Who knows when the Steam machine is coming, but right now I've got the Steam
controller and I absolutely cannot wait to open this thing and try it out your
[music] games right at your fingertips. [laughter]
It's in a pretty neat little packaging to be honest. This is actually a nice
little box here. Flips open. It tells me
plugs in. It's got a cable. All kind of
stuff that you probably are just going to figure out if you game and you use a
controller. Uh, we've got our USBA to USB-C cable. It's got a USBC connector
up at the top here like basically every other peripheral these days. And this is
probably 5 1/2, something like that. So, I would like something a little longer,
but that's okay because the wireless on this is actually pretty decent. We did
test it and I'll get to that later. But what I'm really curious about first is the puck. This is, in my opinion, the
best thing to happen to controllers in quite some time because what you do is
you plug it in here and then with this connected to your computer, if you want
to charge your controller, boom, you're plugged in and charging now. Awesome.
That was so satisfying, too. But the really cool thing is this acts as your
wireless dongle. So, you don't have to plug in a separate dongle uh when you
have your controller. You can just pl have this guy plugged in and then Oh, I
want to go wired. Okay, sure. Boom. And then you just plug the dongle back in.
Like do whatever you want. Okay, let's check out the actual controller cuz I
love the idea of the original Steam controller. The trackpads were a great
touch, but then I don't know the Steam they released it too early. But now with
Gen 2, I think they've basically fixed everything. [music] First of all, I will
say on the bottom you've got four extra buttons. And so we'll get to price
later, but I do want to say that while I think it's a really expensive
controller, considering it kind of goes up against like a Xbox Elite controller,
the price is reasonable. But yeah, we've got, you know, your standard face
buttons, D-pad, two thumb sticks, not offset. So, if you prefer a PlayStation
controller, then you probably will prefer this. If you really need that
like offset thumb stick that the Xbox controller typically has, this might not
be the controller for you. But hey, maybe instead of the right thumb stick, you just use the trackpad,
traditional hamburger button, uh, looks like a screen share back button or
whatever, and then something in the middle that I'll find out later. [music] And then I love the little steam icon to
turn it on. Oh, that was great. I didn't expect it to turn on. Made a nice little
noise. I love the blue light. It does support Bluetooth. I wouldn't really use
that if you can avoid it, especially because it comes with this nice dongle.
Uh, that's 2.4. 4 GHz and also supports
wired mode obviously. Aside from that, we've also got there's allegedly I mean
I can't really see them, but there is apparently grip control for [music] gyro
controls. I was expecting like a strip of rubber or something that you could
maybe pressure sense, but maybe it's directly baked into the controller like
into the plastic here. I don't know how. As for just like the feel and shape and
holding it in my hand, I'm a big Dual Sense and PlayStation controller guy.
But I don't have the biggest hands. Um, I have some complaints about Xbox
triggers that I'll get to later. This feels very comfortable. It honestly kind
of fits my hands like perfectly. Even the paddle buttons, like my fingers are
resting on them basically perfectly. I don't use those personally, but they're
definitely accessible and you get four of them like right out of the gate. So,
that's awesome. One of the best features about the whole controller that a lot of
you are going to love, these sticks aren't all effect. Instead, they're TMR,
which is kind of just better hall effect essentially. And uh yeah, you shouldn't
have to suffer from too much stick drift because they're magnetic. But yeah,
great technology. Love to see it here. It's typically more expensive than Hall
effect, and that's probably part of what's raising the price on this
controller so much. But as for like just materials, I will say the plastic
overall feels a little cheap. There's something about it that just doesn't
feel quite as premium as like the Dual Sense controller does or uh even the
Xbox controller. It might also be the weight distribution. It feels funny
having this giant front here with the trackpads, but then it doesn't like it
feels hollow or empty right here, whereas this like feels nice and solid
all the way through the rest of the controller. But, you know, it's not that
big of a deal. It weighs about 292 gram, which puts it on the little ever so
slightly heavier than like an Xbox or a PS5 controller. Discernable? Probably
not. I can't I don't know if I can feel 10 g and I used to like weigh meat at a
deli. As for the feel of the thumb
sticks, they feel good. I've been using uh the Switch 2 Pro controller quite a
bit recently and that is like when it comes to fit and finish and overall
quality feel and the thumb sticks and everything, that one is like kind of
unmatched. But they feel pretty good and they don't feel grindy, you know. They
don't feel like I'm wearing them down super fast. Uh the tension feels good,
too. It's not too tight, not too loose. Not adjustable like we've seen on some
of the uh nice controllers from third parties recently, but um you know, I've
never been one to tinker too much with stuff like that. The shoulder buttons,
these feel pretty good. I like these a lot more than the bumpers on an Xbox
controller. They feel more like a PS5 Dual Sense. And then the triggers also
more like a Dual Sense than an Xbox.
