We have spent hours working hard to do research and comparions for the product Luna Gaming Controller before we came up with this review.
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Luna controller is best for Amazon’s cloud gaming service, Luna. Learn more about Luna.
We want you to know
- Luna Controller can be powered using a USB-C cable without batteries (USB-C cable not included).
- Luna Controller uses 2 AA batteries, included in box. Luna Controller also supports AA standard rechargeable batteries.
- Luna Controller supports Luna gameplay on iPhones and iPads when connecting with Cloud Direct technology only. Luna Controller currently does not support gameplay over Bluetooth or USB on iPhone or iPad devices.
- Luna Controller requires a Windows driver to play games over Bluetooth outside of Amazon Luna. Download here.
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Built for Luna A high-performance controller designed to provide an ideal playing experience on Luna, Amazon’s new cloud gaming service. Luna Controller is the best connection between Luna gamers and their games. |
Cloud Direct gets to your game fasterLuna Controller over Cloud Direct connects directly to Amazon’s custom game servers, reducing roundtrip latency by 17 to 30 milliseconds vs. a Luna Controller using a Bluetooth connection on Windows PC, Mac, and Fire TV. |
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Alexa’s got game Just press and ask Alexa to launch games while using the Luna app on Fire TV and Fire Tablets. You can say things like, “Alexa, play ‘GRID.'” Alexa is also available for everyday requests like dimming the lights and telling you the weather. |
Comfortable design, precision controlsLuna Controller is designed for comfort with an offset thumbstick and easy-access bumpers. Precise triggers, 4 responsive action buttons, and a 4-way directional pad keep your gameplay on point. |
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Simple to set up and use |
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1. Download and install the Luna Controller app on your mobile device. |
2. Install 2 AA batteries. Power up by pressing the home button for 3 seconds. You will see an orange light spin around the button. |
3. Open the Luna Controller app and follow the on-screen instructions to set up Cloud Direct. |
Luna Controller technical details
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Color |
Black |
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Wifi connectivity |
Cloud Direct gameplay on Luna Controller supports dual-band 802.11 a/b/g/n (2.4 and 5 GHz) networks |
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Bluetooth connectivity |
Supports Bluetooth Low Energy 5.0 for gameplay on Windows PC, Mac, Fire Tablets, Chromebooks and Fire TV (Windows PC support outside of Luna requires a Windows driver. Download here.) |
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USB-C port |
For wired gameplay on Windows PC and Mac using USB-C cable (sold separately) |
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Size |
156.4 x 107.6 x 58.5 mm |
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Weight |
235.5 g without batteries, 281.5 g with batteries |
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Inputs |
12 buttons: home, action, menu, microphone, X, Y, A, B, LT, LB, RT, RB |
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Haptics |
Vibration motors for tactile feedback during gameplay |
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Display |
LED to display controller connectivity status, low battery indicator, and software updates |
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Audio |
3.5 mm stereo audio output for headset |
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Speaker |
None |
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Alexa |
Press and ask Alexa to launch games and more on Fire TV |
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Set up your Luna Controller with Luna Controller app |
Download the Luna Controller app from the Amazon Appstore for Android, Google Play Store, or iOS App Store. App lets you connect your controller to wifi to play games on compatible host devices over Cloud Direct. |
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Compatability |
Works on compatible Windows PC, Mac, Fire TV, Fire Tablet, iPhone, iPad, and select Android phone via Cloud Direct. Does not work with gaming consoles. |
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In-box accessories |
2 AA Amazon Basics batteries, setup guide |
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Warranty and service |
1-year limited warranty and service. Optional 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year extended warranty available for U.S. customers sold separately. Use of Amazon Luna Controller is subject to these terms. |
Features & Specifications
- Upgrade your Luna gaming experience with Luna Controller: Designed for Amazon's cloud gaming service where it's easy to play games on devices you already own.
- Luna Controller over Cloud Direct connects directly to Amazon’s custom game servers, reducing roundtrip latency by 17 to 30 milliseconds vs. a Luna Controller using a Bluetooth connection on Windows PC, Mac, and Fire TV.
- With Cloud Direct technology, Luna Controller talks directly to the cloud. There is no need to pair to each device, making it easy to transition your game from one screen to the next on compatible Windows PC, Mac, Fire TV, Fire tablet, iPhone, iPad, Chromebook, and Android devices.
- Connect over Bluetooth and USB to play games outside of Luna on Windows PC, Mac, and Android devices.
- Launch Luna games with Alexa – On Fire TV and Fire Tablets, press and ask Alexa to easily get to your games. Try “Alexa, play 'Sonic Mania Plus.'
- Built for gaming - Low-friction thumbsticks, a comfortable textured grip, and wireless gameplay powered by 2 AA batteries.
