Hands On: GAMEBABY – A iPhone Case Built Exclusively For Retro Gamers

I have been following the development of this case ever since Bitmo Lab teased it last year and I am happy to announce that I have an early prototype to exclusively show Retro Dodo readers!

This type of case is admittedly not new, but because of the recent changes at Apple, emulator applications such as Delta are readily available to download on the App Store and with that has come a tidal wave of retro gamers using their mobile devices to get their daily nostalgic hit. Heck, we even have our own Delta emulator skin, and we recently interviewed Delta’s founder on our podcast, it’s become that popular!

This case, known as the “GAMEBABY” aims to give retro gamers easy access to a controller that resembles old school handheld consoles and allows users to quickly and comfortably play Game Boy, Gameboy Color, Game Boy Advance and NES games in a unique fashion for long periods of time using Delta emulator. This “flip” design has been popular amongst modders and case enthusiasts for a while, with mockups and concepts making its way online, but it’s finally here, built by a cool company at scale for just $39.99.

This is a sponsored post. Bitmo Lab has gratefully sent us an early prototype unit in return for our honest opinions. In no way does Bitmo Lab get to alter, control or edit what we have to say. Our opinions are our own, and are in no way biased, we promise. They simply want to support our independent work in return for showing their product to awesome people.

Installation & Protection

The case itself is fairly thin coming in at just 3mm in thickness. It’s a case that will defend your phone form minor bumps, drops and scratches, but I certainly don’t trust it surviving heavy falls down stairs or drops from a anything higher than my waist. Protection is second to play, and that’s obvious from the get go, nor would you be silly enough to buy this purely for high-end protection!

Installing the controller case is simple. The top part goes on first by resting one side into place, using the camera cutout as your first guide. Then pushing down towards the volume buttons will welcome you with a snap that secures the top section into place.

The top section features a large camera cutout with a bezel for protection. The buttons are made of metal, in a gold-ish coating that gives it a very premium look. Many variations of yellow and cream are the core of its color-way which gives it a fashionable look. You can tell they have a great team of designers as soon as you start installing it, which I respect, there’s nothing worse than paying a premium price for a case that looks like it has been designed by someone without any experience designing products.

The top part features minor text details, such as the Bitmo Lab logo and motto, alongside the GAMEBABY logo on the back. Once your top is secured you can now slide the controller onto the bottom half of the phone, and it will be greeted with a click once connected with the top.

The dark yellow top partners with the off-white bottom incredibly well, matched with cream, yellow and orange buttons which apparently the Clockwork Pi handheld influenced after talking with the Bitmo Lab team. There is a cutout with smooth edges for the camera control button too that works as it should.

The connection between both case parts are mediocre to say the least. Switching the controller will require you to massage it apart, which will guarantee you pressing either the volume keys or sleep key to separate them. I now have a wide selection of screenshots on my phone due to the force needed to separate the case.

At first I didn’t think this would be an issue but because I use the controller multiple times a day, I am separating both parts on a frequent basis and the process does get a little cumbersome. I found myself having to hold the top of the phone with my thumb and index finger instead of gripping it with my entire hand to stop the button pressing issue.

I know, there’s not a lot a case manufacturer can do when it requires the user to flip its case multiple times a day but I believe Bitmo Lab could have created a slightly more innovative system here, perhaps a clasp that softens the connection and lifts the case away from the second part more fluidly, so that I don’t have to fight with the case every time I want to play my retro games.

This part of the product will grab your attention quite quickly and that’s because every other area of the product is well built, perfectly designed and incredibly comfortable. It’s as if no innovation went into the installation itself, its literally just two tiny plastic clasps, which is a little disappointing to see on a premium case.

Comfortability & Gaming Experience

Once you’re in gaming mode, then that’s where magic happens. Because the tiny little clasps work too well the controller itself is tightly attached and won’t slip out of place nor will it budge, which makes the device feel incredibly sturdy in the hand. So the case connection although not perfect in terms of installation/removal does come with a benefit.

To begin gaming with the controller you will be required to download Delta, the most popular emulator application on Apple. It’s by far the best emulator on iPhone, performs incredibly well and comes with customisable skins.

The GAMEBABY itself has its very own Delta skin that pairs with the controller, so all of the physical buttons match up with the buttons on the emulator. I must say, it’s a very sleek skin, and again shows that the design team have taste. I would even be willing to use their Delta skin on its own if we didn’t have our own, it’s beautiful!

In the hand it feels like any other thin case, with a matte finish that feels sleek and durable enough to withstand long-use. The buttons are made with a rubber silicone and feature small rubber contacts on the back that touch the display behind. When pressed the emulator will use the phones rumble to vibrate slightly allowing it to feel like the case is responding to button presses.

