5,0 van 5 sterren
EasySmx X15 is an impressive less expensive alternative to the EasySmx X10
Beoordeeld in de Verenigde Staten op 4 juli 2024
I recently got a chance to review the EasySmx X10 on Amazon and I really liked it a lot. I also reviewed the EasySmx 9124 which I discovered is the same two year old controller only with new RGB light effects, and I didn't care for it as much. Because so many more people are ordering the EasySmx X15 each month compared to the EasySmx X10, I felt I needed to try the EasySmx X15 as well.
The EasySmx X15 comes in a much cheaper looking box than the X10. The small manual has 5 pages in English. It also comes with a short USB-A to USB-C cable (the X10 one is braided) and a small 2.4 GHz dongle with a cap, whereas the X10 dongle is twice the size with no cap. The X15 weighs 7.9 ounces with the X10 at 8.7 ounces, compared to the Nintendo Pro Controller (8.8 ounces) and the XBox Series X/S (10.2 ounces). Both grips have a nice texture underneath, with the X10 also having texture on the top.. They both have an XBox face button layout, but the X15 has membrane contacts while the X10 buttons have nice feeling mechanical keys which are very responsive. The X15 has 2 levels of vibration (the X10 has 4), turbo, and an option to switch the ABXY buttons which the X10 doesn't have. The X15 does not have 6-axis gyro motion control that the X10 does, which might be a deal-breaker for some. The X10 comes with interchangeable face plates and grips to make the face plate silver or white, and the grips black or white. The X15 has a wheel-shaped d-pad with membrane contacts and no audible or tactile feedback, while the X10 has a slightly rounded cross d-pad with "metal domes" that does have audible and tactile feedback. Both controllers have hall effect sticks and triggers.
X15 Details:
Battery: 1000mAh battery for up to 20 hours of gameplay with a 3 hour recharge time.
Vibration: 2 levels of intensity, 50% (default), 100% and off.
Sticks: No stick drift and immediately returned to center after moving them. Slightly shorter than the sticks on the Nintendo Switch Pro or XBox Series X/S. The tops of the sticks have a nice concave, the rubber is not too hard, and the edges are rough enough to help your grip the sticks, yet not so rough that they irritate your thumbs. Thumb stick caps are an option, not a necessity. The sticks seem to be very responsive, but in the online Gamepad Tester the circularity average error rate for the left stick was 10.5% while for the right stick it was 6.7%. Most sticks will have a circularity average error rate somewhere around 10% but budget sticks can be 20% or higher. UPDATE 7/6/24: Can be drastically improved to 0.1% error rate for both sticks by updating the firmware. Hold down L3 and R3 while plugging in controller from off position to enter update mode, then run file found at EasySmx website and click on "Update Firmware". Firmware also fixes disconnection problem with wired connection.
X15 PC Performance numbers:
Bluetooth: 138.52 Hz polling rate 7.36 ms avg latency jitter 1.52 ms
2.4 GHz dongle: 187.12 Hz polling rate 5.34 ms avg latency jitter 5.32 ms
Wired: 1026.82. Hz polling rate 0.97 ms avg latency jitter 0.23 ms
The X15 has awesome USB wired numbers, equal to or even better than the X10, while the X10 was just slightly better using Bluetooth or the 2.4 GHz dongle, by not by much.. All the numbers above of the lower cost X15 are impressive and are much better than the Nintendo Pro Controller.
D-pad: The wheel shaped d-pad has membrane contacts and no audible or tactile feedback. I found it to be accurate with little travel distance, and I was able to hit all of the diagonals easily. I also found the X15 d-pad to be more comfortable to use than the X10 cross d-pad, and give it an 8 out of 10.
Buttons: The face buttons in an XBox layout with membrane contacts have just a bit more travel distance than I'd like. They are fairly loud and clicky and responsive, but not as good as the X10 mechanical buttons. The shoulder buttons are smooth on top with no texture like the X10. They have a shorter travel distance than the face buttons and were responsive, but again not as good as the X10 shoulder buttons. The hall effect triggers are textured and also respond well. The programmable back buttons on the X15 were a bit clicky, again not quite as good as the X10 buttons, but easy to reach and program.
RGB lighting: Here the X10 can't compete with its single horizontal light contact bar. The RGB lighting on the X15 is very nice. You don't get fancy patterns, but the lights are everywhere. On the top, lights are around the edges of all buttons, sticks and the d-pad, through the logo on the Home button, along with two large bars along the left and right side. The black version of the X15 has two extra slanted bars across the top. You choose between two modes, one that constantly changes colors, and a single color mode which lets you choose 7 different solid colors. There is no option to adjust the brightness.
Function buttons: The Home button is fine, but the - and + buttons underneath Home, and the Capture and Turbo buttons near the bottom of the controller are oddly shaped, too tiny, and too close together. There's an on/off switch on the back for lights, along with a Programming Button for macros.
X15 connections tested:
(All connections have an XBox layout except for the wired connection to the Brook XB2 Converter)
XBox layout: A button (bottom) selects, B (right) goes back
Switch layout: B button (right) selects, A (bottom) goes back
Press Home for 5 seconds to turn off the controller. Press Home to wake controller from sleep.
Switch: Wired (Plug USB cable into dock) Wireless (On Change Grip/Order screen hold Y + Home)
PC: Wired (Plug USB cable into USB port on computer) Bluetooth (Hold X + Home, connect to Xbox Wireless Controller when it appears)
Android 11 tablet: Wired (Plug USB cable into USB port on device) Bluetooth (Hold A + Home, connect to EasySMX X15 when it appears)
Fire TV (Fire OS7): Wired (Plug USB into OTG cable on stick or cube) Bluetooth (Hold X + Home, connect to Xbox Wireless Controller when it appears)
Brook PS2 Converter (PS2 Connection): Wired (Does not work) Bluetooth (Push pairing button on converter, hold X + Home)
Brook XB2 Converter (XBox 360 Connection): Wired (Plug USB cable into converter - Switch layout)
Bluetooth (Push pairing button on converter, hold A + Home)
Pros: Hall Effect Sticks and Triggers, very high polling rate connected over USB with very low latency and low jitter, cool RGB lights, option to swap ABXY buttons, responsive d-pad, easy to reach back buttons, connects to almost anything including the Brook converters for XBox and PlayStation
Cons: No 6-axis gyro motion controls, Capture, Turbo and back buttons are clicky
The X15 lacks gyro motion controls, and you don't get extra face plates and grips, a fancy box, a nice braided USB cable, or the nice feeling mechanical buttons of the X10. But somehow I still like the X15 just as much as the X10 if not more. It's certainly got cooler RGB lights and I think the wheel-shaped d-pad is superior even though it's just membrane contacts underneath. Its stick response is equal to or better than the X10 wired, and it's very close to the X10 over Bluetooth or 2.4 GHz. The EasySmx X05 is about to be released, but early tests from the Gamepadla website indicate its sticks has lower scores than the X15 or X10. Unless you feel you really need motion controls, the coupon discount Amazon is offering on the X15 means at the time of this review you can get a great deal on the X15 before the EasySmx X05 is released. Even at full price the X15 gets 5 stars from me.