The ongoing quest to turn an iPhone into one of the favorite consoles of all time has led to a curiously named controller. GameSir’s Pocket Taco is only barely pocketable, and distinctly lacking in taco fillings, but for $35, it’s an excellent and easy way to turn a phone into a Game Boy-inspired handheld for playing retro games that don’t require a pair of thumbsticks.
Unlike the Abxylute M4 mobile controller that attaches to phones using magnets, or the Backbone Pro that sandwiches a device between a split gamepad, the Pocket Taco uses a hinged mechanism that, for lack of a better description, bites onto the bottom half of a smartphone.
Inside the Pocket Taco are soft silicone pads on either side that grip your phone without damaging it.
The ergonomics aren’t as good as standalone controllers, but the Pocket Taco is quite comfortable to play with.
Inside the Pocket Taco, soft silicone pads on either side securely grip the device without scratching it or leaving any bite marks. The hold feels satisfyingly secure, and while a tested iPhone could slightly shift from side to side while inside the Pocket Taco, at no point did it ever feel at risk of falling out on its own.
The Pocket Taco’s hinge expands wide enough to attach to smartphones still inside bulky cases, and its open sides can accommodate phones and devices wider than the controller itself. It could be used with an iPad Mini, for example, although testing the ergonomics of such a setup was not possible.
8BitDo announced a similar Game Boy-style controller for smartphones at CES 2026, featuring a front panel that can fully flip down. The reason for this approach became clear after using the Pocket Taco for a week.
The front panel on the Pocket Taco can only hinge outward about 45 degrees, blocking the lower part of a smartphone’s screen while attached to the device. 8BitDo’s FlipPad gives full access to a smartphone’s screen and UI while it’s attached, but users may frequently find it necessary to completely remove the Pocket Taco to switch to another app, or even just unlock the phone.
A passthrough hole on the bottom of the Pocket Taco lets you plug in a power cable, assuming your device’s charging port is centered.
A hard plastic carrying case is included, but the Pocket Taco is a bit too thick to be comfortably pocketed.
The USB-C 8BitDo FlipPad has not been tested yet, but a big advantage of the larger Pocket Taco is that it connects to a device over Bluetooth and has its own 600mAh rechargeable battery that won’t drain the phone. Opening the Pocket Taco powers it on and automatically pairs the controller with the last device used — in a tested iPhone 16 Pro. GameSir doesn’t list iOS as being officially supported, only Android, but it was possible to connect to the Pocket Taco and the iPhone recognized it as a “DualShock 4 Wireless Controller.”
The Pocket Taco turns off automatically when removed from a phone. It powers up and reconnects quickly, though, so having to occasionally remove the controller to access the phone’s screen isn’t a huge inconvenience.
The Pocket Taco turns on automatically when attached to a phone, but it can also be powered on manually and used as a portable standalone wireless gamepad.
The Pocket Taco’s home button can also be used to manually power it on and off when it isn’t attached to a device, allowing it to be used as a standalone rechargeable Bluetooth controller. It was easy to pair with the Switch 2.
The Pocket Taco’s controls look and feel very similar to the original Game Boy’s, but with a few more buttons.
Two sets of shoulder buttons can be found on the back of the Pocket Taco, with a USB-C charging port in between them.
The controller’s four face buttons and D-pad all feel good with a solid click when pressed, and despite it being a little narrower than the original Game Boy, users with large hands may find the Pocket Taco extremely comfortable to play with. The double pair of shoulder buttons on the back were easy to reach, and the rounded edges on the bottom of the Pocket Taco didn’t dig into the fingers used to support the controller and the phone.
There are just a few things to keep in mind when choosing what games to play, or how to play them. Unlike the Abxylute M4 or the Backbone controllers, GameSir made no attempt to squeeze thumbsticks or sliding joysticks onto the Pocket Taco. So it’s better suited for playing retro games from the 16-bit era and earlier that don’t have 3D environments with a camera to control.
The GameSir mobile app shrinks to half screen with the Pocket Taco attached, and lets you update firmware and remap the controller’s buttons.
You may need to make some adjustments if an app or emulator centers a game vertically onscreen, as it will be partially blocked with the Pocket Taco attached.
Testing was primarily done with Game Boy, Super Nintendo, and GBA games played through the Delta emulator and RetroArch on iOS. The Pocket Taco worked great with both, but users will want to make sure they’re using an app with skins or layout options that can position the game closer to the top of the device’s screen. When the Pocket Taco was first tested with Delta, turning off the emulator’s default skin to remove on-screen controls resulted in the game being vertically centered on the iPhone and partially covered by the Pocket Taco. It was easy to fix, but note that the controller can only be used in a vertical orientation.
GameSir Pocket Taco
8BitDo hasn’t announced pricing or a release date for its FlipPad yet, so its effectiveness remains to be seen at turning a smartphone into a handheld console, given its limitations. The Pocket Taco isn’t expected to ship until March 2026, but for $35, it offers excellent controls, solid ergonomics, reliable Bluetooth connectivity, nearly universal smartphone compatibility, and the ability to use it as a standalone wireless gamepad.
