This new gaming mouse looks to combine tech similar to Logitech's analogue clicks and Razer's frame sync but I'm a little sceptical
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The clicks look similar to Keychron's recently announced solution, too.
The Logitech G Pro X2 Superstrike rattled the gaming mouse market earlier this year with its haptic-inductive clicks, but it was pretty certain other companies would be looking to get in on that analogue action as soon as possible. To that end, Finalmouse has just announced the tactical FPS-oriented, 38-gram Starlight X, which also has magnetic clicks, except these also sit alongside a traditional mechanical click.
The solution is similar to the one that Keychron's "next-gen mouse switch" announced earlier this month. The difference is that while Keychron is putting both analogue and mechanical systems inside one switch, Finalmouse has them working separately but under the same mouse buttons.
The analogue part of the equation should allow you to cut down the switch's "pre-travel window" and click quicker than you could using a traditional mechanical switch. It also lets you choose exactly where you want the button to actuate along its depression, just like with the Superstrike, and it lets you enable rapid trigger.
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Finalmouse is claiming to actually go further than the Superstrike, though, because it's using TMR rather than inductive tech, which allows for more precise and accurate measurement. Thus why Finalmouse is calling it TMR-DS, standing for 'TMR Dual State Analog Click System.' This ultimately means—again according to Finalmouse—that you'll be able to adjust things in 0.01 mm increments, giving you 40 discreet steps to run through compared to the Superstrike's 10.
The thing I'm not so sure about here, though, is how those mechanical clicks will align with the analogue ones. Apparently, you'll be able to swap between them, but the point of having the physical click there alongside the analogue one is to give some physical click feedback. But this will be static, meaning it won't align with the analogue click. It's whether that mismatch will be noticeable and annoying that I'm concerned about.
(Image credit: Finalmouse)
It's the same concern I mentioned when reporting on Keychron's similar solution. Logitech cracked that code by having haptics that align perfectly with the analogue click, wherever you set the actuation to. Finalmouse and Keychron don't have that, and until I've tried their mechanical alternative, I'll just have to reserve judgment and retain a bit of scepticism.
It's not just the clicks that are new, though, as it seems the Starlight X will also have some new frame syncing tech. It's called 'PerfectSync', and it sounds to my ears like it's the same as Razer's FrameSync, which has impressed me in the Viper V4 Pro. It essentially syncs your mouse's sensor reading with the system's polling, which lets things stay snappy while keeping the total number of sensor readings low and thereby saving battery life.
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Even without the new clicks and sync tech, the mouse is quite a departure from Finalmouse's previous ones. Previously, the company had pushed a lot of different versions of essentially the same mouse shapes. The main selling points were new boundaries being pushed in materials and light weight, which offset the company's polarising history for some.
This one, though, has a completely different shape designed for tactical FPS players such as Counter-Strike players. That basically means something a bit bigger and oriented around aiming stability. At (a claimed) 38 g, it'll still be plenty light, but that's not the main focus.
The internal architecture has apparently been redesigned to focus on "structural efficiency", and materials have been changed to keep things strong but light—carbon fiber beams are used, for instance, as are titanium screws just like in the Superstrike, and the shell is made from a new carbon fiber composite.
So, a lightweight mouse for tactical FPS that promises all the best of the kinds of technology offered by Logitech's and Razer's latest and greatest mice. Sounds impressive, but it'll all boil down to how that hybrid mechanical-analogue click system feels.
It's available to order on May 30 at 11 am PT for $179. Given Finalmouse tends to launch its mice as limited-edition drops, there might be a scarcity element to this mouse, too. We'll have to wait and see.
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