GameSir T7 Pro Sugar Whirl wireless controller for Xbox review
The GameSir T7 Pro Sugar Whirl wireless controller for Xbox is without a doubt the most beautiful controller I’ve ever had my hands on, and that includes GameSir’s G7 Pro Wuchang: Fallen Feathers Edition. With its swirls of pink, turquoise and purple, it’s so cute, I almost feel guilty for using its remappable rear buttons to stomp The Callisto Protocol‘s enemies to pieces.
The GameSir T7 Pro Sugar Whirl is more than just a pretty face, though. At £99.99, it sits between the standard Xbox and Xbox Elite controller price brackets. In some respects, it outclasses the latter, boasting tunnel magnetoresistance (TMR) sticks, which essentially eliminate stick drift and Hall Effect triggers, both absent from the Elite.
One trade-off is that the T7 Pro Sugar Whirl, which connects to the Xbox via USB receiver or braided wire, can’t be used to start the Xbox. Instead, you’ll have to get up and press the power button. Xbox aside, it also works on PC and Android, the latter via Bluetooth. GameSir gets points for letting you store the USB receiver in the optional charging stand, which saves it from joining my box of mystery dongles.
So how does the GameSir T7 Pro Sugar Whirl handle? Seriously well, and that’s even before you get to tweaking its various bells and whistles. I put it through its paces with a host of games, and it never once let me down, being super-responsive all round. The translucent rear is just textured enough that it sits comfortably in your hands without feeling odd. And, despite its vibration motors and PC-only gyroscope function, it’s perfectly weighted, on par with an official Xbox controller.
The membrane-based face buttons don’t have the click of the G7 Pro’s microswitches, but that’s not a dealbreaker for me. The two programmable rear buttons are right beneath your fingers and can be assigned to any single button press. If you live and breathe first-person shooters, you can assign them to switch weapons, so you don’t have to lift your fingers away from the thumbsticks (which are also pleasingly textured).
Speaking of FPS games, you can switch from analogue to hair triggers in not one but three ways: flicking a button on the base of the controller, holding down the ‘M’ button and a trigger, or using the optional GameSir Nexus software. The latter lets you customise the controller to the nth degree, though you can’t assign strings of button presses to the rear buttons. I would recommend turning the RGB lighting down a little, since it makes the T7 Pro Sugar Whirl’s otherwise excellent colours look a little washed out.
Ultimately, the GameSir T7 Pro Sugar Whirl is an easy recommendation if you’re looking for a new Xbox controller, or just want to trade up from the standard. It’s downright gorgeous (though its look may not quite gel with Call of Duty), packed with features and options, and an all-round dream to use.
With thanks to GameSir for providing a review unit for the purposes of this article.
