The GuliKit ES Max controller launched August 11 at $49.99 in the US, bringing a new version of the company’s magnetic thumbstick technology to a wireless gamepad that supports Nintendo Switch and Switch 2 alongside PCs and mobile devices. Its main pitch is familiar to anyone burned by a wandering camera: sticks intended to resist drift, though the supplied launch materials contain no independent long-term drift, precision or reliability test of the ES Max.
The ES Max is a complete controller, not GuliKit’s separately sold Joy-Con 2 replacement-stick kit. That distinction saves prospective buyers from ordering the wrong bit of hardware, a surprisingly low bar that product naming has again declined to clear.
The Verge reported that the controller uses an updated form of tunneling magnetoresistance, or TMR, thumbsticks, following the technology’s appearance in GuliKit’s earlier ES Pro controller.
How do the GuliKit ES Max thumbsticks work?
GuliKit calls the new design integrated angle-sensing TMR. According to the company and The Verge’s description of the hardware, previous linear TMR implementations measured changes related to a magnet’s field strength as the stick moved. The ES Max sensor instead reads the rotational angle of a nearby magnet.
GuliKit says operating from magnetic angle rather than external field intensity delivers more precise, responsive and stable input. It also says its non-contact design is intended to reduce the risk of drift associated with wear. Those are manufacturer claims, not conclusions established by an independent endurance test.
The practical distinction is that the sensor is measuring a different magnetic property. Whether that change produces better accuracy over months or years of use will need testing outside a launch announcement.
What else does the GuliKit ES Max include?
GuliKit says the controller can connect over USB, its built-in HyperLink 2 Bluetooth connection, or an included HyperLink 2 Bluetooth adapter. The adapter is intended to provide a dedicated connection in radio-noisy setups. The company also claims Bluetooth latency as low as 3.25 milliseconds with its system and wired polling up to 1,000Hz, figures that have not been independently confirmed in the supplied evidence.
- Switchable micro-switch and Hall-effect linear trigger modes
- Two remappable rear buttons
- An Android and iOS app for button mapping, stick and trigger settings, firmware updates and saved profiles
- A 950mAh battery, rated by GuliKit for up to roughly 30 hours of play
The Verge lists compatibility with all Switch versions, Windows and macOS PCs, iOS, Android and Steam. GuliKit additionally lists SteamOS and Switch 2 support. Compatibility does not, by itself, establish that every setting or feature works identically on each platform.
For $49.99, the ES Max offers a specific sensor redesign rather than a demonstrated cure for every stick problem. GuliKit’s stated goal is to reduce wear-related drift risk; the evidence available with the launch does not yet show how the controller holds up over time.
This story draws on original reporting from The Verge.
