I’ve reviewed quite a few controllers in my time but none quite as unique as the Turtle Beach Stealth Ultra. It has the full functionality of an Xbox controller but it has 1.5-inch screen that is almost the centre point of the controller and helps elevate everything from customising the controller to even connecting to your phone to view notifications.
From a physical point of view, at first glance the Stealth Ultra doesn’t look too dissimilar from a standard Elite controller, but once you get it in the hands it feels totally different. It’s definitely quite a bit lighter, and does feel a little less grippy (maybe even more plasticky), but it’s super comfortable to hold. If you’re a fan of flashy lights you’re in luck as there’s customisable RGB strips that go up and down the controllers on both sides and add an extra splash of colour.
The controller has anti drift hall effect analogue sticks, and unlike other pro controllers, the actual sticks can’t be changed out with Turtle Beach instead including a range of toppers in the box that change the look and feel of the actual top of the analogue sticks. I can’t say that I’m someone who swaps out sticks too often, but it does feel like a bit of a missed opportunity in a controller that packs more customisation options than any other on the market.
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The face buttons have micro switches to allow them to be quite clicky and extremely responsive which is quite the opposite from the Elite controller and others that have quite mushy buttons. If you’re someone that plays a lot of fast-paced games, you’ll appreciate this. Similarly, the D-Pad has a concave design, that I don’t mind, but it’s extremely different to that of the Elite Series 2 controller.
The triggers sticks both have trigger stops that are near identical to that of the Elite controller and can go between three different settings, and there’s four customisable buttons across the back of the controller that are well within reach and super helpful when gaming.
The controller has a 30 hour battery life, and can be wirelessly charged using the dock that is included in the box. If you’re using all the RGBs and connecting to your phone, this will be significantly lower, but you can turn on an Eco mode to get the most out of the battery if that’s what you’d prefer It also acts as a transmitter with the USB dongle plugged into it, and you can pair wirelessly this way for both Xbox Series X|S as well as PC, but there’s also Bluetooth connectivity for smart devices if that’s more up your alley.
The amount of customisation options with this controller is phenomenal. You can use the 1.5-inch command screen to change what each back button does, control the RGB lighting effects and colour, change the deadzones, vibration of the controller as well as change whether the controller connects over dongle, Bluetooth or in wired mode.
It’s a little bit cumbersome to use at first, as you have to push a button to activate using the screen with your controller, and then press that same button to end activity, but compared to some other pro controllers that I’ve used recently, the screen is absolutely fantastic for getting the most out of the controller without having to hold a weird combination of buttons to set a back button or connect it to a PC to make minor changes. It’s all right in front of you on the screen.
If you’re got a headset connected over wire, you can change the game/chat audio mixes as well as change EQ settings on the fly via the controller which is super helpful if you are a wired headset user, but if you’re using wireless, unfortunately you can’t take advantage of this functionality.
There’s 10 profiles that can be stored on the controller in total, which you can easily swap between using the screen. You can also connect your controller to a Turtle Beach app on your Xbox or PC and set up profiles this way and transfer them to the controller.
The thing that I was most eager to test out with the screen is pairing it to your phone and the Control Center 2 app for social notifications. The controller will vibrate and flash when a notification comes through, and I believe the objective of this is to stop you getting distracted by your phone (as you can’t reply on the controller).
I actually quite liked the idea, as whilst I was still looking away from the TV screen, it was a quick glance down rather than picking up my phone and getting distracted by another app or having to reply. The experience that I had didn’t really mimic what was explained in the marketing documents, in the sense that all notifications kind of looked the same regardless which app they were from and I found myself having to manually connect the app every time I’d use the controller, which kind of defeats the purpose, but hopefully this is rectified with updates.
