Disclosure: PowerA provided this product free of charge for review. All opinions in this review are my own.
Summer is here, and PowerA has released a new Beach Vibes color for its Xbox Wireless Advantage Controller series to celebrate! Despite reviewing many PowerA pads over the years, the Wireless Advantage line for Xbox and PC has eluded me until now. With Hall Effect sticks, 4 programmable rear buttons, a 3.5 mm jack, and three methods of connectivity, this Beach Vibes pad looks stacked! After spending the last month with the pad, it is quite capable, but does it justify its $90 price tag?
What’s In The Box
The Beach Vibes controller comes in a themed box that screams chill from the moment you set eyes on it. The controller on the front is the main attraction, with a badge of highlights right next to it. PowerA and Xbox branding round out the aesthetic. System Compatibility is listed on the side of the box, with the back giving a deeper look into all the key aspects of the controller. Inside the box is a pull-out sleeve with instructions on how to use the controller, the Beach Vibes Controller itself, Wireless 2.4Ghz Receiver, and a 10-foot USB cable.
Aesthetics And Build Quality
The Beach Vibes pad looks fantastic the second you pull it out of the box. The blending of pastel blue and pink looks amazing on the main shell with a solid white back. This theme is perfect with the pastel purple buttons, triggers, and stick caps. The mint D-pad, function buttons, and rear programmable buttons likewise shine. The subtle use of pink on the antifriction rings and base of the thumbsticks, the rear trigger locks, and the mode slider further amplifies the theme without being overblown. The pad has nice texturing on the handles, bumpers, triggers and programmable back buttons that doesn’t come across as abrasive. Unlike past PowerA pads, however, there are no integrated volume controls on the Beach Vibes pad despite the inclusion of a 3.5 mm Headset port.
Overall build quality is good, but with some disappointments. Triggers are among some of the best I have ever felt on a PowerA pad. They offer great resistance and feel great to use. Unfortunately, they are not padded, resulting in them feeling hollow and cheaper than they are. Bumpers mirror the sense of feeling hollow during use, again giving the controller a cheap feel compared to its $90 price point. The Thumbsticks, by comparison, feel fantastic with great resistance and smooth rotations thanks to the included antifriction rings. Hall Effect sensors also ensure the sticks will hold up to extended gameplay without developing drift. The D-pad feels ok to use. It isn’t too stiff or mushy, but it lacks the tactile click of regular Series pads, and it just feels “off”. The inclusion of 4 rear programmable buttons is awesome, but the top buttons don’t line up well with the way I prefer to hold the pad. It isn’t a deal breaker in the least, as I can easily shift to hit them when needed. They also provide a firm click when pressed.
The pad does come in on the light side, with no artificial weight added to the frame. The plastic in use doesn’t have the same feel as other first-party pads, but it doesn’t come across as cheap. The smoother finish on the top is particularly nice. It holds up well to typical wear and tear, and nothing rattles in the frame during use or when being tossed about.
Gameplay
While the build quality of the Beach Vibes pad isn’t quite where I would like it to be to prevent the appearance of being cheap, there is almost nothing about its performance that disappoints! The controller is compatible with Xbox One and Series consoles as well as Windows PCs. Having three modes of operation is great for varied use cases. On PC, I use it wired, and on Xbox, I use the 2.4 GHz adapter. Both modes operate as a standard Xbox One controller, ensuring flawless functionality. As for the included Bluetooth mode, while not a traditional XInput mode, it hasn’t given me any trouble with my game library on PC. It also works great on my Android phone. None of the included operating modes work with Mac OS for anyone curious.
Polling rates for wired and 2.4GHz wireless modes both come in at a modest 250Hz with no significant changes between benchmarks. Unfortunately, Bluetooth mode sees polling dropped down to 125Hz. While not awful, it is a minor disappointment. One area of confusion I have with the wired mode polling rate, however, is that the Amazon listing for the Beach Vibes controller lists it at 1000Hz. I can’t find any other mention of the Wired Polling Rate being 1000Hz on the PowerA site, PowerA app, or on the box and online manual. Perhaps this is a planned functionality update, but for this review, 250Hz is the peak for me. Regardless, performance has been rock solid across PC and Xbox. Actions trigger promptly on screen, and the pad doesn’t struggle to keep up with 165 FPS gameplay!
Face buttons have been solid, and I have yet to encounter any dropped inputs. Bumpers have been identical. Triggers are, again, among the best I have ever used on a PowerA pad. Resistance is flawless, and ranges read well between 0 and 100. With the included trigger locks, they function as a digital trigger, making them fantastic for shooters and fighters. I also appreciate that PowerA has included impulse motors in them, giving me the full tactile Forza Horizon 6 experience! Rumble as a whole has felt solid. You can use the PowerA app to lower the intensity or disable it entirely depending on your preferences.
Sticks have been interesting to mess with. By default, Xbox pads don’t have perfect circularity. Many pads these days do, however, and some games are designed with that in mind, while others are not. The Beach Vibes pad, by comparison, extends its diagonals like a first-party Xbox pad; it results in a mostly identical experience, but you may notice a bit of extra sensitivity in diagonal movements at first. More importantly, though, is that there are no dead zones in play with the pad. Movement is registered instantly, and the stick resolution is great, allowing for nice, precise movements! For both Sticks and Triggers, dead zones and ranges can be calibrated using the PowerA app for more personal refinements.
The D-pad is the only area where I have some disappointment with the pad's performance. It behaves ok in most genres for a quick press to activate an ability. In fighters, however, I am prone to getting misreads with quick direction changes. It is passable, but you will need to put extra care into your inputs to keep them from messing up. It also does ok for most Retro titles and compilations. As for the programmable buttons, they work well, and I like that they can be programmed on the pad itself or with the PowerA app. The controller has three built-in profiles that can be easily swapped between on the fly, giving you tons of room for customization.
The included 3.5 mm port also works great for anyone rocking a wired headset. I have had no issues with audio over wired or 2.4GHz connections. Dolby Atmos Virtualization sounds great, and I haven’t noticed any glaring differences between a first-party pad and the Beach Vibes controller. Battery life for 2.4GHz operation is a staggering 30+ hours, ensuring multiday operation without issues. I also haven’t encountered any battery drain while leaving the pad idle.
What It Could Have Done Better
My biggest complaints about the Beach Vibes controller are its cheaper feeling build quality and D-pad. Simply adding some padding to the triggers and adjusting the bumpers would instantly make the controller seem more premium. Easy misreads on the D-pad make it harder to recommend for anyone who regularly plays fighting games and other heavy D-pad-focused titles. While not a Beach Vibes controller issue, I am annoyed by the PowerA app trying to brick the controller during updates. Accidentally unfocusing the app during an update will instantly cancel the process. Thankfully, it didn’t break my Beach Vibes controller, but it is still rather annoying. Maybe PowerA can also add a polling rate option to the app so I can get that advertised 1000Hz for wired PC use they have listed on Amazon!
Verdict
Depending on your use case, the Beach Vibes controller can be both a great and an awful value proposition for players. For Xbox players, it is a great alternative as a tournament-style pad compared to the PowerA Fusion Pro 4 Wireless, the Elite controller, and a few other third-party alternatives. It lacks the swappable sticks but makes up for it with all the other necessities at a lower cost. For PC players, it is still a good alternative tournament-styled controller, but with other options coming in under the $90 mark that include other features like swappable sticks and gyro capabilities, it makes it harder to recommend. Multi-system use is definitely the best use of the pad, and with that in mind, the $90 price point is the most reasonable. But for anyone interested, regardless of price, this great-looking pad won’t disappoint!