Review: Fantech EOS Pro WGP15 – Multi-Platform Hall Effect Gamepad / Controller

The Fantech EOS Pro WGP15 works across multiple gaming platforms, but since I game mostly on Windows, I’ll share my thoughts from a Windows gaming view. Play games often that require a gamepad or controller? Instead of getting the usual Xbox controller, you can consider the EOS Pro as the main controller. The EOS Pro retails for US$48.80 (~S$66) which is cheaper than the Xbox controller. Use discount code ‘TECHJIO‘ to enjoy 10% off!

Unboxing

In the box, you’ll find the following:

• EOS Pro Gamepad/Controller
• One Set Replaceable Thumbsticks
• One Set Replaceable D-Pad
• One Set Pro Aim O-Ring
• USB Wireless Receiver
• Type-C Charging Cable
• User Manual

Design and build quality

If you prefer a clean and understated look, then unfortunately the EOS Pro is not designed to look that way. The EOS Pro has four colour variants and the unit I have is what Fantech calls the ‘Epsilon’ variant, but if you want to keep it simple it’s essentially ‘Black’. There are Cyberpunk like designs scattered over a semi-translucent black plastic shell which has a very nice smooth feel to it. The underside of the EOS Pro has more texture to it, which gets rougher around the handles for better grip.

The build quality of the EOS Pro is good. Plastic feels high quality along with the small components of the thumbsticks, D-pad, buttons, and triggers. The EOS Pro doesn’t feel cheap at all and instead feels like something XBOX would even sell themselves.

Usage and features

The EOS Pro has some standout features that make it more useful it certain games compared to using a typical controller from XBOX. Before we jump into these features, some thoughts of the EOS Pro as a regular controller/gamepad:

The buttons use membrane switches and they could definitely use a little more tactility and snappiness. I found the rebound of the button after bottoming out to be a little slow that I was used to. This made fast button combos to feel a little clunky. Apart from that, I have nothing much to call out. If you are familiar with an XBOX controller, you’ll find the EOS Pro right at home with its shape. There are nice curves and contours to provide a comfortable and firm grip when gaming.

Now, let’s explore the features that the EOS Pro has over a regular gamepad/controller:

Interchangeable Thumbsticks and D-Pad

In the box, Fantech throws in a pair of longer stem version (1.3cm vs 0.9cm) of the thumbsticks as well as two other variants of the directional pad. It’s always nice to see options as it offers more versatility to its use. The default dish style D-pad is the easiest to go around in a 360º motion – perfect if you have games that require heavy use of the D-pad. If not you can stick to the traditional + shaped one or sit somewhere in the middle with the last option.

As for thumbsticks, you get choose between two different heights to suit the needs of the game. The taller stem should allow you to make finer movements. You can also opt to insert O-rings between the thumbsticks.

Fantech offers 3 sizes, each come with decreasing stiffness (black being the stiffest). The O-rings help to provide some resistance to “bottoming out” the thumbsticks to suit varying preferences.

Hall Effect Triggers and Thumbstick

Hall effect is becoming a thing in gaming fast ever since Wooting dropped the 60HE on the keyboard market, we are starting to see the same for gamepads/controllers. EOS Pro is equipped with anti-drift hall effect analog sticks as well as hall effect triggers. This means that more input is only registered when you start to get closer to bottoming out.

Hall effect triggers come in very handy in racing games if your triggers are mapped to the accelerate pedal, as it now becomes easier to control the speed at which you are trying to drive at. I found it to be noticeable mostly in racing games, and not much for other genres.

In fact, these triggers of the EOS Pro boasts an incredibly low circularity error, ranging from 0 to 0.1%. I pit the EOS Pro against a wireless XBOX 360 controller (unfair fight), and you can see the stark differences in the video above.

Quick-Trigger Lock

Another feature the triggers of the EOS Pro received is a physical switch to enable what Fantech calls their “Quick-Trigger Lock”. Once locked, the bottom out of the trigger is reduced so the bottom out distance is reduced to almost half.

This feature is great for first person shooter games as the time needed to bottom out is faster, allowing for faster shooting and response time when pulling the gamepad’s trigger.

Mappable Rear Paddles

The EOS Pro also adds triggers on the back of the controller, which Fantech calls paddles. These paddles are mappable so you can customise them to perform macros of up to 21 buttons. These paddles are useful for games that uses “combos” for action, such as Tekken. A single press of the paddle can dish out a combination of button presses – less margin of error is always nice to have.

Simply press and hold the Turbo button and the rear paddle which you want to assign a macro, and you are good to go. There is no software so you can’t actually see what you have input, other than testing it in-game. But I kinda like how there is no need to install any software and these customisations can be done onboard the device. If don’t wish to have any special buttons, you can remove the macros from the paddles completely as well.

Customizable 4-Level Vibration & RGB lights

You can adjust the intensity of vibration coming from the EOS Pro in 4 different levels – 0%, 30%, 70%, 100% based on your personal preference. And of course you have RGB lighting which emits around the thumbsticks, and a backlight for the buttons.

Customisations of the lighting is done onboard, and you can choose to turn the lights off completely as well.

Battery life and connectivity

The best part about the EOS Pro is that it can be used wirelessly either by Bluetooth 5.0 or through its 2.4GHz USB dongle. Be warned the USB dongle seems to flash quite brightly when the gamepad/controller is disconnected, so if you sleep in the same room as your PC – you might want to put some black tape on it. EOS Pro packs a 600mAh battery that can last up to 18 hours on a full charge. It take approximately 3 hours to fully charge it via its USB-C cable. You can use the EOS Pro with a wide variety of gaming platforms – Windows, Apple, Android, and Switch.

Comparison with EOS and EOS Lite

The EOS Pro is the best gamepad/controller you can get from Fantech at the moment, but if your budget is tight, you can consider two options which are significantly cheaper.

They are the EOS (US$25-30)and EOS Lite (US$20-25). But before we go any further, if you want your controller to be wireless, then your only option is the EOS Pro as it is wireless via 2.4GHz or Bluetooth 5.0.

The step down from the EOS Pro to the EOS is quite significant but the main features you lose are mainly being able to use the controller wirelessly and charging the controller via the Pro Charging dock (when it gets released). If you are ok with a wired controller, the EOS controller is actually offers a great deal of value at its pricing of US25-30. It’s a slight pity that the cable of the EOS is not braided, but at this price point I am nitpicking. As for the EOS Lite, you just lose the ability to swap out the thumbsticks and directional-pad for a small saving of US$5. The rest of the features are still present. Personally, I’d go for the EOS over the EOS Lite since it is only a small amount to top up.

Other features

There are other features that the EOS Pro boasts but I am unable to test, because I don’t own a Tesla. The EOS Pro is fully compatible with Tesla screens, so for Tesla car users who enjoy gaming on the go – this is a gamepad/controller is just right.

Conclusion

The EOS Pro is a solid option especially for those who are already familiar with the XBOX controller shape. Instead of buying the XBOX controller, the EOS Pro gives you a very similar feel for much less at its US$48.80 price point.

Moreover, it offers more features such as interchangeable thumbsticks and D-pad, hall effect thumbsticks and triggers, as well as rear paddles and quick-trigger locks. These features are useful in certain games and do give you a slight advantage. I really like what the EOS Pro offers, and will be my main gaming controller going forward.