MANBA ONE – Review


MANBA ONE
MANBA ONE

MANBA ONE

 | Gamepad | Display Screen | Hall-Effect | Wired/Wireless |


MANBA ONE, an innovative gamepad from MANBA.

MANBA might not be a massively popular brand as mainstream ones but they have been manufacturing gaming peripherals for a while.





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MANBA ONE Review

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A

ACCESSORIES & PACKAGING
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The MANBA ONE comes in a standard packaging containing inside:

• Docking station
• USB-C cable
• Set of extra thumbsticks
• Wireless dongle

It is quite surprising that you get a superb docking/charging station included for free with a gamepad bundle that costs less than what other manufacturers charge consumers for a docking station alone.


D

DESIGN
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The MANBA ONE is an XBOX-styled gamepad with the thumbsticks aligned in alternate rows and X, Y, B, A main buttons labeling.

In total, the gamepad includes 16 buttons and 8-position D-pad and 2 hall-effect thumbsticks.

On top of the standard RT, RB, LT, LB buttons, the gamepad includes 4 rear buttons that can be programmed for macros and custom functions. In order to identify the different row of back buttons by touch, the brand has smartly applied a different texture finish to the top row and bottom row.

Moreover, the MANBA ONE is an unique gamepad thanks to a built-in 2″ display screen sitting on the top front of the unit – this screen is used to configure, set and fine-tune the gamepad.



The display screen is so well put in place and seamlessly integrated to the gamepad that we would like to see the brand implementing further features, functions and uses for such a nice display screen.

On top of this, the MANBA ONE has a refreshingly futuristic look with a transparent top shell that allows the visualization of the underneath silver frame, rumble motors and boost of the lighting effects. This top shell is magnetically attached to the gamepad and can be detached, replaced by the user at any time – MANBA has teased the upcoming release of multiple magnetic covers addons to personalize your gamepad.

Despite being a rich-featured and designed gaming device, the gamepad does not look overcooked nor tacky with a good balance of white, black, grey and silver details – the MANBA ONE is also available in black color but we consider the white version to be the better looking one.

The docking station has a magnetic attaching design and a perfect sitting position for the gamepad while recharging it – a front LED light on the dock informs the charging status of the gamepad and the connection of the docking station.

If you are wondering where the Bluetooth dongle is found, it is hidden in a bottom compartment of the docking station.


CB

CONSTRUCTION & BUILD
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The MANBA ONE might have a friendly price but it is built with premium components like hall-effect sticks and hall-effect triggers that grants fine-control, precision and drift-free operation.

The A, B, X, Y buttons have a defined tactile feedback on each press and are backed up by a membrane design, while the linear hall-effect triggers can be gradually controlled and also locked for faster-paced activation.

The shell of the gamepad is made of durable and hefty but not overly heavy plastics while the docking station shares a similar build quality.

The removable transparent cover has a smooth and texture-less finish that is a bit slippery with sweaty hands but the sticks, buttons, trigger buttons and back cover have a textured finish that gives the gamepad an excellent balance of grip, stability and pleasing feel to the touch.


 


CUS

CUSTOMIZATION
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Despite not having a PC software to customize, program and set macros of the device, the large display and full informative UI makes setting macros and custom programming of buttons an easy task that is in no way comparable with other gamepads that do not have a display screen.

Through the display screen, users can access the full mapping potential that includes turbo options, customization of the RGB LED lights and effects, intensity of the vibrating rumble motors, etc.

Moreover, the included set of replaceable thumbsticks allow hardware customization of the personality of the thumbsticks with longer sticks for fine control and shorter one for faster gaming.

Once users have finished reprogramming the gamepad, all customizations will be saved on the on-board memory without the need of any external software nor running background utilities on your PC.

 




CON

CONNECTIVITY
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The MANBA ONE can be used either wired or wirelessly. Wired, the gamepad uses a detachable USB-C connection while wirelessly, users can pair the gamepad through a Bluetooth connection using the built-in internal BT module or with the included Bluetooth dongle.

On the other hand, this dongle could make users think that is a 2.4G wireless dongle for faster 2.4G tech connection but it is a Bluetooth dongle.

Thanks to the display, going through the pairing process and steps is easier and more intuitive than standard gamepads, with no guess-work.


P

PERFORMANCE
gramophone-256604.5/5

The MANBA ONE does not only include high-precision, drift-free hall effect sensors but it is also equipped with a 6-axis gyroscope for Nintendo Switch games.

Features such as the micro and full locks for the hall effect triggers is a great addition to fine-tune and adapt to each gamers style and necessity according to the game being played.

Also the 4 back programmable buttons are features seen on expensive premium gamepads but included as part of this budget-friendly gamepad, yet not sacrificing performance nor limiting the customization and reprogramming capabilities of them.

Throughout the tests of the MANBA ONE the team loved the smoothness and ease of creating custom macros with the aid of the intuitive UI of the display screen.

Moreover, we tested the gamepad with multiple gaming platforms and the MANBA ONE was easy to set in the right mode and provide instant pairing steps.

Probably the only factor that holds back the MANBA ONE from fully dethroning all other gamepads on the market is that it does not have a 2.4G dongle/tech and relies on Bluetooth for wireless use.

In comparison to a Microsoft XBOX controller, the MANBA ONE offered similar tension and friction over the hall-effect thumbsticks, stealthier D-PAD clicky sound and more defined tactile feedback for the membrane buttons but this made them a bit more difficult to spam click them (might get lighter over time though)

The LB and RB buttons showed a more audible clicky feedback than the XBOX controlled while the RT and LT hall-effect triggers provided fine-control, good travel distance and a bit less weight than the XBOX controller but much better weight/tension than what we have seen while reviewing the FANTECH EOS PRO WPG15.

 


B

BATTERY
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MANBA has equipped a hefty battery inside the MANBA ONE to ensure sufficient juice for long running times, less recharging need and good capacity to power the display screen.

The exact capacity of the battery is 1800mAh which is 300% larger than the battery of the FANTECH EOS PRO gamepad – also the MANBA ONE has a proper dedicated On/Off power switch.


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MANBA ONE

9.4

SCORE

9.4/10