FLYDIGI APEX 4 Wireless PC Controller

I have a lot of controllers... and I'm on a mission of reviewing every controller I own.I've been gaming since a child and remember the days when you'd hand your friend the third party controller because it was inferior and gave you an advantage... boy have times flipped now.I have a LOT of controllers. I've been searching for something "perfect" for a while after having issues with certain aspects of other controllers. The discomfort of Joycons led me to the Switch Pro controller... but the horrible overly sensitive dpad on that controller eventually led me to discovering 8BitDo. I was hesitant to try a third party option at that time, but I rolled the dice and have been pleasantly surprised with their offerings over the years.For a time, the closest thing to a "perfect" controller for me ended up being the Xbox Elite Series 2. The major downfalls of that controller though were needing to buy a third party program (ReWASD) just to add extended functionality to the back paddles, and the general durability of the controller as eventually my right shoulder button gave out. It also lacks modern features such as hall effect sticks. In the interim I went back to 8BitDo and the Ultimate controller, but it's rear buttons were fairly limited in what you could remap them to do as well.I ended up jumping into the rabbit hole of controllers when I was looking for better joycon options and heard about this Flydigi Apex 4 as being one of the best PC controllers. I was impressed with what I saw and thought the adaptive triggers were a cool feature, so I decided to try it out. Overall, I'm very glad I did.Features:Microswitch ABXY Face ButtonsMicroswitch dpad with a Dish shaped dpad (raised cardinal directions)Tactile shoulder buttons, but not microswitchFlydigi special design Hall effect sticksThe controller is weighty... honestly feels a lot more substantial than anything I've used for a while.Special Features:The standout features that attracted me to this controller were....- Adjustable tension hall effect sticks- Adaptive triggers- Customizable Back Buttons- A built in LCD- Microswitch face buttons and dpadAhh, it's nice to be able to have different levels of tension for the left and right stick again! This is something I really missed from the Elite 2 and I'm happy to have that feature again in a main controller.The adaptive triggers are extremely cool! The motorized stops take a little getting used to, but they definitely work, and I enjoy the sniper mode a lot... it gives a little more immersion into games where you're shooting with the right trigger. It's also great to have a controller where macros can be recorded exactly to the rear buttons with no need to pay for third party software, and no need to build the macro from selections! The built in LCD is great as it allows you to change some settings without using the app, and having an animated GIF also gives a personal touch, something I always like to have. I'll get to the microswitch buttons in another section, but I'm happy to have a suite of extra features that do not disappoint me!QC / Durability Concerns:One thing to note... there is an acknowledged issue from Flydigi that there was a manufacturing defect that may have affected some controllers manufactured in April/May that would cause the joysticks to break. If you have a joystick issue and your controller is outside of the return window, make sure to contact them.Unfortunately, my copy does have a date range that falls within the possible defect. I have been using it just about every day since getting it though and so far I have had zero issues.Functionality:This is my first controller with microswitch buttons and I'm already a convert. While I can understand the sound of them getting annoying, the responsiveness and the confidence they bring is a game changer for me. The sticks feel very smooth and the tension adjustment lets you get the feeling perfect for your individual preference. The resolution of the joystick is great, allowing an exact time selection in Genshin Impact down to the minute.The dpad is also my first microswitch one. Though it's similar to the Xbox Elite dpad which is very tactile, it's a bit lighter to the touch and will take some getting used to for me. That being said....A staple of my controller reviews... the Tetris dpad test. I play games on Tetris at as fast of a pace as I can (I'm roughly a 1 minute sprinter in modern Tetris games) and see how many false hard drops I get. Zero. Zero is the number of unintended hard drops I got. A perfect score, with the only problem being I prefer the PlayStation style layout when playing dpad heavy games... but I might have to cheat on my 8BitDo Pro 2 with this controller because this level of confidence playing Tetris may take my sprint times down.In Conclusion:Overall, I'm extremely pleased with this controller. It's amazing to see how third party makers are now offering things that blow away first party options. You can even get a good chunk of what this controller offers in the Vader 4 Pro ,also made by Flydigi, with a lower price tag... it's pretty amazing!I hope this controller will last for many years for me, much like the Elite 2 did.Edit 9/17/2024 - Made format more like my other controller reviews.

