Mobapad HuBen 2 GBAtemp review
Hardware
Product Information:
Mobapad are a peripheral manufacturing company that began life in 2018. Since then, they have been building accessories for a number of platforms, including Nintendo Switch, PC, and Android, to name but a few.
The £79.99 Huben2 is technically the sequel item to the 2022 Huben M9 mechanical HD controller, and the first of its kind to offer third-party HD rumble a la the Nintendo Switch. Mobapad's 2025 upgrade, the Huben 2, is designed with the Switch 2 in mind, and aims to bring its transferable features to a multitude of other platforms too.
Modest Packaging, Marvelous Features
From the second you begin unboxing the controller, you get the sense that Mobapad means business. The Huben 2's packaging is somewhat of a wolf in sheep's clothing, as the cardboard facade is extremely bland and unassuming, however, the contents are anything but.
The controller comes lovingly swaddled in a protective case, a feature that most controllers, even OEM official ones always neglect to include, and it has ample space for your glistening, spangly new controller, as well as it's accompanying parts, such as the USB play/charge cable, dongle, and swappable D-pad/octagonal gated thumbstick accent ring.
Compatible with Windows, iOS, Android, Switch and Switch 2, the Huben 2 comes packed with a USB-A dongle for wireless connectivity as well as Bluetooth integrated for maximum compatibility. It's USP here is that while in use on the Switch 2, you can actually use this controller to wake you NS2 from its slumber, where the majority of third-party pads cannot.
Smooth and Silky, A Performant Peripheral
Walking around the controller, you instantly feel the sheen of the glossy plates and the tactile grips on the rear. The controller looks and feels, ergonomically, identical to that of an current Xbox controller, weighing a similar 285 grams, and it even has the same button layout. Notably, the Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 have similar button layouts, but the A and B buttons are swapped, so initially I thought this might be troublesome, but it's very easy to remap this pad in the NS2 settings app (Note: you need v0.50 firmware minimum to use this one the NS2).
Across the top you have the four shoulder buttons, comprising of two bumpers and two triggers per side. The triggers have a surprisingly smooth action when depressed through their gate, and when flipped into "lockout" mode they become akin to a mouse click which is incredibly haptic and ramps up the luxury feel of this product.
You also have a USB-C socket for playing and or charging, on the top, and the face of the controller has the LED glowing logo emblazoned between the four central buttons. You can alter this logo colour and brightness in the companion app. (Note: the companion app is available for Windows/iOS and Android).
The two sticks stand prominent and proud, adorned with grip-lined edges which come in clutch when you have sweaty hands in the middle of a bout of frantic gaming. The action of the sticks are as smooth as you can imagine with equally slick and smooth precision rings encircling them. They feel incredible throughout usage, and they click delightfully too when performing their L3 and R3 functionality.
The main buttons use Omron switches so they're wonderfully clicky and feel superb and have a decent grip to their glossy finish. The d-pad also has an excellent motion to it, and it clicks satisfyingly. With the octagonal accessory, I really enjoyed using this on Ultra Street Fighter 2. There aren't enough octagonal accessories to save us avid d-pad users' thumbs on the Nintendo Switch when playing this game.
Finally, on the rear you find your 4 mappable "M" buttons (use the companion app), your wireless selector switch, and the trigger mode buttons. I appreciated the wrapping of the prongs in a grippy texture, whoever this didn't prove bulletproof. It still felt a little grip-less in practice. Once you get sweaty palms the textures don't add much in the way of purchase.
Recommendable, Difficult to Put Down
Pairing the controller is child's play, just put it in the correct mode on the rear and tap then hold the home button for 3 seconds to get into pairing. I noted that on iOS at least, the controller shows up twice in the Bluetooth settings, once as the Mobapad ML35 and then, spookily, again as a generic Xbox controller. Pro tip: you need to select Xbox controller to pair it, selecting ML35 will constantly fail
In game, the Huben 2 is superb. I honestly felt the quality and effort that has gone into this peripheral shining through, and testing this controller on the NS2, Windows and iOS predominantly, I feel like this is a great controller overall, with stunning rumble, exquisite buttons and sticks, and fantastic compatibility, but it isn't without two glaring yet small quibbles.
The first would be that the controller doesn't have the battery life that the Nintendo Switch 2 Pro controller does. Just 15 hours of battery is a mere fraction of the NS2's stellar 40 hour god-like capacity, which is a shame.
While this doesn't ruin the experience whatsoever, it's just one of those small things that makes you wish that Mobapad had at least attempted to equal it. Understandably, the controller uses less power in BT mode than in 2.4G, but regardless, 15-20 hours might seem like enough, but it's at least 50% less than Nintendo's official offering, and that means you'll be charging it twice as often.
The second is that the triggers have a notable dead zone. Mobapad address this one their site stating "The dead zone in the trigger is due to the physical structure design. There is a certain distance between the trigger's contact point and the microswitch on the circuit board, which is bridged by a metal spring to enhance tactile feedback. Therefore, the "large dead zone" is a result of the hardware design, not a software-related issue."
Personally, it's not a huge deal breaker for me, but I can see this being an issue for some gamers based on muscle memory preference.
Verdict
- Gyro, HD rumble, rear buttons, turbo, macros, dual triggers.
- Fast polling capacitive joysticks and omron switch buttons.
- Turbo and auto turbo features with speed settings.
- Four mappable rear buttons.
- Quick swap front plates and d-pad!
- HD rumble is excellent on any platform.
- 15/20 hour battery life is decent, but not the best it could be.
- Rear grips can feel slippery.
- Slight dead zone on triggers.