- Works great with Fire TV to play games from Luna’s growing library or pair over Bluetooth to play games outside of Luna or use as a remote control.
Pros & Cons
Pros
WOW! Feels Well Built. Hidden Gem of a PC Controller too! Please note that running the Luna service can be done without these remotes on a PC. I experienced no lag issues. When I received my order for two of these, I tried them out plugged in on a game that is not on Luna. WOW! The best controllers I have ever owned! Better build quality than the original Xbox x controllers. They feel great in the hands and trying to perform precise sniper aiming is a joy as the thumbsticks offer the perfect balance of resistance and control. To setup luna controllers for the Luna service is really simple and took me <5mins. I did not notice any lag with these remotes running wireless (Wifi) at all! I have not tried these remotes out via Bluetooth yet, and will not, as that is not an option I want (wifi is so much better). AMAZON: Please offer this controller to the PC crowd without Luna service. The market is full of crap controllers and this is a hidden gem of controllers. NOTE: If this controller breaks after 1-2 months like all the crap controllers and Offical Microsoft Xbox controllers do, I'll update this review.
Well-Made, Feels Great, Works Great, Easy To Setup. This controller is great! First off, it feels very nicely made and doesn't feel cheap or plasticky. It has a very nice, soft, rubberized material on it which makes it very easy and comfortable to hold for an extended period of time. All of the buttons and triggers feel great and provide nice feedback so you know the button has been pressed. I really love the overall design of this one, too. I have been using this controller since November of 2020 and have had no issues to speak of. It was very easy to set up with the app and once it's setup, you only have to worry about keeping batteries in it (2-AA batteries are included to get you started). The battery life is pretty good and I actually really like that the batteries are replaceable. I know some people might think of this as a downside, but I don't. Batteries do go after a while, and having the ability to change them easily is a very nice feature. I don't have the equipment to properly test the latency, but from normal use, it appears pretty spot on and have had no issues playing games on Luna. All in all, while this controller is not required to play games on Luna, it sure does make it a much better experience and one that I have really enjoyed.
Ultimate Controller for Ultimate Platform That Came From Nowhere. I admit that I am not in the know when it comes to gaming platforms, but when I was confronted with the opportunity to sign up for this platform I bit. The controller is super easy to pair and you can use it on just about any device. The only thing that I may complain about is that you need a firestick to play on TV, but that has nothing to do with the controller. The controller works great and has the same feel as the Playstation controller. Responsive and comfortable to say the least.
Luna Service Integration Outstanding And Can Be Used Plugged In Or Wireless. This is a review of the Luna Controller, not the service. The controller is the standard XBox style controller. It can use either D or X input depending on circumstance, and the controller interfaces with the USB HID easily. The one annoyance is that if you are going to use Bluetooth on a PC, you have to download a driver for it which is not made apparently obvious. However, if you are going to use the Luna service, directly connecting to your PC is unnecessary as talked about below. In order to use this controller via Wifi, you either need an Echo or Fire TV for automatic setup or the Luna app that works on either Android or IOS. I do have an Echo, and when turning on the controller, the controller immediately mapped to the Echo's wifi without having to do anything. I set up the app anyway on my phone to play Bluetooth games there, and it only took one pass to setup with the app. The controller functions just like any other wireless or USB-C wired controller when not using the Luna service. There is automatic profiling in RetroArch at this point, so it is safe to say that even 3rd party program recognize this controller's longevity. However, the main point of the controller is to integrate with the Luna Service. On any device that you are signed into that is compatible with Luna (Chrome, the Luna Desktop App, a recent Fire tablet, or a Fire TV), the controller automatically detects the running of Luna and maps to it. The controller itself does not need setup and the buttons are already present and mapped to the right ones for any seen game on the service without you needing to intervene. The responsiveness of the controller under non-cloud circumstances is fast enough that wireless is a viable option even in trigger-fast games. I did not detect any advantage to using this controller wired. For Luna Service games, the controller is as good as your connection with the Service. Despite having really good internet, I could definitely tell input lag spikes and missed inputs on Lumines which make the playing experience a bit frustrating. That said, for casual games or ones that are not input perfect, this controller works well with the Luna service and the problems you face are due to the Luna service and not the controller itself. There is one physical flaw that I saw, which is the joystick mold leaves ends to the right which are easily seen and felt. Hopefully this wears down in time, but it still is a fine controller with good grips.
