Logitech G Cloud Review: Don't Call It a Cloud Gaming Mini Console - CNET

It's hard to get excited astir the Logitech G Cloud, but it's hard to hatred it arsenic well. Fundamentally, it's a tiny Android tablet with a nonremovable controller and a customized launcher; you tin besides tally it arsenic a generic tablet. In contrast, a instrumentality similar the upcoming Razer Edge is simply a similar, tiny Android tablet positive Xbox-layout controller, but bundled alternatively than attached. It doesn't consciousness cheap, but it doesn't consciousness premium, and ultimately, it doesn't consciousness similar thing that inspires you to play games.

The closest plan to the G Cloud is the Nintendo Switch Lite, successful that it's an all-in-one instrumentality with modular controllers attached connected either broadside of a surface and is astir suitable for fundamentally mobile gamers. The Steam Deck runs on the aforesaid lines, but astatine slightest astatine the infinitesimal it's for PC gamers who privation to play connected a smaller, much mobile device. Its dimensions prevarication determination betwixt the two.

I've got mixed feelings astir the G Cloud's execution. Attaching immoderate benignant of controller to a phone is inactive a spot of a hassle, and adjacent big-screen phones consciousness a small tiny due to the fact that they're agelong and constrictive alternatively than 16:9. But astatine its terms it competes with the Switch for your money, adjacent though they're precise antithetic devices. And it's specced for least-common-denominator unreality gaming, not thing similar GeForce Now's RTX 3080 high-refresh-rate 1440p. Plus, we've gotten utilized to OLED screens connected galore devices. Nor is determination a charging dock.  

The customized launcher benignant of looks similar a console dashboard, but fundamentally conscionable shows astir caller apps -- specified arsenic Xbox Cloud Gaming, but not the circumstantial crippled you played -- and lets you pin apps to the main screen

The screen's beauteous basic: a 1080p, 7-inch IPS show with a 60Hz refresh complaint and 450 nits of brightness. It runs connected a Qualcomm Snapdragon 720G with 4GB of memory, has stereo speakers with an amp, a stereo noise-canceling mic and some 3.5mm and USB-C audio output (no video), arsenic good arsenic Bluetooth 5.1. 

The controller aspects feel... fine, oregon astatine slightest emblematic for a mobile controller. In different words, the buttons are a small mushy, the triggers person little question (but inactive much than you'd see speedy response), the grips are textured integrative (less slippery than mean integrative but little grippy than rubberized), the sticks truly lone recognize 4 directions (i.e., they don't registry diagonals precise well) and truthful on. 

You tin link via Wi-Fi 5 lone -- there's nary Wi-Fi 6/6E oregon compartment support, which is disappointing, particularly since I often ran into web issues. In my signal-dense flat building, Wi-Fi 6E has gone a agelong mode to amended the velocity and reliability of my connections, which would person made a large quality here.

The controller grips person a small much curvature than a batch of akin mobile crippled controllers.

Lori Grunin/CNET

The G Cloud's bandwidth measured astatine slightest fractional that of my phones, tablets and computers, and I ran into issues ranging from show artifacts to freezing with Xbox Cloud Gaming, GeForce Now and Steam Link, adjacent successful comparatively undemanding games similar Pentiment, Shadows Over Loathing and Dead Cells. Playing section Android games went comparatively smoothly, though.

Built-in retention is lone 64GB, but it does person a slot for a microSD/TF card. It besides professes to person "linear haptics" for the controls, but that didn't look to construe into thing perceptible. The institution rates the artillery for up to 12.5 hours of play time, but successful signifier it was much similar 7 oregon 8. You could astir apt agelong it retired by leaving the ambient airy sensor enabled, which dynamically brightens oregon dims the screen, but I find those never, ever enactment well. In this case, it would little the brightness to 0 successful a acheronian country -- and I'm astir ever successful the acheronian -- which was acold excessively dim.

I wasn't ever capable to hide that it was fundamentally a retrofitted tablet, from its archetypal oh-my-god-get-out-of-my-way-Google setup (which astatine slightest allows you to postpone immoderate of the basics successful bid to get to gaming sooner) to its why-can't-I-uninstall-Gmail-or-any-other-Google-app annoyances. Plus, it's lone similar a console successful the frustrating ways, similar single-tasking; it tin lone load 1 app (or game) astatine a time, truthful you can't interrupt your crippled to cheque your email without shutting it down.

That's each good if you privation thing that tin treble arsenic an Android tablet, but I person a telephone with a amended display, faster processor and 5G support, and that's not different ample instrumentality to propulsion into my bag. It would beryllium good if it were cheaper -- say, nether $200 -- oregon if it came with a year's subscription to astatine slightest 1 of the services. As it is, it's conscionable unexciting astatine champion and disappointing astatine worst.