In this article, we’re taking a look at the Logitech G Cloud. It’s a handheld gaming console that allows you to play Xbox, PlayStation, and PC games away from your setup. We’ll unbox it, set it up, and then go through its specs and performance across different streaming services. I know some of you wanted to know how it works with the PlayStation 5, so I’ll cover that as well. Now, you might be wondering why you would need one of these and what the real pros and cons are.
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Logitech G Cloud Unboxing
Inside the box, okay, so we’ve got the console itself, and wow, this is a lot bigger than I was expecting, but it feels really nice, and the screen looks like a great size too, which I’m excited to see how the games look and play on it. Then we have this little black box, which contains a plug and a USB-C cable, and that’s obviously to charge it. We also have some manuals.
Logitech G Cloud Design
First impressions, I like the clean white design; this looks nice. I actually quite like the yellow accents on the buttons and the thumbsticks. It’s kind of minimal but still gives us that nod to gaming. You know what? Looking at this now, it’s probably one of the nicest-looking handhelds that we’ve seen in terms of the overall design. As for the ergonomics and feel, it feels great in the hands. It’s pretty well-balanced and isn’t too heavy or too light. If it’s too heavy, it’s a pain to hold during those long gaming sessions, and if it’s too light, it just makes it feel cheap. Looking around, there’s some subtle Logitech G branding throughout, including the button on the front and the logo on the rear, but nothing in your face, which is a nice touch.
Setup
When it comes to setting it up, it should only take you two or three minutes to get up and running. Once you’ve connected to your Wi-Fi, you just need to go through the on-screen prompts, such as signing into your Google account and accepting the terms. And since this is powered by Android, you can either run it in tablets or handheld mode. In my opinion, though, you would want to use the handheld mode for the best overall experience. It does come with a handful of pre-installed apps like Xbox cloud gaming, GeForce Now, and Steam Link. But, of course, you can download more apps as you need them.
Logitech G Cloud Screen
Now, one of the first things I noticed was how nice this seven-inch display looked. It’s bigger than any phone screen that I’ve used, and for mobile gaming, it feels like the perfect size. It has an IPS LCD that supports full HD, and on a screen this size, 1080p is more than enough. However, it is limited to 60 hertz. Colors are vibrant, and the brightness maxes out at 450 nits for indoor use. Outdoors on a cloudy day, this is absolutely fine. But, like with almost every mobile device, you’re not going to be able to comfortably use this in direct sunlight due to those reflections. To be honest, though, I would rather have a glossy screen like this over a matte screen any day. Additionally, even though we have physical buttons and controls to use, it’s also a touchscreen, so you can still swipe around the menus and dashboard using the screen. It also means it will work with those mobile games that support it.
Logitech G Cloud Controls
As for the controls, we have an asymmetrical thumbstick layout that feels like a great size and is nice and grippy. We have the A, B, X, and Y buttons, which are firm to press. We also have the D-pad on the left side and two option buttons near the top of the screen. Most of these buttons feel like they’re in a good position for gaming, and nothing feels too far away when holding it naturally. It doesn’t feel like you need to stretch to press these buttons. The yellow G button near the bottom acts as the Xbox and PlayStation button when using those apps, while the home button on the right side returns you to the G Cloud dashboard.
Across the top, there is a set of bumper buttons and triggers marked as AirLand R1 and R2. These have very little travel and are easy enough to press. They also have a very slight grippy texture to them, but they are made of plastic rather than rubber. Next to that is a volume button for controlling your audio and a power switch to either turn it on or off or put it into rest mode.
Now, it comes with 64 gigabytes of storage, but there’s a Micro SD card slot if you want to expand on that later. Across the bottom, we have a 3.5mm headphone jack and a USB-C port for charging.
What does it do?
“So over the last couple of weeks, I have been using this for all of my cloud-based and remote play gaming, and from my experience so far, this does fill a specific need. The purpose of the G Cloud isn’t to replace your PS5, Xbox, or PC; it’s to allow you to play your games away from your TV or your desk. For me, there are times when I either can’t or really don’t want to sit at my setup, but still fancy jumping on a game. Sure, I could use my phone with an adapter, but the battery life, screen size, and ergonomics are just better on this. This feels like a pickup and play device.
Xbox Gaming on Logitech G Cloud
Take the Xbox, for example. Game Pass gives you access to a huge library of games, and you can play all of those on here as well. So, we actually get two different Xbox apps. The first one is Xbox Cloud Gaming, which is essentially Game Pass, and the other is Xbox, which is a remote play app. This allows you to log in and play games directly from your Xbox instead. This is useful if you want to play games that are not on Game Pass. Both options work really well, and I’m impressed with how nice the screen looks and how smoothly it plays. Of course, this is all dependent on your internet connection, which you will need in order to connect to these services. But playing games like Forza showed me that there’s little to no lag, and the controls feel perfect when driving around.