The buttons are made with standard and conductive silicone in combination with metal plates. Originally Bitmo Lab were going to use both silicone materials exclusively, but the baking process of the materials altered button quality and therefor gaming quality, so changes were made to add the metal plates to create a better experience. This is one of the main reasons the GAMEBABY is delayed.

That said, the final units will not feature the metal pins according to Bitmo Lab, which will also resolve the issues below.

The rubber contacts are at one end and metal pins come through the silicon buttons to provide a neat look and a high quality touch which adds to the modern visuals of the case. I like the way this has been designed also, however (this is only an issue on the prototypes but i wanted to mention it) i did notice some very minor signs of the silicone peeling around the metal pins.

This isn’t a major issue and the peeling is very tiny, but this will mean that you may see tiny thin bits of silicone overlapping the metal pin on top of the button. It can only be seen if you look closely but it’s something I am keeping an eye on over the coming months to see if it gets better or worse. But again, according to Bitmo Lab this will not be featured in the finished, customer ready units.

In regards to button location I think they’ve absolutely nailed it. They have lifted the “shoulder buttons” above the action buttons, which moves them out of the way in an organic way, but easily reachable if you’re deciding to emulate your favourite Game Boy Advance games.

The DPAD itself is perfectly sized. Not too small, and not too big. Because it’s made of silicone it’s highly flexible too. I am not saying fighting games will love the DPAD but for an all-round DPAD that will be put through every genre it’s very nice. My thumb can easily slide around it with the silicone being too grippy.

The action buttons are again nicely sized which provides force across the whole button meaning the contact has no issues hitting the screen due to its size. These are great silicone buttons partnered with modern graphics around the case. Next to that is a orange buttons that can be used for multiple things in multiple emulators, but it’s typically used as a fast forward or rapid button. This is one of the only buttons on the case that features the silicone flake issue that was mentioned previously.

Finally at the bottoms you will find tiny start, select and menu buttons. The menu button has a small cutout for the green menu buttons to shine through from the Delta skin. This gives a unique LED light looks that looks as if its a typical handheld on light, which looks really neat.

The buttons are professionally attached to the case too and cannot be removed easily or pulled through the case and separated without having the intention of breaking it. The way this is done is quite simple. They have added a plastic cutout to the back of the case which glues and holds the buttons in place, as if they are squished between two very tight walls of plastic, making it incredibly hard to break.

I am very impressed with how well this case has been made. They haven’t gone overboard, they’ve kept in minimal, light, protective and durable without the bulk. The gaming experience works incredibly well and after using it for two weeks every single day, i have yet to see any major signs of ware.

The only notable area of wear was the fact that dust and dirt was getting caught behind the phone cutout which can only been seen when the case is removed, but this happens with most cases. Bitmo Lab have created a phenomenal case that can be transformed into a controller in seconds.

One annoyance.

One annoying feature that is hard to eliminate is the fact that I have to remove the bottom part of the case when playing games to properly access Delta’s menu. To access cheat codes, get to settings or change console entirely I have to slide off the case, because the menu slides up from the bottom of the display which is concealed by the case itself.

It would require an obscene amount of buttons, and wouldn’t be possible to craft the case to make this issue easy as its how the Delta app is built, but I wanted to mention it as it does become somewhat annoying if you have a habit of changing between games/consoles during emulation.

Overall Opinion

It’s very obvious that Bitmo Lab understand how to make a high quality case and have evidently done their research to build an incredible controller that pairs well with Delta, all while being portable and durable enough to survive day to day use.

It’s one of the best accessories for emulator enthusiasts who own a iPhone 15/16 Pro Max and I am incredibly excited to follow Bitmo Lab closely over the next couple of years. For a prototype, this is crafted at a very high standard and although the connecting of the two parts can be cumbersome at times it’s easy to get the hang of after a couple of days.

The design team deserve a pat on the back because they’ve somehow made a complicated phone case look modern, natural and retro all while keeping it affordable and enjoyable to play on without snagging issues in your pocket due to the silicone.

There are areas that need minor refinements but I believe the team will iron those out before releasing the final product. If you are wanting a unique way to play your GB, GBC, GBA and NES games which feels nostalgic yet refreshing then this is great gift for yourself or your friends.

I love how products like these are becoming a reality due to the rise in popularity of emulation and I look forward to seeing Bitmo Lab potentially do more in this space.

The Bitmo Lab GAMEBABY case is available to pre-order via their official website and can be purchased at a reduced “early bird” price for $24.99 which is an absolute steal. It will retail for $39.99 once officially released, no date has been cemented as of yet.