Probably the best thing in terms of just comfort for using shoulder buttons. I've
been playing a lot of Neo3 and I'm
blocking and parrying a lot. Like I'm using the shoulders a lot. And the
problem with an Xbox controller is um these ridges. So, the way my hand fits
in a controller like this, if I'm using these guys, all of a sudden, the edge of
my finger is up against this kind of hard edge here. And I notice that after
a while, my fingers start to even slip up past this ridge, and it becomes
really uncomfortable to the point where I take a break just because my fingers
are starting to get a little uh worn out from this edge up here, this lip. But
with this, it's nice and smoothed. It's a fully rounded edge over here. And
there's also not a break in the plastic to dig into your skin.
>> 5 minutes later, my middle finger is starting to naturally rest up in this
spot here. That might be a dealbreaker for me.
>> The triggers themselves, um, they are okay. I'm not going to go and say
they're like amazing or anything. I do kind of miss the textured grip that now
comes on an Xbox controller. I think that feels a little better. and uh not
more premium, but just grippy, right? Like with this, sure they're curved, so
chances are low that my fingers are going to slip off, but hey, you're getting sweaty.
Make it happen. That just kind of sounds and feels cheap. I won't lie.
[laughter] That's also just a mechanical keyboard guy sitting there complaining about, you
know, how a switch feels, but um yeah, take that as you will. This like imagine
if you're in a room. This just sounds and feels better. I
won't I won't lie to you guys, but I I would trade the
noise of this for the overall ergonomics
of the Xbox controller in a heartbeat. I would take this so fast. The face
buttons, these feel okay.
They're not too wobbly or wiggly. There's like just enough travel. They're
satisfying. I'm also just noticing like how much smaller these buttons are. It's
hard to see on camera, but in person this looks like noticeably smaller. Oh,
it's so much better. To be fair, this probably isn't super new. Uh whereas
this is like a brand new fresh Steam controller. So, these are probably just loosened up over time as well. But like
Oh, yeah. I really prefer these. That feels nice and tight, nice and quiet,
too. Whereas this like that feels and sounds like an Xbox
controller, [laughter] which I will say, even though I'm a
PlayStation guy, I actually do love the like more circular D-pad on the Xbox
just in terms of feel, but in terms of actually like pressing individual
buttons. Ooh, this actually that feels good. It's really stiff, and I actually
want that in a D-pad, it feels really like tactile, and I know exactly what
I'm pressing it. And then, yeah, the silence of it is fantastic.
And it moves. Yeah. I don't know if the moving around is like a good thing or
not. It feels fine. It's super quiet, so you don't have to
worry about waking up someone in the room. Uh if you're gaming and you know
your partner is trying to sleep or whatever. How do the clicks?
Feels pretty normal. It's funny how much I can feel when I click the thumb stick
in on this. It's funny how much I notice it down in like the stem of the
controller. Whereas with this,
it feels all centered right around here. It looks so chunky. And I think it's
just because of the trackpads. These are
like pressure sensitive. You might not, it might be hard to see on camera, but
you can move and press these a little bit. Um, but they are pretty stiff.
They're also not huge. But I'm excited because like I especially as I get older
and I want to like lean back in the chair more, um, and I'm not playing as
many competitive shooters, I want a controller that kind of does it all. And
with the trackpads, you know, if I'm playing like Civ for a while, I don't
have to swap to mouse and keyboard and then, you know, I just I'm in Steam big
picture mode and I go to like Neo and all of a sudden I've got like a full proper controller like or if you don't
like big picture mode now, you don't have to use it cuz you control your mouse with one of these guys. It really,
you know, the future kind of is now. And I love this thing. I I haven't even used
it in game, but I can already tell you that I Yeah, I wish the plastic felt
more premium 100%. But like they did a really good job actually in terms of
just feel and comfort and ergonomics.
