Abxylute founder Donald Zhang provides insight into the development of the Abxylute M4 snap-on game controller
Abxylute founder and CEO Donald Zhang has provided insight into the development of the company's latest game controller, the Abxylute M4 snap-on mobile controller, which was first revealed in August. The controller is an Apple MagSafe-compatible accessory that attaches to the back of iPhones with magnets. An adapter will also be available for phones without a magnetic attachment point.
The lightweight 55.2 gram (1.95 oz.) controller was the result of an iterative R&D process that started with a CAD (computer-aided design) file of an idea. Thanks to modern 3D printers, refining the "early ergonomics, including grip feel, button layout, and internal structure validation" could be done quickly, according to Mr. Zhang. Readers can see the level of detail a common 3D printer can achieve in this review of the Anycubic Kobra.
The CEO continued to explain that "the moment we want to test real-world tolerances, textures, or magnetic alignments, we go to soft tooling or CNC." Including 14 discarded prototypes, the iterative process used 3D printing to verify a design's 'fit' while soft tooling/CNC was used to check its 'feel'. The company benefited greatly from the location of its factory in Shenzhen, which is under an hour away by car.
Shenzhen is a major electronics manufacturing center in China, with thousands of closely located suppliers, manufacturers, and shippers that are used by many tech companies to quickly R&D and manufacture their products, including Dnsys and OpenRock.
Whether a new design requires "a new joystick cap design, a different button layout, or a revised mold insert", he says that Abxylute can visit the factory in person to test a prototype the next day, resulting in a CAD-to-prototype cycle of just three days.
This testing also included the selection of buttons, a critical component of any game controller. The founder explained in detail:
A good button isn’t just about the click, it’s about travel distance, pushing force, rebound speed, and sound. We test over 10 pieces of tact switches from different suppliers to identify the old time (old-school) feel and we believe we found it. We use conductive rubber for the main buttons, the same material used in most console-grade controllers. It gives a smoother, more analog feel than mechanical tact switches, and allows for better long-term reliability since there’s no metal fatigue or click wear. But even within conductive rubber, there are countless variables: the hardness of the silicone, the height of the dome, the carbon pill size, and the vent structure underneath, all of which change the bounce distance and tactile response.
The Abxylute M4 controller Kickstarter project is scheduled to launch on November 13, 2025, at 8:00 am PST, with early-bird pricing of $39.
Source(s)
Abxylute M4 Kickstarter, Abxylute, Donald Zhang email
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