As we all know, Fortnite has become something of a gaming juggernaut, with World Championships being played for stupid amounts of money. Obviously the amounts of money are only stupid because I’m no good at the game! In fact, the spin offs these days are worth almost as much the game itself, with toys, lunchboxes and even Nerf guns all having the Fortnite logo plastered over them.

The latest in this long line is the PowerA Fortnite Midas Advantage Wired Controller, coming, believe it or not, from PowerA, purveyors of quality third party controllers for the Xbox. So, let’s have a look at the performance of this controller, shall we?

Upon unboxing the controller, the first thing that you notice is the weight of the controller – it feels a lot lighter than a standard Xbox controller. Obviously, this is down to the fact that the PowerA Fortnite Advantage Wired Controller is powered over the supplied USB cable and has no battery pack in it. That does mean it feels different – not necessarily bad, just different. 

The next thing to strike you is the way the controller looks – with a striking black and gold design featuring the face of Midas (I had to ask my son who it was, I can’t lie!) and there are also some kind of “ghost” designs chased into the top of the controller, only visible from certain angles. The rear of the controller is a dark grey, with a very tactile diamond textured pattern on the grips, which feel nice in the hand. It is certainly a good looking bit of kit!

The cable that is provided with the controller is 10 feet long, running USB-A on the end that plugs into the Xbox and USB-C as it plugs into the controller, so the chances of getting things plugged in the wrong way is non-existent. Yet whilst 10 feet sounds like a lot, when playing across the width of the living room, the cable does lie across the floor, providing not only a bit of a trip hazard but also an object of extreme fascination for a cat; or in my case, two cats. And honestly, wired controllers feel a bit 1990s in this day and age, where everything seems to be wireless – controllers, headsets, even phone chargers. As someone who went fully wireless years ago, going back to the cable does feel a bit of a backward step. 

None of this matters if the controller performs as you’d expect, and here the news is pretty good. The first thing I really like is that the controller has a proper, cross-shaped D-pad – none of that fancy disc nonsense I’ve seen on other controllers, so a tick there. The thumbsticks feel nicely weighted too, and during testing I’ve played everything from Another Crab’s Treasure all the way through to Forza Horizon 5, and I have had no issues with the feel of the sticks. 

The buttons on the face of the controller all do exactly as they should, and again have a nice feel and rebound. Completing the face buttons are the obligatory share button, start and select as they almost certainly aren’t called today (you know, the ones that look like a burger and cheese slices) and the Xbox button. However, I have an issue with the Xbox button, as for some reason it will not turn my Xbox on. I’ve read the instructions and apparently, holding down the Xbox button should power the console up, but on my test unit, it refuses to do so. Having to get up to turn the Xbox on manually does make that long cable feel a bit unnecessary…

From there, we have a few fancy features with the PowerA Fortnite Advantage Wired Controller that I need to mention. The two triggers – RT and LT – have locks that can restrict the travel of the button, as you’d expect, and these can certainly make all the difference when playing fast paced shooters, a bit like Fortnite! Each trigger can be locked individually, so the left trigger could have more of a travel than the right one for instance, whilst each lock has three positions, which roughly translate to full range of movement, half range and about a quarter of the range. For shooters, these are great but for driving games, not so much. I did wonder why my car wouldn’t go very fast in Forza, and it was because I had left the locks on, so bear this in mind. 

There are three extra buttons on the rear of the controller too; one of which allows you to program the other two. On the left and right grips there is an extra button, and this can be programmed to be any of the other buttons – so if you wanted a controller with two A buttons, this is the one for you. Obviously, this can be useful to have the clicked-in thumbstick buttons on a the rear of the controller, saving you having to click the stick in the middle of a fight (or to beep the horn in Forza when you are getting carved up, again). One thing to be careful of, with the way the buttons are situated, it is very easy to press them inadvertently when in the middle of a tense gaming situation, and depending on what you have programmed them to be, it can have a disastrous consequence – jumping into an attack when playing as a little crab, for example. 

All in all, the PowerA Fortnite Advantage Wired Controller for Xbox is a quality bit of kit, with a few little niggles. I don’t like the weight of it, even now, and not being able to turn the Xbox on with the controller is annoying. Other than that, this is a competent controller with some interesting features, helped along by the fact that it is a good looking thing as well. 

If you want an alternative to the OEM Xbox controllers, the PowerA Fortnite Midas Advantage Wired Controller is a good choice. 

Huge thanks go out to PowerA for providing us with the Fortnite Midas Advantage Wired Controller for Xbox for review. Hit up PowerA direct to purchase one for yourself. Expect to pay $39.99.

It seems as if there are two distinct schools of thought in terms of how to consume audio on the go; three if you include the totally obnoxious, speaker-on-the-bus-caring-little-for-others brigade. 

For the most part though, if you’re listening to music, taking in a podcast, watching YouTube or – more increasingly – playing games, your audio will probably be sorted in one of two ways – flashy huge cans, or discreet little buds. If it’s the latter that is your bag, you’d do extremely well to grab for a pair of Mixx’ StreamBuds Solo 1 True Wireless Earbuds. These are about as small, as delicate and as unobtrusive as you are likely to get. 

