Xbox Elite Wireless Controller
The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller is Microsoft's
top-of-the-line gamepad, with build quality, features, and a price tag
that completely dwarf the standard controller.
This heavy-duty, customizable gamepad will run you $149.99, but it
feels so good in the hand and it works so well with Xbox One and PC
games that it earns our Editors' Choice. If you want to use it with a
PC, though, you'll want to make sure you have Windows 10 installed to get the most out of the controller.
Design
The layout and shape of the Elite Controller are
nearly identical to the standard Xbox One controller. It's a gently
rounded gamepad with prominent hand grips and the now-standard
Xbox-style dual analog layout, with the left stick horizontally even
with the four face buttons on the right and the right stick positioned
lower to be horizontally even with the direction pad on the left. Both
the left and right sides of the controller have two large,
pressure-sensitive triggers under the space your index fingers rest,
with two flat bumper buttons above them. The Xbox logo (the "Nexus"
button) and the Start/Select equivalent buttons are all in the same
place, as well.
The big differences are a two-position mode selector
switch located above and between the right analog stick and direction
pad, and a set of four removable metal paddle buttons that snap
magnetically into slots on the underside of the controller.These
paddles can be mapped to function like any other button on the
controller, including pressing the digital pad, clicking the analog
sticks, and pulling the pressure-sensitive triggers (but not pulling the
analog stick in any given direction). A small switch located
above each pair of paddles mechanically limits the trigger buttons'
range of motion, if you don't want to deal with the full pull distance
of the triggers.
Besides removing the paddles, you can also take out and
swap the caps of the analog sticks and the direction pad, all of which
click into place with magnets. The Elite Controller comes with two pairs
of analog sticks with concave rubber caps at different heights, a pair
of DualShock 3-style convex rubber caps at the lower height, plus both a
circular eight-direction cover and a standard cross-shaped cover for
the direction pad. All of these components, along with the connectors
built into the gamepad, are completely metal except for the rubber
coatings of the caps of the analog sticks.
Non-control aspects of the controller are largely the
same as the standard Xbox One gamepad, as well. A micro USB port on the
top lets you connect the controller with an included cloth-wrapped cable
to your Xbox One or a compatible PC either to charge or use as a wired
controller. A small button for wireless pairing sits just to the left of
the port. A connector on the bottom of the controller, between the hand
grips, accepts the standard Xbox One gaming headset or adapter. A door
on the underside of the controller, above the slots for the paddles,
holds the two AA batteries required for the gamepad to function
wirelessly.
Build Quality and Accessories
The controller
feels much better in the hand than the original Xbox One controller.
It has a satisfying heft, and the sturdiness of the metal parts, even
though they're held in place by magnets, is very apparent compared with
the plastic analog sticks and direction pad of the Xbox One gamepad. The
Elite Controller's triggers and bumpers are a silver-colored plastic
rather than metal, but they also feel more substantial than the original
verisons. A nice rubberized texture on the grips brings it all together
and makes the gamepad feel just right in the hand. I still prefer
Sony's standard DualShock 4 for layout and trigger feel, but the Elite
Controller's build quality is clearly on a higher level.
The Elite Controller comes with a hard zip-up carrying
case with foam inserts for all of the interchangeable components,
including the paddles if you don't wish to use them. The included USB
cable is a lengthy nine feet, so you can easily use it as a wired
controller from your couch. Two non-rechargeable batteries are also
included so you can use the gamepad right away, but at $150, a built-in
rechargeable option, like the battery built into the DualShock 4
controller, would have been preferred.
The Elite Controller stands as a stark contrast to Valve's ,
which we've also looked at. Both are functional Windows gamepads, but
the Elite Controller uses a thoroughly conventional Xbox layout while
the Steam Controller uses touch-sensitive pads as the focus of its
control scheme. The build quality between the two is also drastically
different; the Elite Controller feels nearly bulletproof and very solid,
while I found the Steam Controller to feel a bit cheap.
Customization
When connected to an Xbox One,
you can tweak the Elite Controller with mind-boggling granularity
through the Xbox Accessories app. This Xbox One app lets you map the
paddles (or any other button), adjust left and right thumbstick
sensitivity individually, tweak the trigger positions and sensitivity of
the trigger buttons, customize the rumble power of the gamepad in four
different positions (left and right handle and left and right trigger),
and even dim the light on the Nexus button (though not turn it off
completely; the lowest setting is a very dim but visible 10-percent
brightness). The Elite Controller can hold two configuration profiles at
once, and you can swap them on the fly with the small mode switch in
the middle of the gamepad.
These customization options are also available to
Windows 10 users, along with wireless connectivity. If you want to use
it with Windows 7 or 8, however, you'll need to use a wired connection
with the included cable, and you won't have access to the Xbox
Accessories app.
Performance
The Elite Wireless Controller
feels great. I didn't find the need to adjust the sensitivity settings
personally, but the options are still welcome and I did experiment with
the paddle buttons and various mapping options. Killer Instinct played
very well, and using the higher analog stick cap made my inputs feel
more responsive and precise than with the default analog stick. There
wasn't a hint of wiggle from the sticks, direction pad, or buttons—everything felt solid under my thumbs.
The controller worked flawlessly with a Windows 10 PC as well, getting recognized as soon as I plugged it in. Shovel Knight and Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance worked
with the gamepad as soon as I started them up, and they both felt
extremely responsive. Revengeance was slightly floaty with the default
sensitivity settings, but that's the sort of situation where the Xbox
Accessories app can be used to tweak things to your liking.
The Xbox Elite Wireless Controller is a very expensive
gamepad, and the sticker price alone will be enough to turn off some
gamers. However, it's a rock-solid controller that's adjustable to a
neurotic extent, and its compatibility with both Xbox One and Windows
systems gives you plenty of options for use. If you're the kind of gamer
who lives with your hands glued to a gamepad (and that gamepad isn't a
DualShock 4 connected to a ),
this could be a very good investment for you. It's built to last, feels
great in the hand, and works with pretty much anything you can throw at
it on a Microsoft platform, so it earns our Editors' Choice. If it's
too pricey, or you prefer the PlayStation layout, there are a few
roundabout ways to connect a DualShock 4 to your PC as an alternative.