Again, hand size is so big of a game
changer when it comes to controllers. I know people with big hands that really
prefer the Xbox. Um I know people that prefer the Duke of all things just
because their mids are so big, but like this feels like it's right in between a
PS5 and an Xbox controller and I'm really I'm really all about that
actually. But enough about the controller itself. We've got a game on
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Floatplane for an even better offer. Link down below. Any technical
difficulties? You know, we've got this pretty early. I'm sure Valve will have
it all sorted out by the time it launches. Um, currently we're having a
little trouble getting our puck to connect wirelessly, so we're just going
to stay plugged in. I will say now that I'm using the triggers a bit more. Ooh,
that's registering something. Yeah, there's haptic feedback on the on the
trackpads. [music] I don't know why it's giving me haptic feedback. I'm not doing anything. I'm
just compiling shaders. But you can hear it, too. It's like a squeak noise.
It's actually slightly annoying if I press it by mistake and then it starts vibrating. [music] Um, but I guess
that's also telling me, hey, you're touching the trackpad, so maybe it's a good thing. Oh, yeah. That D-pad, that
feels satisfying. Navigating menus has never felt so good. [laughter]
I will say I kind of wish that the thumb sticks
were a little bit lower. I do have slightly small hands and um it's not the
end of the world. I think I still prefer this over an Xbox controller, but I do
think I prefer my thumbs more like around here like on a Dual Sense, but
you know, how else are they going to fit the trackpad in there? So, you're giving up something. Oh, there goes the
trackpad, baby. Maybe I don't use the thumb sticks. Well, nope, cuz that's
this is D-pad. [laughter] This is definitely D-pad, but this is
camera, so that's cool. A great thing though about this is you can customize
basically everything. You can remap the buttons to just about whatever you want.
Um, so I'll never say no to that. I never remap anything, but I loved having
the option to it. It's like getting invited to parties, you know? I don't want to go. I just want to get invited.
Another really minor thing. Well, actually, I don't know if this is minor.
This might be an issue for me. I mentioned [music] how my middle finger
gets tired on an Xbox controller around that ridge. With this, I don't get
tired. However, [music] my middle finger is starting to naturally rest up in this
spot here. And when I press the trigger, it's sometimes touching my middle
finger. And every now and then, it moves up just enough that it like almost it
doesn't pinch it to the point where it hurts, but I feel like Yeah, I feel
that. And I don't ever get that with a Dual Sense or an Xbox controller to be
fair. As much as I dislike that, I've never like touched my middle finger with
the uh trigger. So, that's tough. I
don't know how much I hate or don't hate that. This is one of those times where
I'd really prefer to like rent a controller for a week, see how it is,
and then decide if I want to buy it or not. But hey, I guess that's why you're
here watching this video. Yeah. What I wanted to do though was uh use a bunch
of my ninja skills and hit these [music] face buttons a whole lot more. Chuck,
poison shuriken. Poison shuriken. Poison shuriken. Yeah, you're poison now. I'm
definitely finding my middle fingers coming up and resting in here more, but
it actually on the regular does not feel
as uncomfortable and sharp as the Xbox
controller does. So, but then, you know, you do that and then you pinch your
fingers. That's weird. I've never had that happen to me on any [music] controller in my life. And I guess
that's why um this lip is so pronounced
is it's to stop you from getting your fingers up there. I was so sold on this
controller just on all the features and like looking at it and pressing the buttons.
>> I love this thing. Very comfortable. They did a really good job.
>> Feel and comfort and ergonomics. >> It's crazy how you don't really know
until you actually game with something. That might be a dealbreaker for me.
