Controllers with Hall effect technology have been gaining ground in recent years, and for good reason. They offer greater precision and customization options than first-party gamepads, and the nature of their construction means they’re more durable, too.
The market is flooded with a wealth of options to choose from, spanning a wide range of designs and price points. Since the major console makers seem reluctant to employ the tech in their official gamepads, is now the time to ditch them in favor of superior Hall effect models instead?
Hall effect explained
The Hall effect was discovered by Edwin Hall (hence its name) all the way back in 1879. In essence, it’s the voltage created when a current inside a conductor crowds to one side as the result of an applied magnetic field.
This phenomenon can be utilized to make Hall effect sensors, which can accurately measure voltages when magnetic fields are introduced in their vicinity, in turn allowing for accurate distance and speed measurements. There are numerous applications for such sensors, but relevant to us is their replacement of potentiometers in analog sticks and triggers, resulting in some desirable advantages.
They offer greater precision than their potentiometer-based counterparts and prevent so-called stick drift from occurring, which has long been a thorn in the side of many official controllers, such as those for the PS5, Nintendo Switch, and Xbox consoles.
Stick drift occurs as a result of the mechanical contact in potentiometer-based sticks. This makes them susceptible to wear over time, which in turn can cause them to get stuck in certain directions, leading to undue in-game movement (hence the ‘drift’). Hall effect sticks, on the other hand, don’t rely on mechanical contact to operate, thus avoiding the problem.
You’ll also find Hall effect technology in some of the best gaming keyboards, conferring many of the same advantages. They allow for extremely precise and rapid inputs, with many unique customization options that make them more versatile than their mechanical siblings. Some are even capable of emulating the graduated control of gamepad sticks and triggers too.
Given these advantages, it’s a wonder that first-party controllers don’t make use of the tech. It wasn’t always thus, however: the Sega Saturn and Dreamcast both offered Hall effect gamepads, but cheaper-to-make potentiometer designs caught on instead.
And so we arrive at the situation we find ourselves in today, where official controllers still refrain from using Hall effect technology. Thankfully, though, there are now plenty of great third-party alternatives to tempt you away.
The current choices
Despite their technological superiority, Hall effect controllers don’t necessarily command a premium over first-party counterparts. In fact, you can find many that are cheaper.
One of the best budget PC controllers, the GameSir T4 Kaleid, has Hall effect thumbsticks, and if you’re on the lookout for one of the best Nintendo Switch controllers, then the 8BitDo Ultimate claims that particular title and again utilizes the tech.
Some controllers have Hall effect triggers in addition to sticks, such as the GameSir Kaleid Flux. Then there’s the SteelSeries Stratus Duo, which somewhat oddly only uses Hall effect triggers, but not Hall effect sticks (though this is a trait also shared by the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2).
Of course, there are certainly more premium Hall effect options out there too. The Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra, for instance, is one of the best PC controllers around and commands a high price tag, but it’s packed with features and even has an integrated screen for on-the-fly adjustments. Similarly, the Razer Wolverine V3 Pro is one of the best Xbox controllers with Hall effect sticks, and we found it pretty much faultless in nearly every way.
In case you’re worried about having to sacrifice console-specific features with Hall effect controllers, the good news is you don’t. Those looking to continue using motion controls on the Nintendo Switch, for instance, will find compatible Hall effect models, such as the Mobpad N1 HD and GameSir Super.
However, those looking to retain the haptic feedback and adaptive triggers unique to the DualSense and DualSense Edge will be out of luck, since currently there aren’t any third-party options – Hall effect or otherwise – that feature this.
What about TMR?
Looking beyond Hall effect sensors, though, are Tunneling Magnetoresistance (TMR) sensors. These claim to offer even greater precision than Hall effect sensors, while consuming less power in the process.
However, TMR controllers are still rather nascent, and the market is currently sparse. The GameSir Tarantula Pro is one of the more popular examples with a price of $69.99 / £69.99, but we’ve even seen it on sale for less than this. Given its wireless capability and multi-platform support as well, there’s no surprise we think it’s one of the best PC controllers around. However, only its sticks use TMR tech; the triggers are still Hall effect – although one could argue that the increased precision matters most in sticks, not triggers.
The PB Tails Crush Defender also uses TMR sticks, but it’s not exactly cheap. Then there’s the GameSir Cyclone 2 and a few GuliKit gamepads with TMR sticks, but currently, there’s not much more around than these.
There are mod kits available to replace potentiometer-based sticks with TMR modules. The aforementioned GuliKit provides such kits for many modern first-party controllers (as well as Hall effect replacements). Some require soldering to get them installed, though, and the company warns that for certain controllers, namely the DualSense Edge (one of the best PS5 controllers), Xbox Elite Controller, and Xbox One Controller, calibration issues may result; in other words, install at your own risk.
But even so, are TMR controllers really that much better than Hall effect models? For pro gamers, maybe. But if we look at the best gaming mice, many have 4K polling rates, despite others having 8K. On the face of it, the tech might be better, but whether that actually translates to a real-world performance boost is another matter.
We also have to consider the broader user base. There aren’t just casuals and the elite; there’s a vast cohort nestled in between these two extremes that could benefit from Hall effect tech, those who will appreciate the improvements over potentiometers, but who don’t require the further boost provided by TMR.
No doubt there’ll also be gamers for whom potentiometer controllers offer all the performance they need. But even for this group, Hall effect gamepads would still be preferable, for no other reason than to prevent potential stick drift.
It’s entirely possible that TMR controllers will supersede Hall effect models, and maybe quite soon, but in the meantime I would rather use a Hall effect controller rather than sticking to the default first-party offerings, considering their improved performance and customizability, as well as their competitive pricing. And if I do want to upgrade to TMR eventually, it’s nice to know the option is there.
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