The media could not be loaded. Update December 2024 - 6 months and controller works great, just bought a Vader pro 4 to try out and figured I would give an update on this one. By far this is better than the scuff reflex fps I had and the price is way better, but that’s just my opinion, even as frustrating as black ops 6 can be, this flydigi controller has handled the abuse with flying colorsUpdate June 2024 - The replacement controller arrived within the week and I have been using it for several weeks.(Exchange process was simple as any other Amazon sold item, get the new one, stick the old one in the box and for me I take it to the Amazon Fresh store and drop it off) Everything has worked great, I do love this controller, the placement of the back buttons feel good for my fingers verse the scuff reflex fps. I don't accidentally trigger the other buttons like i did regularly on the scuff during frantic MW3 multiplayer moments. I did run the battery down to the point it shut off and had to press the bottom right (up arrow looking icon) to make it turn back on after charging. flipping the back switch on and off didn't work. The trigger lock feature works great, but does take a bit of mental adjustment as you can push through the trigger lock, but after a week or two your brain adjusts and it feeels natural. personally i don't care for analog triggers as the games i play don't need it, but if there are games that use it seems this controller give the best of both worlds. If this original controller truly was a fluke defect, then this controll will stay at 5 stars for me, plus the cost of this is way better than the original scuff reflex fps I boughtL3 push button broke after 2 days of MW3 (Original Headline)Original Post: Everthing was great as I really liked the controller and was getting used to it as I was transitioning from a Scuff Reflex FPS. However on the 2nd day of use playing MW3, the L3 button quit working, I use the a button press to start tactical sprint when all of a sudden it quit working in game. I went to the spacestation app to test it and it didn't work. Basically when I pressed it, I don't feel the snap anymore, just mushy feel. Also I can shake the controller and something is moving around inside, most likely something that broke off internally on the L3 button. either way I am exchanging to give it another chance, fingers crossed it was just a quality issue with the piece and not a critical design issue. I will update once I get the new one and get a month out of it, I really did like setting my dead zone input on the joysticks to 0, which worked perfectly out of the box. Also Space Station remap of the buttons worked fantastic, very simple to remap all buttons to what you want. I was gettting ready to play with the stick response curves for the aim stick on MW3 when the L3 occurred, so hope to play with that and see if I can get fine tuned aiming at the lower input zones dialed in, we'll see......... This will be a 5 star controller for me based on price and what I see so far of my use, if it can demonstrate some longevity that is. My scuff is a year old and has minimal stick drift, I will still use it for my PS5 and use the Flydigi for my PC

Honest review here: The controller feels great in my hands, and I appreciate the adjustable joystick tensions. However, I dislike the four small square paddles on the back because they’re spaced too far apart. The buttons are incredibly satisfying, especially the mouse click buttons. Setting up and pairing the controller is straightforward and easy. The trigger do have trigger stop adjustments that can be customized within the controller settings, but they don’t seem to be very effective. I’ve set them to a sensitive level, but the trigger still allows me to press it all the way down into the controller. I understand that some controllers have trigger stop limits, but this one doesn’t. The controller’s connection ability is amazing; I haven’t encountered any issues when pairing via Bluetooth or the USB dongle. The connection is super fast, and I haven’t had a single disconnection issue. Unfortunately, the right joystick broke down just a week after I bought it for $150. Considering the price, I expected a flawless product. Regrettably, the joysticks are held by a plastic clip with a small spring, a recurring issue mentioned in reviews and still present as of March 15, 2025. Despite this, Flydigi hasn’t made any improvements to the joystick quality. If the spring snaps, the joystick will remain stuck in the direction it broke off, causing significant stick drift. I strongly advise against purchasing Flydigi products. They’re cheap, but they’re overpriced. Save your money and buy another controller.