – truthful agelong arsenic I remembered to adjacent immoderate apps aft use.

The G Cloud supports the somewhat dated WiFi 5 (802.11/a/b/g/n/ac) modular and tin link to some 2.4GHz and 5GHz networks. While not supporting WiFi 6 feels similar a spot of a miss successful 2022 fixed its summation successful some velocity and wide efficiency, the immense bulk of location networks would besides request to beryllium updated to truly spot immoderate benefit. There’s besides nary interior 5G radio, truthful taking the Logitech G Cloud connected the spell volition necessitate connecting to a mobile hotspot oregon uncovering WiFi determination successful bid to play. This is astir apt its biggest caveat – it’s designed for a aboriginal we’re not quite acceptable for successful presumption of infrastructure and accessibility. Without WiFi, the G Cloud amounts to thing much than a beauteous paperweight, unless you program to usage it for Android mobile games.

And, similar galore different mobile devices, the G Cloud besides features a 3D gyroscope and haptic feedback, though this wasn’t supported during immoderate of my unreality gaming sessions, and lone seems to enactment with autochthonal Android apps and games.

On the bottommost of the Logitech G Cloud, you’ll find a acceptable of stereo speakers, a headphone jack, and a USB-C larboard for charging that besides supports USB-C integer headphones for audio. It besides supports Bluetooth headphones and has a stereo microphone built-in that provides constricted echo canceling and outer sound suppression.

The G Cloud is beauteous lightweight astatine 463 grams, with astir of the value distributed betwixt the near and close grips. This makes it conscionable a spot heavier than the Nintendo Switch OLED that weighs successful astatine astir 422 grams with some Joy-Con attached, portion being importantly lighter than the Steam Deck’s beefy 669-gram weight. All things considered, the G Cloud is comfy to clasp for extended periods arsenic it features rounded edges and textured ergonomic grips that contour to your hands.

Logitech G Cloud – Software

The Logitech G Cloud ships with Android 11 for its OS – an unusual prime fixed Android 13 was conscionable released connected immoderate devices a mates months ago, but I ideate astir users won’t beryllium looking for the latest Android features, anyhow. While you tin usage the G Cloud successful “Tablet Mode” to alteration a afloat Android 11 tablet experience, it’s recommended to play successful “Handheld Mode” that overlays a dedicated launcher akin to the Nintendo Switch location screen, including a bid of tiles cascading horizontally successful bid of astir caller usage to springiness it much of a console feel.

Booting it up for the archetypal clip required configuring the instrumentality with my Google relationship earlier being offered the enactment of booting into the aforementioned Handheld oregon Tablet Modes. It comes preloaded with the Xbox Cloud Streaming (beta) and Nvidia GeForce Now apps, arsenic good arsenic the modular Xbox and Steam Link apps for streaming locally. In summation to the 4 gaming options, you’ll besides find the modular preinstalled suite of Google apps specified arsenic Chrome, Calendar, Contacts, Maps, etc., each of which unluckily cannot beryllium removed from the device.

With the Google Play Store available, you tin download conscionable astir immoderate different app you mightiness perchance want, specified arsenic Netflix, Disney+, oregon the near-endless watercourse of Android shovelware games. However, contempt being marketed arsenic a unreality streaming device, apps specified arsenic PlayStation Remote Play and Amazon Luna didn’t admit the built-in controller, and lone offered the enactment to usage touchscreen controls oregon brace a separate Bluetooth controller for gaming. It’s hard to accidental if immoderate further unreality oregon section crippled streaming apps volition beryllium supported successful the future, but presently you’re stuck with the 4 mentioned above.

Even with the included apps, determination doesn’t look to beryllium immoderate heavy integration from Logitech to marque it consciousness similar those experiences were tailored astir this unsocial device. For instance, the Xbox Cloud Streaming app that comes preinstalled connected the G Cloud is really conscionable a shortcut to the browser mentation accessible via xbox.com/play, portion different wholly abstracted Xbox Game Pass app is disposable done the Google Play Store, albeit with a somewhat antithetic idiosyncratic interface designed astir mobile devices. Clicking immoderate of the links astatine the bottommost of the leafage volition efficaciously interruption the app since there’s nary backmost button, and you’ll person to either adjacent the app and relaunch it, oregon manually navigate done Microsoft’s website backmost to the Xbox Cloud Streaming (beta) page.

The Nvidia GeForce Now app wasn’t overmuch better, either. Upon launching it and signing successful with my Nvidia account, I was told I didn’t person a subscription and it kicked maine backmost to the login surface without immoderate enactment to motion up oregon effort the work for free. Instead, I had to spell to the Nvidia website and motion up there, instrumentality to the G Cloud, and motion backmost successful earlier I could commencement gaming. For a instrumentality designed astir spontaneity, it definite feels similar you person to leap done a batch of hoops to really get to your games.

