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Aug 22, 2026

Genki Manta – gamepad with its own OS and a 2.79-inch color screen under the sticks for $279

Daniel Harper
By Daniel Harper Senior Video Game News Writer
Last updated: Aug 22, 2026
Genki manta gamepad with its own os and a 279 inch color screen under the sticks for 279

The advanced gamepad market has mostly normalized: $70–100 controllers now include features that used to seem premium. Human Things, an LA outfit, chose a different angle — a full-color screen plus a custom OS built into the pad. The Genki Manta is currently on Kickstarter.

A 2.79-inch diagonal display sits below the sticks and runs Manta OS (the company’s own platform). The pitch is simple: tweak settings w/o a PC or phone. Through the onboard screen you can reconfigure 3-stage triggers, alter stick dead zones, tweak vibration feel, and remap buttons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3pcbS4_0eg

There’s 16 MB of internal memory reserved for Manta OS apps. Expandable storage is listed as one of the campaign stretch goals.

The hardware leans premium. Specs include:

  • polling rate up to 8000 Hz via wired connection and 1000 Hz via 2.4 GHz wireless adapter
  • communication range over 10 m and up to 150 hrs of battery life via Bluetooth LE 6
  • sticks with TMR sensors and Hall-effect triggers

Controls follow the usual layout for this class: four paddles on the bottom, plus two extra buttons beside the bumpers — all remappable in software.

https://cdn.shazoo.ru/880349_2tHgiNy_rgdybqb9fg2znn9lvvbera.jpg

The screen introduces the oddball feature: a switch lets the pad emulate keyboard + mouse. There’s a hardware toggle on the shell. Whether the display itself is touch-capable, or how cursor movement will be handled, hasn’t been clarified.

Mass is listed at roughly 280–290 g — roughly the same as an Xbox Series X controller. Getting a screen, extra inputs, and a decent battery into that weight, while keeping balance acceptable, is a nontrivial engineering task for a first device.

Human Things has run Kickstarters before; Genki-branded accessories (compact Switch docks, etc.) have previously gone from crowdfunding to customers.

https://cdn.shazoo.ru/880350_G6XKpnW_rrronmrhrf2i6mgfujfcra.jpg

Price is the headline. Early backers are being charged $189, retail is slated at $279, and shipping dates are still TBD. By contrast: the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro 8K (PC) runs about $200 and offers TMR sticks + Hall-effect triggers with an 8000 Hz polling rate and wireless mode. On the lower end, the GameSir G7 Pro ($70) and the G7 Pro 8K ($80) provide many of the same core inputs — but no built-in screen or proprietary OS.