Even at $1,000, the Xbox Ally But for an extra $20 on Amazon, you can change that today – with the officially Asus-approved and sanctioned TMR joystick from Gulkit, the company that has made its name supplying aftermarket drift-resistant sticks.
The company says it worked with Xbox partner manufacturer Asus to create these sticks, that they’ll “automatically recognize” when you swap them out, and that you can use the handheld’s built-in Armory Crate app to calibrate them afterward.
And while I haven’t tried these (I have a pair on my Switch), I can confirm that it’s very easy to pop open Xbox Ally to install. Simply loosen the Phillips-head screw, pry the hole with a guitar pick pry tool to create a small gap, and pull a little harder than you think you should to open the clip. The joystick modules are just below. There’s nothing stopping you – just pop a ribbon cable in and unscrew their three screws.
Here’s the company’s walkthrough if you want to see for yourself — though I don’t recommend taking sharp tweezers to ribbon cables when your nails can do that job safely and easily. (I may have broken a few ribbon cables in my life.)
When we’re talking about TMR or the older and slightly less power-efficient Hall Effect joystick technology, I usually write “drift-resistant” rather than “drift-free” because you May Find your center point drifting over time – but the beauty of magnetics is that you just have to recalibrate! Unlike the potentiometer joysticks that come with Nintendo, Sony PlayStation, and Microsoft Xbox controllers, when you use the magnetic versions you’re not removing material that will cause permanent drift.
Gulikit’s new Xbox Ally Stick costs $20 in the US today, and should be available in the UK as well 20, and in Italy, France, and Spain this January for €22.
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