One of SAR’s clients alerted us to this piece of news. The Xiaomi Gamepad Elite Edition is interesting for many reasons, let’s consider the components first:
- Nordic Semiconductor Bluetooth 5.0 + proprietary RF chip
- Dual Minebea linear motors for haptics feedback (supporting feedback from Windows and Steam games)
- TDK InvenSense 6-axis gyroscope
This is demonstrating several trends.
Firstly, the trend towards integrating both Bluetooth and proprietary RF in gaming peripherals. We are getting mixed responses on the reasons for this and longer-term trends. Some are saying this is a temporary trend, driven by a need to have Bluetooth for connection to a smartphone and other devices, whilst also having a low latency connection available. The latency issue should be fixed with the next Bluetooth standard meaning proprietary RF goes away. However, others tell me that proprietary RF is here to stay due to the rock steady connection and increased efficiency. We’ll update you on this.
Secondly, the use of dual motors for haptic feedback, as seen in the PlayStation 5 Dualsense controller. This looks like an increasing trend, and we are keeping a close eye on other vendors to see what they do next.
Thirdly, the addition of a 6-axis gyroscope to detect movement in all axes and enable the controller to be used without the joysticks to control direction in compatible games.
Overall, it is a high spec gaming controller, using high quality components and shows that Xiaomi is serious about this market.
…Oh, and it also comes with an “exclusive mobile phone holder” 😊
Caveat – We are waiting for full details to be made available by Xiaomi and some of those mentioned above may change.
