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Watch what a good haptic engine actually does

We filmed four vibration motors at 2,000 frames per second. The difference between good and cheap is visible.

Watch what a good haptic engine actually does
Watch what a good haptic engine actually does — XENVORA Photograph: New video game controller exposed, Rawpixel (CC0) · Licence

Haptics are described in adjectives — crisp, mushy, tinny — because nobody films them. So we did, with a high-speed camera pointed at a suspended chassis.

Start and stop, not strength

The premium unit reaches full amplitude in about 8 ms and, more importantly, stops in 12. The budget unit rings for over 60 ms after the signal ends, which is exactly what "mushy" means.

Once you have seen the ringdown, the vocabulary makes sense and the price difference stops looking arbitrary.

Rania Saab
Lab Director
Rania Saab

Rania designs the test rigs behind every Xenvora review, from thermal chambers to hinge-cycle machines.

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