We’ve used a ton of earbuds over the years, mostly as our Game Pass on-the-go mobile play has picked up. In recent weeks though we’ve ditched our Status Between 3ANC Wireless for the Solo 1. Mostly, we’ve been very impressed too. 

The StreamBuds Solo from Mixx come in three distinct forms. The smallest are the Solo 1 and their teeny, tiny capsule design; the version we are reviewing here. But alternatively there are the Solo 2 (hybrid design, silicone free) and the Solo 3 (similar but with a silicone tip). All will set you back a mere £25, pushed to market in various colours. In our opinion, that price means these are stupidly good value for money. More so when you consider how well they work. 

For that low price, you may think that Mixx have just created some cheap and cheerful buds. And you’d be right, but if we didn’t know that price point beforehand, we’d have happily considered dropping double, maybe triple, that asking price. Yes, they aren’t as accomplished as some much more expensive earbuds and there are no fancy noise cancelling or equaliser features included, but that’s not what you’ll be coming to the Solo range for. 

What you will come for is the cracking sound. The StreamBuds Solo 1’s have consistently pumped out some seriously bassy sound, no matter what type of audio has been consumed. We’ve been shocked by just how deep that audio is, in fact, coming in extremely well with our own personal tastes. But that’s not to say it’s ever too overpowering, mids and highs are equally well catered for and a range of audio delights have seemingly worked well. 

Fitment is great too, at least for us. Highly subjective, it’s hard to say that the Solo 1 will be perfect for all, but we’ve had a tight seal come about pretty much immediately upon use. It’s helped that three different silicone tips are included in the box, but for us it’s the default option that has worked best. And whilst we wouldn’t recommend using these when you need to be aware of your surroundings, for a set of buds that can be grabbed at for some corner-of-the-room solo play, you’ll not be left wanting. Comfort has been spot on too, usable for a good few hours at a time without hassle. 

In terms of power, the Solo 1 earbuds are okay, but far from mind-blowing. We’ve not had any issues with battery power, finding them with plenty of juice at all times, but Mixx do state that these should come in with about five hours of wireless play from a single use, an extra thirteen then stored in a fully charged case. We’ve never been ones for counting minutes and hours, but that all feels about right through our use. Like we say, some eighteen hours in total is nothing to go mad about, but it’s all okay. Throughout that time, connection to our devices has been super solid; once in place, we’ve not had a single drop-out occur. 

So what about that case? Well, it’s – in the words of my daughter – ‘pretty cute’. I’d go further and say that it’s fairly compact and super easy to slip into the pocket of any jeans. It is unique in the grand scheme of things too – a plastic outer body houses a couple of magnets that ensure the buds slip in fine, attaching easily. From there, a silicone flap folds over, again, magnetically held on the front. It feels strange to not have a fully hard case holding the Solo 1 buds in place, and initially we thought it may be a tad too easy to accidentally open. In use, that’s never been the case and things have been kept safe. That said, that silicone flap does attract a ton of dirt and dust; it won’t be looking pristine for long, gathering up any bits that are at the bottom of your pocket. 

The case itself charges via USB-C, with a short USB-A to USB-C cable included in the box. That’s fine, but we’ve preferred to just grab for any of a plethora of USB-C cables that are ready to roll. 

But it’s here where we feel we must get on to some negatives. How much weight you’ll stick behind them will probably be pretty personal. It’s not stopped us from using the StreamBuds Solo 1 earbuds on the daily, but there are things you need to be aware of. 

Firstly, and we’ll say it again – the Solo 1 buds are super small. And that means it can be fiddly to get them out of the ear and back into their case. Numerous times we’ve been left grabbing for a bud, missing, struggling to have it removed from the ear; worse when out in cold weather. And nearly as many times we’ve then been a little frustrated in trying to twist the bud the correct way for charging in the case; the magnets are powerful enough to help, and whilst it’s something you may just about get used to, early doors, it’s an annoyance. 

Similar, making the most of the on-bud controls. Touch the buds and you’ll be able to do the usual things – adjust volume (up with a press on the right, down with a tap on the left), double tap to pause etc. But due to the size of the Solo 1, there’s a bit of a knack to it, with it being all too simple to miss the bud entirely. It’s not helped that there’s a tiny bit of lag between the press and the action happening, meaning at times, you won’t know if you’re successful in pulling off the action required. We’ve paused tracks on YouTube Music, when all we wanted to do was adjust the volume, more times than we care to remember. We can’t help but think that the slightly larger, stemmed, Solo 2 or Solo 3 (especially) may be a better choice if you have sausage fingers. 

Aside from that, we’ve been impressed by the Mixx StreamBuds Solo 1 True Wireless; even more when you take the price into consideration. If you like your audio to be bass-fuelled and are in the market for some of the tiniest, most inconspicuous of earbuds, whether that be for music or gaming, you’ll need these on a wishlist at the very least. 

Huge thanks go out to Mixx for providing us with the StreamBuds Solo 1 True Wireless Earbuds for review. Hit up Mixx direct if you fancy purchasing a pair. And remember, there are the Solo 2 and Solo 3 versions available too.