Anika Begay
Doomscrolling isn’t going away any time soon, but there’s no reason you shouldn’t feel comfortable doing it. Mechanism’s $59 Gaming Pillow is designed to shift the weight of gadgets like handheld consoles, tablets, XL smartphones, and e-readers from your arms to your lap.
With a 12-inch Lycra fabric cushion filled with foam pellets as its base, the Gaming Pillow looks like a miniature beanbag chair and should be malleable enough to stay upright even when placed on uneven surfaces.
It’s designed primarily to be used on your lap, to keep a connected console within reach and ready to go, but if even lifting your arms seems like a tall order, you can prop the pillow up on its own next to you on the bed and truly free up your hands for reading or watching devices that require minimal physical interaction.
The squishy base is topped with a pair of mounts. One can be used to securely hold a portable charger powered up with one of the company’s adhesive mounts, while the other features a short articulating arm that ends in a ball joint. The company sells custom clamp-on grips for the Valve Steam Deck, Nintendo Switch, ROG Ally, and PS Portal, or you can get a universal grip for other devices (you get one free with the base).
While succumbing to a hands-free device holder like the Gaming Pillow might make you feel like you’re perhaps spending a little too much time running through a device, a quick search on Amazon reveals hundreds of similar solutions. What sets the Gaming Pillow apart is that it places a portable device where gamers would naturally hold it while lounging on a couch or bed, but with enough portability that when unexpected guests arrive, you can quickly stash it in a closet.
