With so many pro controllers on the market, it can be difficult to pick the best from the crowd, but at least on Xbox, Turtle Beach’s Stealth Ultra Wireless Smart Controller could very well be the best of the bunch.
My first impression of the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra at first glance kinda reminded me of gimmick console controllers that were so prominent during the 90s and 2000s. However, as the old saying goes “Do not judge a book by its cover”, and this could not be more true with Turtle Beach’s attempt to get in on the pro controller market, a company best known for gaming headsets such as the fantastic Stealth Pro.
Check out the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra controller trailer below!
The biggest selling point of the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra is the LED connect display command located in the top centre of the controller. With most other pro controllers such as the SCUF Reflex Pro and the Nacon Revolution 5 Pro, to switch profiles that might be catered to genres such as FPS, fighting or racing, you press a button often located at the rear of the controller and each profile might be represented by a certain colour so that you can tell which profile is which. This method is fine and serves its purpose, but the Stealth Ultra has made that process all the more clear, and then some.
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Each of the ten profiles that you’re able to store on the Stealth Ultra is indicated by a designated number by default. Yet, when connected to the free Control Center 2 app, when you tinker with button layouts as well as trigger sensitivity, analogue sticks and more, you can change the name of each profile which will be clearly labelled on the connect display command, removing any doubt as to whether you have the correct profile enabled. This makes things much more convenient, especially if you’re switching between two different genres of games on the fly.
What’s more, the Stealth Ultra can connect to social media apps such as Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, the Xbox app and more. When connected, you will be alerted via the connect display command when you get new messages. However, I hate my phone going off at the best of times, especially when gaming, so I deactivated this feature once my review process had concluded because I get extra grumpy when someone or something interrupts my precious game time.
The connect display command will also allow you to change pre-saved analogue and trigger adjustments to your profiles, adjust the vibration in the triggers and handles, as well as change the controller's light settings and so forth. You can also adjust power settings, LED brightness, timeout, social media colour alerts and more. If you select the least demanding power setting, Turtle Beach claims that the Stealth Ultra can last up to 30 hours on a full charge. I’d say that on average, my power settings were about halfway and my controller lasted about 12 hours before needing a recharge, so that estimate seems about right.
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Aside from the very convenient LED connect display command, what else does the Stealth Ultra bring to the table? The trigger locks allow you to go from a full distance press on the RT and LT buttons, to what feels like a 75% reduction, this means that the time it takes to aim down the scope and pull the trigger on an FPS game such as Call of Duty or Fortnite is drastically reduced.
Likewise, all the face buttons and the D-pad have a mouse-click-like function which reduces response time when compared to the standard Xbox controller. The same can be said for the four buttons on the back of the controller which are this controller's version of the paddles as seen with the Xbox Elite and SCUF controllers. Speaking of which, I programmed those back buttons to be the same as my SCUF controller catered for the FPS for switching weapons, reloading, and crouching.
The Stealth Ultra also has another very helpful feature and that is Pro Aim, which I assigned to my fourth back button. Pro Aim slows down your scope aim massively, so if you like to snipe in FPS games, this almost feels like cheating, to be honest, but the feature is there if you want to use it. That being said, if you were up against a more capable sniper that uses a controller traditionally without a Pro Aim feature, they’d likely put a bullet in your avatar’s head before you could say “Yo Mamma!”
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Sadly the analogue height is not changeable as with some of the SCUF controllers, but with the Magnetic Hall Effect sticks, they are not only ultra responsive but it should remove any concern that this controller will ever suffer from controller drift. You do however get four rubber-swappable controller caps. Sure it’s not the same as actual analogue heads or sticks, but it's better than nothing. With this being a wireless controller, it also comes with a low-latency dongle for your Xbox, but you can also go wired with the three-metre cable provided. This controller can also be connected to a PC as well as being compatible with Android and Smart TVs.
Furthermore, the Stealth Ultra not only has a 3.5mm jack for wired headsets but it also enhances basic Turtle Beach headsets including the Recon 70 with Superhuman Hearing meaning that you can hear an online opponent approaching as if you were using a more expensive Turtle Beach headset. You can also choose from a variety of audio presets as well as adjust game, and chat volume via the connect display command.
The controller is also very comfortable in your hand and from the get-go, you can tell that it’s made with quality materials especially when it comes to the embroidered-like texture on the shoulder buttons which should restrict the risk of slip during extended and intense gameplay sessions. Elsewhere in the box, you get a very handy hard case which allows the controller to be charged when stored and you get a quick-charge dock.
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The Stealth Ultra is one of my favourite Xbox accessories. It’s now become my goto controller over the standard Xbox controller. Don’t be like me and make the initial assumption that this is simply a gimmicky controller because that’s far from the truth. Every splendid feature of this controller has its purpose, it’s very well put together and feels somewhat therapeutic to use. The £179.99 launch price may seem a bit steep, but you won't regret the purchase as the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra Wireless Smart Controller is arguably the best currently available on Xbox.
The Turtle Beach Ultra Wireless controller can be purchased from turtlebeach.com as well as various retailers and has a launch RRP of £179.99. A review sample was provided by Turtle Beach.
Featured Image Credit: Turtle BeachTopics: PC, Xbox, Xbox One, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X