The Honor GamePad is a new gaming accessory that can charge your phone

Honor doesn’t have a dedicated “gaming phone” in their lineup, but as we’ve demonstrated in the past, they may not need one. The company was at Gamescom 2019 today and they made a few gaming-related announcements. The coolest announcement was the Honor GamePad that plugs into the USB Type-C port and can charge your device while gaming.

The Honor GamePad is, obviously, a controller for smartphones. It connects to the phone via the USB Type-C cable, but that’s only for charging. The game controlling is done over Bluetooth. The physical connection allows the GamePad’s 400mAh battery to keep your phone charged up during intense gaming sessions. It can also draw power from the phone if need be.

The controller itself has 4 D-pad buttons, a joystick, shoulder button, and one extra button. Honor didn’t specify if the controller is only for specific phones. The buttons can be mapped to whichever game you are playing. Honor didn’t specify if the GamePad is only for certain phones, but it appears to be adjustable. Honor also didn’t share pricing or availability other than saying it will sell in Western Europe this year.

It’s interesting to see Honor focus so much on gaming without a “gaming phone.” Devices like the ROG Phone 2 and Red Magic 3 are geared heavily towards gamers, but that also limits the potential audience. Honor is taking a more general approach which gets great gaming performance in the hands of more people. What do you think of the Honor GamePad? Is this something you would use?

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