High quality and performance. The media could not be loaded. The Controller itself is gorgeous. the colors, the led ring, the material, the feel. I had no issues using it with Luna but after a few titles, I went back to pc gaming on steam and decided to use this controller instead of my old faithful xbox one controller. It works flawlessly. I've played through cyberpunk 2077, witcher 3, rdr2, and now gta5. All long story mode games and when I do occasionally switch back to my xbox controller is noticeably larger. I love that it's a USB C output on the luna controller since my gaming laptop has a USB C 3.0 input, versus the micro usb on the Xbox. The Luna button even brings up a very detailed settings menu that includes both amazon and xbox settings. I've used both wired and bluetooth connections with no issue, as well as wired (into the controller) and bluetooth headphones. And after using xbox brand controllers for 20 years, you feel like the are the standard of quality. But this controller feels so much more high quality. Even if you don't use luna, I'd recommend it for pc gaming 100%. And I assume it's because I'm using it wired, but it's had the same set of batteries in it since February.
Works exactly as expected and stated. I've been using the Luna controller for almost a year now and I must say I'm impressed. The overall build quality is up to par with what I'd expect from Microsoft and their Xbox controller. It feels good in the hand, has comparable battery life, no drift issues, etc. The cost vs quality seems good, though I'd prefer it be priced at $49.99. I won't even buy Xbox controllers at regular price; they're on sale regularly for $49 and at that price make sense. Using it with Luna is fantastic. However it's important to understand how these controllers work before making gripes about things like lag. When in Luna mode, the controller is connecting over your wifi router direct to Luna's servers to minimize hops and latency. This means you need to have a fast wireless router that can handle all of your devices. Many people that complain about lag have too many devices on their wifi routers which typically are under powered and intended for fewer devices. Second, you need an internet connection that has adequate bandwidth - both downstream AND upstream. There are many people who have gigabit cable providers who forget their upstream bandwidth is capped at 40mbps (in best case scenario). Test your upstream bandwidth and monitor the consistency of it over time as this is likely where input lag will manifest itself. It likely won't be the controller causing this. I use this on symetrical 500mpbs fiber (Frontier) over a prosumer wifi AP (TP Link Omada) designed for wifi6 and 300 active devices. I have yet to experience ANY discernable input lag using my setup. I also play using the latest fire TV cube and Fire TV 4k Max devices as they have faster processors and can leverage faster wifi connections. That being said, if you're hoping to play competitive FPS games using Luna... Have realistic expectations. It's not going to be the same as a dedicated local gaming rig. In addition to Luna, I use this controller to play games on my iPad pro and it seems to work fine. Is it a viable replacement for an Xbox controller? It really depends on what you're doing. Personally, I'm not trying to have one controller to rule them all. So I use Xbox controllers for windows gaming; they have 1st party support and are going to work the best for steam and game pass games. I also have an 8bitdo pro plus controller, which is use predominantly for my Nintendo Switch, but also works for general bluetooth cross-device scenarios similar to the Luna controller. However, the Luna controller has a leg up on it because of the similar Xbox style layout. So for me, I compartmentalize my controllers... Luna controller for Luna/mobile/Bluetooth, Xbox for Microsoft (Xbox/gamepass/steam) related gaming, and 8-bitdo for Bluetooth in a pinch (usually shows up as a dual shock PS4). My point is: make sure you know what your end goal is and then work backwards from that... mapping your expectations to your tech along the way. Do I recommend the Luna controller? Oh hell yeah. Especially if you're using the Luna service.
Cons
Meant for Luna... Liked how well it did with Luna, super easy to use and fits well with the games available no drift or problems. After my trial however I was looking forward to using this same controller on my pc games on Steam...only thing is that it won’t map out the left and right trigger as if they don’t exist as shown in the picture of holding down the left trigger and nothing registers. Maybe they’ll have a fix for it later?? But as of now, I’m just out $50 for a controller that works only on the intended app.
