Gulikit collaborated with Asus on these.
Gulikit collaborated with Asus on these.
Even at $1,000, the Xbox Ally X handheld did not come with magnetic drift-resistant joysticks, nor did the $600 variant. However, for an additional $20 on Amazon, you can改，取而代之的是 today — using officially Asus-sanctioned TMR joysticks from Gulikit, a brand known for providing aftermarket drift-resistant sticks.
The company states it collaborated with the Xbox Ally maker Asus to develop these joysticks, which will be “automatically recognized” once swapped in, and that the handheld’s built-in Armoury Crate app can be utilized for calibration afterwards.
While I haven’t yet tested these (I do have a pair in my Switch), I can affirm it’s quite simple to open up the Xbox Ally for installation. Just remove the Philips-head screws, insert a guitar pick pry tool to create a small gap, and pull a bit harder than expected to release the clips. The joystick modules are directly underneath. There’s nothing obstructing you — merely disconnect a ribbon cable and undo their three screws.
Here’s the company’s guide in case you wish to see for yourself — however, I advise against using sharp tweezers on ribbon cables when your fingernails can perform that task more safely and easily. (I might have damaged a few ribbon cables in my past.)
When discussing TMR or the older, somewhat less energy-efficient Hall effect joystick technology, I often use “drift-resistant” in place of “drift-free” because you may experience your center point drifting over time — yet the advantage of magnetic is that you only need to recalibrate! Unlike the potentiometer joysticks that come with Nintendo, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Xbox controllers, you’re not wearing away material that could cause permanent drift as you utilize the magnetic versions.