Let's try another game. It's definitely not the most intuitive gyro system I've
ever seen. In theory, you're supposed to be able to like squeeze it or something
and then it should work, but uh we can't seem to get that working right now. Um,
[music] so the system, you know, it works. I will say the haptics feel
great. Like the haptics on the on the whole controller as well as the
trackpads feel awesome. One thing that I just kind of noticed while waiting for
the game to load, the screw holes on the
back of the controller, while they're very visible and it's great for right to
repair, you feel them. Oh, the other thing we checked out while the game was
loading, uh, just to confirm, see how big of a lip there is to prevent you
from like moving your finger up into this space. And also, I think it's
because this isn't like angled down. So, even if my finger's there, it's not pinching. Whereas with this guy, there's
just kind of nothing. It just kind of exits up and then this is so curved down
that it could pinch something in between. Yeah, the thumb sticks like
they do feel good. They do. Nice and
slippery, but like the grip feels great. Vibration is solid. I do like that. It
really And even here, I'm not choking up. I don't know you guys. It might be
the kind of thing that you slowly like train yourself to not do, but I think
there's a reason why our Xbox controller is built a little different. Same thing
with the PS5 Dual Sense controller. Otherwise, everything feels like it's in
a good spot. Can I aim with this? I can. Yeah, you can aim with the trackpad. I
don't know if I'd recommend it, but like it's doable. I'm doing it right now. To
be fair, I am starting to naturally move my finger back when I go to use the
trigger, but like I shouldn't have to do that. I shouldn't have to make these like micro adjustments as I use a
controller. It should feel like an extension of your hands. And I think
Valve is like so close. But I wish they
would have done just a bit more testing with this ergonomically. A little
disappointed. But you know what? I'm not disappointed by the rest of the
performance for this controller because we did test it in the lab and uh the
thumb sticks have really good uniformity [music] when you do a perfect circle.
So, they're fantastic. I can't really complain about the thumb sticks at all.
The latency, the polling rate for this guy is about 250 Hz and uh Xbox
controller is more like 125. So, we actually measured really, really good
latency wired, wireless over Bluetooth, and wireless with the dongle. So, no
matter how you're using it, it's not going to feel like you're waiting for
your inputs to actually take effect on screen. Another great feature is the
battery life. It's absolutely phenomenal. Valve rates it at 35 plus
hours and we measured 37 1/2 and that
was with a pretty rudimentary test where we basically just like rubber banded it
and we drove a car in donuts. But that's with like rumble, that's with input.
Very impressive. a hell of a lot better than my DualSense controller or an Xbox
controller with a couple of AA batteries in it. However, the battery life does
diminish a little bit if you're using this with the Steam frame. So, if you're
going to play a game, not not in VR, but like with a big screen in front of your
face as if you've got the goggles on, you can still use your controller and it'll detect like where you are. If it's
doing that, it will chew through the battery life a little faster. We
obviously haven't tested that because we don't have a Steam Frame. Really solid
technologically. I this is going to be a wild take. I
kind of wish that Valve had teamed up
with like Asus or Xbox uh or even Sony
to try to figure out how to make the whole controller a little more
comfortable. Cuz it feels great when you're just like holding it and like
looking at it and you're like, "Oh, this is sick." But then as soon as you like you get you get into like gamer mode
where you know you cinch up and you lean a little forward and all of a sudden my
fingers are under the triggers. Um, I start to notice the screw holes a lot
more. But it's, you know, it's tough because those are trade-offs because at the end of the day, you do get a lot of
like elite level controller features, uh, like the gyro, uh, the back paddles,
trackpads, which like you're not going to find that on, I don't know, many
other controller, if not any. Does any other controller have a trackpad? The Dual Sense technically has one with that
like big bar here, but like I don't know. I'm not going to use that all that
often. Like, this feels good. The trackpad does feel fantastic. The big
kicker is the price. It's $100.
What's worse, we're in Canada land. Normally with conversion, that would be
like $1 139. It's $150. So, they're
giving us a bit of an extra tax. And that just kind of makes me a little upset as a Canadian. So, Valve, you're
like so close. Like, I love the dongle idea. Like, that's a fantastic feature
that I literally think everyone should adopt and I don't even care if it costs
money. Like, please put that in. The TMR thumb sticks. amazing. Zero complaints.
It's so close to greatness and I think it's going to be a fantastic controller
for a lot of people. But unfortunately for me, I'm really happy I was able to
try before I buy because I don't think this is going to be my next controller.
Stay tuned for when we get the Steam frame or the Steam machine if those ever
come out at this point because I don't know, RAM apocalypse, RAM again,
whatever you want to call it. It is really screwing up hardware sales right
now in the PC space and Valve unfortunately is not immune to those
same issues that everyone else is. So, thanks for watching the ShortCircuit about the Steam Controller. Uh if you
want to learn a hell of a lot more about it, uh David's writing a video right now
and they're going to check it out by comparing it against a lot more
controllers than just the Xbox One we had right here. And they'll go a lot
more in depth into the testing and technology that's packed within this
little guy. See you