Just my thoughts. First I must say the controller feels good in the hand and seems to be of pretty good quality but that's where the good ends. When gaming on the Luna service there is a very noticeable input lag that can make a game unplayable even with a very good internet connection. Also in regards to the Luna basic subscription, the quality is surprisingly good but the game selection is very limited and not very good. Back on the controller, I was hoping to use the controller as a gamepad for PC games but there is a massive deadzone on the analog sticks when wired or in Bluetooth mode. This dead zone does not appear to be present when gaming through the Luna service via WIFI. Overall I can not recommend the controller or the Luna service. 2 Stars only because the controller feels good in the hands otherwise it would be a 1 Star
This is NOT Rechargeable! Sound Output from headphone jack too low. The cons matter the most to me when it scores this low so I'll start there first. As per my headline, this comes with only 2 AA batteries, although I guess it could have been worse and not come with batteries. That's a lot of money to put down for a standard item available in all other controllers these days not to mention ENVIRONMENTALLY DESTRUCTIVE. Worse is there's no mention about whether the USB-C interface will allow charging assuming you buy a rechargeable power pack. For a device that is SO heavy, I can't believe it isn't rechargeable. Pairing to my phone/network went okay but I wouldn't say effortless. My Fanatic Headset when plugged into the controller was barely audible therefore useless and I would expect that using this would only further make the battery waste issue worse. The Pro's: It feels pretty well made and has a solid feeling in the hands, not flimsy in any way. I do agree with one reviewer that the seams feel a little sharp. The thumbsticks have a smooth motion. The DPAD isn't especially mushy and neither are the side buttons, righthand buttons, and triggers. The thumbsticks are concave and have a little texture around the outside lips. While playing in Luna on the PC it was recognized immediately and gameplay was really pretty good with it. It does have a stereo headphone/Mic input which, with my Fanatic headset was way too low in volume to be useable but with my Corsair HS60 there was no problem with volume through my PC. If they add a rechargeable battery or at least support for same I would increase my rating at least an additional star which would put it within my own personal "sure, I guess I'd buy/recommend that." Improving the headphone jack output would further increase its value for me. Also unknown is if I had an additional controller could two of us play cooperatively/competitively in the same household. I, fortunately, had a $20 off code for this making it a little more palatable for its lack of recharging but not enough for me to recommend this to anyone until they do include that support.
Wouldn't connect to app, poor experience. The setup process was odd, wanting to connect to an app on my phone. It also asn't obvious how it works connect to a fireTV... Sent back and cancelled subscription. Also, I had to start my 7 day trial when I ordered the remote so I lost two days waiting for it to arrive
Disappointed. The media could not be loaded. Looks like poor quality control. Lots of people raving about these controllers but I'm disappointed. Unusable out of the box. Joystick drift and it just gets stuck in the corners. I have a few other complaints about the mobile app, setup, and subscription service, and windows application but the controller is the most expensive part of that package and I can't even get that to work well enough to nit pick the other aspects.
Luna has a long way to go before it’s ready. I was excited to join Luna. We bought the controller and it was an easy install and took less than 5 minutes to get playing. The controller itself is playstation/Xbox quality. I love the idea of playing games from the cloud but the Amazon execution of Luna is far from being ready for roll out. They need to hire a team of gamers to ring this out. The selection of games is limited and the quality of streaming is not good. We have gig-internet and it’s poor quality graphics. The controls are also generic. It’s like I was playing a bootleg games. Everything was just off. Sound, graphics, controls, etc. I really want this is to happen but in my opinion it’s got a long ways before I’m willing to join this subscription.
How to Buy The Best Luna Gaming Controller?
Do you feel stressed figuring out how to buy a good product of Luna Gaming Controller? So many things to consider? Don't know how to choose? Still doubt if it fits or not? We know that all, and we've done what you should have done for a research of the product Luna Gaming Controller from which you can learn how to get the best Luna Gaming Controller.
Before taking deep into the details, let us start with some questions as follows that everyone should have before a purchase of Luna Gaming Controller.
- Is it worth buying the Luna Gaming Controller?
- What benefits does the product Luna Gaming Controller offer?
- What to think about when buying the product Luna Gaming Controller?
- What makes the Luna Gaming Controller to be the best?
- Where can you get information as this on the product Luna Gaming Controller?
- Why and how do you need the Luna Gaming Controller?
You may have many more questions than the above in regards to the Luna Gaming Controller. To help you make a choice that meets your needs and satisfies you most, just read as more info and reviews as possible, no matter good or bad.
You can do that by going through reputable and trustworthy online platforms, communities and customer/product reviews, so as to get the possible best Luna Gaming Controller.
Based on real customer reviews and satisfactions, we use an optimized algorithm to put together objective data into a list of pros and cons as well as product features and specifications as such a good guide for you to follow that you can buy the best Luna Gaming Controller.
What Major Factors We Depend On To Create A Buying Guide
- Brand. For the product of Luna Gaming Controller, each brand you know or you don't know has its own visibility and reputation, some brands may provide a certain unique technology or selling point to compete with others.
- Features. What functions can the product of Luna Gaming Controller offer?
- Specifications. How is the product of like? e.g. size, weight, etc.
- Color. What color is the product of Luna Gaming Controller? Do you like it?
- Quality. How good is the product of Luna Gaming Controller? Is it worth the money?
- Reliability. How durable is the product of Luna Gaming Controller? Does it last long or does it work for a long time for you? Does it come with a warranty?
- Customer Ratings. How is the average rating for the product of Luna Gaming Controller?
- Customer Reviews. What real life customers say to the product of Luna Gaming Controller, no matter it is good or bad?
Conclusion
Overall, this is a very good product that earns many praises and is relatively highly rated by real life customers.
We highly recommend the Luna Gaming Controller to you.
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