{"id":93246,"date":"2026-02-18T11:08:06","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T14:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tech.einnews.com\/article\/893400167"},"modified":"2026-02-18T11:08:06","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T14:08:06","slug":"tmr-vs-hall-effect-controllers-battle-of-the-magnetic-sensing-tech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/tmr-vs-hall-effect-controllers-battle-of-the-magnetic-sensing-tech\/","title":{"rendered":"TMR vs. Hall Effect Controllers: Battle of the Magnetic Sensing Tech"},"content":{"rendered":"

Competitive gamers look for every advantage they can get, and that drive has spawned some of the zaniest gaming peripherals under the sun. There are plenty of hardware components that actually offer meaningful edges when implemented properly. Hall effect and TMR (tunnel magnetoresistance or tunneling magnetoresistance) sensors are two such technologies. Hall effect sensors have found their way into a wide variety of devices, including keyboards and gaming controllers, including some of our favorites like the GameSir Super Nova<\/a>.  <\/p>\n

More recently, TMR sensors have started to appear in these devices as well. Is it a better technology for gaming? With multiple options vying for your lunch money, it’s worth understanding the differences to decide which is more worthy of living inside your next game controller or keyboard.  <\/p>\n

How Hall effect joysticks work <\/h2>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

We’ve previously broken down the difference between Hall effect tech and traditional potentiometers<\/a> in controller joysticks, but here’s a quick rundown on how Hall effect sensors work. A Hall effect joystick moves a magnet over a sensor circuit, and the magnetic field affects the circuit’s voltage. The sensor in the circuit measures these voltage shifts and maps them to controller inputs. Element14 has a lovely visual explanation of this effect here<\/a>. <\/p>\n

The advantage this tech has over potentiometer-based joysticks used in controllers for decades is that the magnet and sensor don’t need to make physical contact. There’s no rubbing action to slowly wear away and degrade the sensor. So, in theory, Hall effect joysticks should remain accurate for the long haul.  <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

How TMR joysticks work <\/h2>\n

While TMR works differently, it’s a similar concept to Hall effect devices. When you move a TMR joystick, it moves a magnet in the vicinity of the sensor. So far, it’s the same, right? Except with TMR, this shifting magnetic field changes the resistance <\/strong>in the sensor instead of the voltage<\/strong>. <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n
\"TMR<\/div>\n

<\/div>

<\/p>\n

GameSir G7 Pro Controller<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/span> Mark Knapp\/CNET<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

The disadvantage of the TMR sensor would be its cost, but it appears that it’s negligible when factored into the entire price of a controller. Both versions of the aforementioned Razer controller are $199. Both 8BitDo and GameSir have managed to stick them into reasonably priced controllers like the 8BitDo Ultimate 2<\/a><\/span>, GameSir G7 Pro<\/a> and GameSir Cyclone 2<\/a>. <\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

So which wins? <\/h2>\n

It seems TMR joysticks have all the advantages of Hall effect joysticks and then some, bringing better power efficiency that can help in wireless applications. The one big downside might be price, but from what we’ve seen right now, that doesn’t seem to be much of an issue. You can even find both technologies in controllers that cost less than some potentiometer models, like the Xbox Elite Series 2 controller.  <\/p>\n

\n
8BitDo<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

… difference between Hall effect tech<\/span> and traditional potentiometers in … here. The advantage this tech<\/span> has over potentiometer-based … actual implementation of the technology<\/span> and the hardware it… the controller itself than the technology<\/span>. Strange response curves, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-93246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","wpcat-1-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=93246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/93246\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=93246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=93246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new7.shop\/zerocostfreehost\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=93246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}