GamingI’ll be up front: The PowerA Spectra Enhanced is great if you don’t mind a wired controller. An LED button on the rear allows quick cycling between colors, and a program button makes it easy to quickly switch which controls the rear buttons will duplicate.

SoftwareThe PowerA Spectra Enhanced has custom lighting and remappable buttons, but it doesn’t require any software. The Spectra Enhanced now includes a built-in headphone jack and uses a soft-touch finish that, while more prone to show greasiness, is pleasant to the touch. PowerA has made a few other changes from the earlier Spectra controller. It doesn’t look half bad, and it’s easy enough to turn the light off if RGB isn’t your thing. There are seven colors available as well as a mode that cycles between each color. The Spectra Enhanced also gets the RGB treatment, with lighting around all of the face controls and the entire edge of the device. Also like the Elite, it has three-way trigger locks, which can shorten the travel distance of the triggers for quicker tapping. These work like the buttons you’d find on the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller, except this controller costs a quarter of the price. You get all the same buttons as the Xbox One controller (minus the wireless pairing button), but the Spectra Enhanced takes it further with two mappable buttons on the back. I never once had the connection come loose, something I can’t say has been true of my Xbox One controller.

And it uses a recessed, locking connection for the port on the controller. It comes with a braided cable with a quick disconnect near one end so you won’t accidentally yank your PC or console. The cable and micro USB port on the Spectra Enhanced are also far superior to Microsoft’s design. For PC gamers, that’s a perk over the standard Xbox One controller, which needed fully-charged batteries even when you were playing with a wired connection. The wired connection is latency-free, of course, and also cuts out the price of a battery and the need to keep it charged up. There’s a USB port at the front as well, which isn’t just for occasional use. It has smoother curves and the front edge is flat, as opposed to the angular design at the front of the Xbox One controller. Here’s all you need to know.ĭesign and FeaturesIn shape, The PowerA Spectra enhanced differs only slightly from the traditional Xbox One controller. The PowerA Spectra Enhanced is just that – a wired Xbox One controller that costs $39 and has a few tricks to show up the standard Xbox One controllers. Though Microsoft has made tweaks since then, you’ll still regularly see those controllers for $60, so it’s fair to seek out something a little newer and a little cheaper. It’s been the better part of a decade since the original Xbox One launched along with its $60 controllers.

Apower review