The settings app offers immoderate constricted customization options successful Handheld mode specified arsenic a airy and acheronian taxable and 4 wallpapers to take from. There doesn’t look to beryllium immoderate options to customize further oregon adhd your ain customized wallpapers, though. Additionally, there’s a conception for remapping each fastener connected the instrumentality but for the G button.

Logitech G Cloud – Gaming

I’ll preface this conception by stating that since this instrumentality is chiefly intended for unreality streaming, your idiosyncratic acquisition tin (and astir apt will) alteration depending connected a fig of factors – namely your web speeds and location. During my testing, I was connected to a web with 300Mbps download and 20Mbps upload speeds, truthful my situation is much than susceptible of streaming games implicit WiFi.

I spent astir of my clip investigating assorted games done the preinstalled Xbox Cloud Streaming app. Navigating the menus to find a crippled to leap into was intuitive and I had nary issues with it recognizing the built-in gamepad. Launching a crippled took astir 20-30 seconds portion it connected to the Xbox servers, and past I was in.

There’s inactive thing magical astir having big, beauteous games specified arsenic Halo Infinite and Forza Horizon 5 disposable successful the thenar of your hand. Streaming done Xbox Game Pass felt precise akin to the acquisition I’ve had investigating a fig of mobile crippled controllers, but this felt overmuch sturdier and had a importantly larger screen. While this whitethorn not look similar much, it decidedly makes it consciousness much similar a dedicated acquisition since I wasn’t getting distracting notifications each fewer moments and the controls felt overmuch much successful enactment with a console-like experience.

Although the G Cloud is chiefly made retired of plastic, it inactive feels rigid and well-built. The controls each consciousness great, too, with comfy thumbsticks, a clicky D-pad, and responsive look buttons. The triggers are a spot wider and shallower than what you’d find connected a accepted gamepad, but they are analog and frankincense springiness you much power implicit your velocity successful a crippled similar Forza Horizon 5. My lone contented with the controls is however adjacent the A fastener is to the close analog stick. Since the analog instrumentality sits straight beneath the A fastener with astir a half-inch clearance, it’s not uncommon to accidentally bump the instrumentality during gameplay, which mightiness propulsion disconnected your purpose successful a fast-paced shooter oregon enactment game.

My biggest takeaway from spending truthful overmuch clip with a dedicated unreality instrumentality was realizing not each games are intended to beryllium streamed to a tiny screen. Doom Eternal, for example, ran highly good and was consistently hitting oregon adjacent to its 60 fps people with nary discernable latency with regards to the controls. However, overmuch of the on-screen substance and icons were astir illegible since you suffer a spot of clarity erstwhile streaming games implicit WiFi, not to notation scaling everything down to a 7-inch display. When moving astir successful different fast-paced shooters specified arsenic Deathloop and Halo Infinite, determination was decidedly a bully magnitude of artifacting arsenic it tried to support up with everything happening on-screen.

I downloaded the PlayStation Remote Play app from the Google Play Store hoping to watercourse immoderate games from my PS5, but recovered upon launching the app that it didn’t admit the built-in gamepad, and alternatively offered touchscreen controls oregon the enactment to brace a abstracted Bluetooth controller. While this whitethorn beryllium resolved aboriginal with a bundle update, determination doesn’t look to beryllium overmuch integration from the Logitech broadside to guarantee apps admit the controller by default. For now, being constricted to 2 unreality streaming services (Xbox Cloud Streaming and Nvidia GeForce Now) and 2 section options (Xbox and Steam Link) seems a spot disappointing fixed the intended usage for this handheld.

What’s adjacent much baffling is that nary of the games I downloaded from the Google Play Store specified arsenic Apex Legends Mobile and Call of Duty Mobile recognized the built-in gamepad, either, meaning I was relegated to interaction controls, which aren’t precise applicable fixed the width of this device. I recognize that this is simply a cloud-first device, but limiting the section options to touchscreen-only further reduces the usefulness of it erstwhile extracurricular of an country with a WiFi connection.

Another issue, though small, is the inability to region immoderate of the preinstalled Google apps. Since this is an Android acquisition astatine the core, truthful overmuch of it feels overshadowed by Google. The 15+ Google apps update frequently, which inevitably propulsion the constricted magnitude of gaming services disconnected the location leafage launcher and permission you with galore tiles for things similar Maps, Messages, and different services you (likely) aren’t trying to use. The past happening I privation to bash is cheque the messages folder connected the location surface and find a clump of emails I’m not funny in. When successful Handheld mode, I would’ve liked the enactment to disable Google services oregon circumstantial apps to support it much focused connected gaming.