If you’ve been eyeing GuliKit’s new TT line and can’t decide between the TT Pro and TT Max, the nice surprise is that both are genuinely excellent—especially if you live across PC, Mac and iOS like I do. Running them mainly on desktop and mobile with the Hyperlink dongle for low‑latency wireless, these pads feel far more “premium” than their price tags suggest, to the point that it’s hard to justify spending Elite Series 2 or Razer Wolverine V3 Pro money unless you really care about brand logos.
In Australia, you’re generally looking at around the low‑to‑mid AU$100s for either model depending on retailer and availability. That puts them well below the AU$250–350 tier that “pro” controllers regularly occupy, while still including big‑ticket features like Hall‑style TMR sticks, four rear paddles, deep customisation and 2.4 GHz low‑latency wireless straight out of the box. They’re not bargain‑bin pads, but as an overall package, the value is seriously compelling.
In the hand, both controllers nail the basics. The shape is very much in the modern Xbox family—chunky but sculpted—paired with a stick layout more like a DualSense: symmetrical sticks, with the D‑pad high on the left. If you’re used to asymmetric sticks you’ll need a bit of retraining, and some players simply won’t get on with it, full stop. Personally, after a couple of long sessions swapping between shooters on PC and indie titles on Mac, the layout just faded into the background and my hands relaxed into it. The shell feels solid with no creaks, the finish is pleasantly matte, and nothing about it screams “cheap third‑party” when you pick it up.
Customisation is a big part of the TT story. Both models give you swappable face buttons so you can switch between Nintendo and Xbox labelling, multiple thumbstick caps in different heights, and a choice of D‑pad tops—a traditional cross and a disc‑style option that’s much better than it looks. On the back, four metal paddles snap into place with a reassuring click and feel crisp to press, with enough resistance that you don’t constantly mis‑hit them. It’s the kind of flexibility that first‑party controllers either don’t offer or charge a lot more for, and here it feels baked into the core design rather than bolted on.
The TT Max is basically the “Pro Plus” version of the TT Pro. The core ergonomics, materials and layout are essentially identical; you’re not picking between two completely different shells. Instead, you’re choosing between a base feature set and a more expansive one. Both give you anti‑drift TMR sticks with adjustable tension, smart triggers, four paddles, strong vibration and multi‑platform support (including Switch and Switch 2 if you have them). The Max then layers on extras: more extreme stick cap options, more granular D‑pad tuning and extended APG (Auto‑Pilot Gaming) macros.
In practical terms, the TT Pro already covers what most players will actually use day‑to‑day. On PC, Mac and iOS, the Max’s extra stick caps were the only real‑world difference I noticed: the taller caps can help with micro‑aim adjustments in shooters, but it’s a nice‑to‑have, not a revolution. The more advanced APG macro options sound powerful on paper, yet I never found a situation where they clearly earned their keep. Every time I thought about setting up a macro—for grinding, for combo strings, for menu spam—the friction of programming it via button combos outweighed the benefit. The headline “auto‑pilot” feature feels clever, but for my mix of games it was more gimmick than necessity.
Connectivity is where these pads really earn their keep. Using the Hyperlink dongle on PC and Mac, input latency felt effectively indistinguishable from wired. Fast‑paced shooters and action games responded instantly, with no mushiness or lag that I could perceive. Mac can often be a bit cursed when it comes to controller support, but once connected via the dongle, everything felt consistent and stable. On iOS, behaviour varies more depending on how well individual games handle controllers, but when the software cooperated the TT pads felt just as tight as they did on desktop.
Battery life sits comfortably in the “don’t worry about it” category. With lighting toned down and rumble at reasonable levels, I was getting multiple evenings of play between charges. Cranking RGB and vibration will obviously eat into that, but I never once had the experience of a controller dying mid‑session. A quick USB‑C top‑up brings them back, and because the Hyperlink dongle is doing the heavy lifting for latency, you never feel punished for playing wirelessly.
The real test, of course, is how they feel in game. Across genres, both TT Pro and TT Max were consistently impressive. The sticks are smooth and precise, with adjustable tension letting you dial them towards either a looser “arcade” feel or something more resistant for fine aim control. The D‑pad—with that floating design and the option of a disc top—is a highlight, especially for fighters and retro platformers where sloppy diagonals can ruin your day. Inputs are clean, diagonals are deliberate, and you don’t get the noisy, clicky drama some “esports” pads lean into.
Vibration is another standout. GuliKit’s magnetic levitation motors deliver a strong, nuanced rumble that gets surprisingly close to first‑party quality. You get subtle, layered feedback instead of the “cheap electric toothbrush” effect, and it genuinely adds to immersion in racing games, shooters and anything with a lot of environmental feedback. Paired with the excellent ergonomics, it’s the kind of feel that makes you want to keep playing just a little bit longer.
The rear paddles are properly useful too. Their placement means your middle fingers rest on them naturally, mirroring the broad idea of what Microsoft did with the Elite series without copying it outright. Remapping them is handled entirely on‑device via button combinations, which is simultaneously clever and slightly maddening. Clever, because you don’t need any software or drivers and everything works the same regardless of whether you’re on PC, Mac, iOS or a console. Maddening, because the sheer number of button combinations across both controllers is… a lot.
And that’s really the main ergonomic downside: there is so much functionality packed into these pads that it becomes a bit of a memory game. Mode switching, lighting tweaks, rumble levels, APG recording, profile swapping, D‑pad modes—the list of multi‑button chords you’re expected to remember borders on absurd. Power users who love memorising shortcuts will thrive, but most people will probably set up a couple of things, forget the rest and only dust off the manual when something goes wrong. It’s a trade‑off that comes from not having a companion app, and you feel it.
APG in particular is a victim of that complexity. Conceptually, the idea of recording and replaying input sequences is really cool, especially if you’re into grinding or labbing combos. In practice, on the platforms I used—PC, Mac and iOS—it never became part of my muscle memory or workflow. The controllers already feel so responsive and comfortable that I rarely felt the need for automation, and the effort of programming macros via button combos felt disproportionate to the payoff. It’s a nice extra to have in the toolbox, but it’s not a killer feature that defines the experience.
When you stack everything up, though, the value proposition is hard to argue with. For significantly less money than a Razer Wolverine V3 Pro or Xbox Elite Series 2, both the TT Pro and TT Max deliver comfortable ergonomics, excellent sticks and D‑pads, great paddles, strong vibration, low‑latency wireless and broad platform support. You do sacrifice some of the polished software ecosystems and big‑brand prestige, and you have to make peace with learning (or ignoring) a forest of button combos. But in the one area that really counts—how they feel moment to moment while you’re actually playing—they easily hold their own against far more expensive options.
If you’re trying to decide between the two, the simplest way to frame it is this: the TT Pro is the one most people should buy. It gives you the full GuliKit experience without paying for features you may never touch. The TT Max is for the tinkerers and optimisers—the players who obsess over stick height, D‑pad response modes and extended macros, and who will actually make use of the extra depth. Whichever you choose, you’re getting a controller that feels enthusiast‑grade without demanding enthusiast‑grade money, and that alone makes the TT line very easy to recommend.
Gulikit kindly provided the TT Pro and TT Max to PowerUp for the purpose of this review