PlayStation Gaming
Then there’s PlayStation gaming. At the moment, PlayStation doesn’t offer a streaming service like Xbox, where you can play games from the cloud on any device. However, what it does have is PS Remote. This allows you to play games directly from your PlayStation 4 or PlayStation 5 to a compatible device. Now, although there’s the official PS Remote app that connects and works absolutely fine, unfortunately, you can only control certain games and the PS5 via the touchscreen. The physical buttons are not recognized at all.
Fortunately, there is a workaround for this by downloading another app called psplay. It is a third-party app, but once you’re logged in, you get full control over the console using the physical buttons on the device. I can say now that this is by far the best remote play experience I’ve had so far on the PS5. Being able to jump into a game like Star Wars while I’m away from my TV is just awesome. It plays smoothly with little to no lag, and the quality looks great. It means that if I really wanted to, I could play some of my games on my TV, then pick up the G Cloud and play somewhere else in the house.
But as mentioned, PlayStation doesn’t offer a cloud server, so you will be connecting directly to your console. That means it needs to be powered on to use it. However, you don’t need to be at home or on the same Wi-Fi network. You can remotely access it from anywhere as long as you have an internet connection.
PC Gaming (GeForce Now) on Logitech G Cloud
So, another huge service worth mentioning is GeForce Now. This is Nvidia’s cloud gaming service that allows you to stream and play PC games that you already own. This means you can play games without needing to download them. In fact, you don’t even need to have a PC to play them. This service doesn’t use Remote Play or rely on a console being left on. It lets you stream the game straight to the G Cloud.
I tried out a few different games, including Cyberpunk and Apex Legends, and I was impressed by the instant response on this platform. And, just like with all of these games, there are no updates or waiting for downloads. It’s a matter of signing in and hitting play. This is also the best way to experience the full 1080p quality. The same goes for Shadow, which is a full cloud-based PC streaming service. Essentially, you can run a virtual PC and stream all of your games straight to the device via the Shadow app. And, as before, the only limitation is the reliability of your internet connection.
Logitech G Cloud Android Gaming
So, we know how it works with streaming and cloud gaming, but what about local gaming? Well, as this runs on Android, you still get access to the Google Play Store. That means any mobile games you’d like to download and play will still work, just like on any other mobile or tablet. I downloaded a couple of games to test out, and as expected, they played really well. It also means I can use this offline if I wanted to play regular Play Store games.
However, there is one limitation that you might not realize until you start playing some of those Android games, and that’s the lack of remapping support. Some games, like Call of Duty Mobile, don’t recognize the controller and will only work with touchscreen controls. Now, that’s not a huge issue, except that the controller is so wide that it’s actually quite difficult to reach the screen while playing. This means that if you were planning on using it with Call of Duty Mobile, it might not work the way you intended.
UI and Specs
So, during the setup process, you can choose between tablet and handheld mode, which you can also switch between via the settings. Since this device runs on Android, it means you can essentially use it like any other Android device, with access to the Play Store, settings, and menus for media. Handheld mode is overall the cleaner and better choice, but it’s great that you can swap between the two. I know some others have been using it in tablet mode and then adding their own themes, so it can be fully customized that way.
As for the specs, it comes with a Snapdragon 720G processor and 64 gigabytes of internal storage. That might not sound like a lot, but since this is a cloud streaming device, you won’t be downloading many games to the actual device. As mentioned before, you can expand the storage with a microSD card slot if needed. It has Wi-Fi support for both 2.4 and 5 gigahertz, as well as Bluetooth 5.1. Along with the built-in speakers and a 3.5mm headphone jack, you can also use a pair of Bluetooth headphones with it.
Regarding the battery, it is rated for over 12 hours of use, and based on my testing so far, that’s pretty accurate. In fact, over the last couple of days, I have seen more than 12 hours of battery life, and when I haven’t been using it, I have seen it last for over a week in standby mode.
Logitech G Cloud Worth Buying?
So, the big question is, is it worth buying? Well, the pros are that it has a decent screen size, great controls, feels nice, and works with all the gaming services you’d want or need to use, both for cloud and local gaming. This is something I can imagine taking with me on holiday, where I know I can remote play on my PlayStation 5 or jump onto Game Pass.
The only real negative for me is the price. For a device that is aimed purely at streaming games, I feel it is a little expensive. It is currently priced at $299, although there’s a limited-time offer where you get six months of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate included, worth about 65 pounds. This would then bring the price down to around 265 pounds, which doesn’t seem so bad and is not far off from what I think it’s worth. I’d say that’s a lot of console for the money and will fill the gap for gaming away from your setup.
But what do you think? Is this something that you would pick up for your mobile gaming sessions, or is there something else you would choose instead? Drop a comment about mobile gaming, and follow me on Instagram for latest update!
A decent screen size, great controls, feels nice, and works with all the gaming services you'd want or need to use, both for cloud and local gaming.
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Design9
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Screen8.5
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Controls9
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Xbox Gaming9
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PlayStation Gaming8.5
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Android Gaming9
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Geforce Now8.5
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Price Value9
