Xbox controllers. You know them, you love them, but they have some questionable choices here in the year 2025. First, they require AA batteries to keep them going. I don’t mind, but they do make the controller quite a bit heavier. Two, well really the batteries are my main gripe. If you’re looking for gyro controls or a touchpad, that doesn’t have it either. But instead, what if you wanted a rechargeable Xbox controller? But cheaper?
PXN reached out and offered to send over their PXN P5. Upon first glance of it, I thought it really looked like a mixup of an Xbox One and Series controllers. I know those two weren’t too different from one another BUT STILL. Is it as good? What other features does it bring? And is it worth your hard-earned dollars? Let’s take a look and see shall we?
And just for clarification, PXN did send the P5 over, but all these thoughts, opinions, and what-have-you all come from my heart to this page before they see it.Â
PXN P5 Specs
I prefer to get the information out of the way first so you know what you’re dealing with. If you go directly through the PXN website or Amazon, you can grab the P5 for $35. If you go through AliExpress you can get it for $25-$30 depending on the sale. But what about the rest of the specs?
- Sticks and Triggers: Hall Effect
- Face Buttons and D-pad: Membrane Face Buttons, Clicky D-pad
- Extra Features: Gyro, M1-M4 Back Buttons, PXN Nexus App, Adjustable Triggers
- Battery: 1000mAh
- Polling Rate: 1000hz Wired, 250hz 2.4GHz, 125Hz BT (As Tested)
- Connectivity: BT 5.2/2.4GHz/Wired
- Compatibility: PC/iOS/Android/Switch
- Weight: 221 grams
What I Like
I think my favorite part of the PXN P5 is the ergonomics and feel in general. It’s lighter-weight, and it feels really close to an Xbox One Controller, down to the light texturing of the plastic on the back of the grips. In general I think it feels a little bit better, but this is one of those things that comes down to personal preference.Â
The face buttons, sticks, and triggers are really nice, functional parts of the controller. I’ll get more in depth with them later, but I found they all work really well in the games I enjoy playing the most. And if I didn’t test controllers, I could see myself happily sticking with this one. Mostly.Â
The physical switches on the back are way nicer to have than the software button combinations, I’d have to remember. The switch can be set for 2.4GHz, Switch, and mobile devices, and that just makes it easier to swap between devices.
What I Don’t
Out of all of my issues, there are three things I don’t really enjoy. The first is the D-pad. It’s a bit too stiff for my liking, and the dish styling doesn’t help much. I’ll talk about it more soon though. The second issue comes with the texture of rubber on the sticks. It’s a minor gripe, but the grippier soft touch rubber of the thumbsticks once again makes me worry that they’re going to wear away way easier than other sticks. It’s not bad, and the grip is nice. It just brings in some concern for me.
Finally, the short throw setting on the triggers. Unlike something like the GameSir Cyclone 2, when you set the triggers to their short setting there is still a bit of travel to go through. I’d say if a full trigger features 100% travel, the short throw setting brings it down to around 25-33%. It could be short if you ask me, as especially on the Switch, these would be digital rather than analog.
Control Testing: Face Button and D-pad Control Testing
When it comes to the D-pad it’s a bit of a mixed bag for me personally. The D-pad is a round shield style similar to the Series controller. However, it has a much stiffer click to it, which can make pivoting a bit difficult. I think it’s a bit too stiff, however, I found it mostly easy to complete my couple of runs of Celeste. I was averaging just about 3 minutes and never more than 5 deaths on an individual run.Â
With that in mind, this D-pad can get the job done, but I don’t really enjoy the feel. The face buttons on the other hand are incredibly pleasant. They have a nice pleasant thump that’s reminiscent of the other Xbox controllers, but for me, they’re even quieter. Which if you know about the Xbox Series buttons clacking like crazy, that may be good for you too.
Just know I don’t actually have a problem with those face buttons either, they’re just louder in general.Â
Control Testing: Sticks and Triggers
Now the triggers are nice as they feature both hall effect and an adjustable length for whatever you may need. When using them for Forza Horizon, I found them to be pretty active and responsive when it comes to making small adjustments to my speed. The triggers have a lighter tension than both the One and Series controllers, but I thought they were nice and got the job done.Â
The sticks were exactly what you’d expect from a budget controller. Two Hall effect sticks that are as responsive as you’d assume. When playing through a run of AK-olotl the sticks worked well, aiming where I needed to. There was a slight bit of grinding that could be felt, but nothing that would impact your ability to play. However, at this price, plastic sticks are basically the expectation.Â
Software
When it comes to software, PXN advertises its Nexus app, which is available on Android and iOS. While I’m not the biggest fan of this type of software, I did download it to give it a shot. It works well. Allowing you to adjust things like stick dead zones and map the M1-4 buttons.Â
Final Thoughts
In the end, it’s a fine controller with a nice set of features. At the $30 price point, you have a lot of competition. Whether that’s the Aolion K10, the EasySMX X05, or 8BitDo Ultimate 2C you have options here. If you’re looking for a Switch and PC controller that does exactly what it says on the tin, this is probably one of the nicer options for the price.Â
If you are buying this for the software utilization, I do think that helps the value proposition versus some of the options. If you know what you’re looking for, I think the PXN P5 could be the right option for you. Just make sure to look at all of your options before deciding on your budget controller.Â
Or be like me and buy them all.
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