This new third-party Xbox controller is more than just a floral reskin

A blue and white controller with floral pattern.

Xbox recently unveiled an, excuse the pun, blooming beautiful collection of third-party accessories titled the 'Designed for Xbox Floral Collection.'

Taking the term touching grass quite literally, the promo pictures of the controllers, headset and SSD were stunningly laid out, but the one thing that really caught my attention was the new GameSir T7 Floral Pro, which I've thankfully got my hands on today and am pleasantly surprised by.

The GameSir T7 Pro Floral is a huge improvement on the T7

The T7 Pro Floral also has lighting effects (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

I say surprised because, as much as I normally love GameSir's approach to budget-friendly controllers, I wasn't a big fan of the GameSir T7. I felt for the price of $34.99 it didn't really stand up against other controllers in the GameSir range, however, this Pro edition looks to solve a few of the qualms I had with it.

The GameSir T7 Floral Pro is also wired, and is more expensive than its predecessor at $49.99 but it does include a lot more features I'd expect in a controller nowadays as well as this stunning floral design which gave me an excuse to take pictures in my garden.

The T7 range in general is semi-transparent, so the shell is more of a ghost effect than the outright clear casing of the GameSir Kaleid, but the frosted appearance makes a lovely backdrop for the petals.

What you get under the hood

Comparison between T7 and T7 Pro Floral

	T7	T7 Pro Floral
Compatible Platform	Xbox/PC	Xbox/PC
Connection	Wired	Wired
Sticks	Hall Effect	Hall Efect
Triggers	Hall Effect analog	Hall Effect analog with 2-step trigger stops
Motors	4	4
ABXY buttons	Membrane	Membrane
D-pad	Membrane	Membrane
Grip	Laser-engraved	Laser-engraved
Extra buttons	No	2 back buttons
Back button latches	No	No
RGB lighting	No	Yes
Software	GameSir Nexus	GameSir Nexus
Audio jack	Yes	Yes
Price	$34.99	$49.99

As you can see above, the GameSir T7 Pro Floral takes the original and adds 2 back buttons and some 2-step trigger stops, and on the whole, it does feel a lot better quality build than the T7. The Floral design gave me the impression it would be a little flimsier, but it's a sturdy piece of kit.

If you do pick your controller off a bush, make sure you pot it within 30 minutes and water regularly to keep it from developing stick drift (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Don't get me wrong, despite my attempt at avant-garde photos, controllers don't grow on trees and $50 is still a hefty price to pay for a wired controller, but you are getting the hall-effect sticks here that Xbox has yet to include in it's own range, and I genuinally think the quality shows in the extra $15 (but the original T7 is still a decent option for kids).

The blue and white floral design will probably appeal to collectors too, it certainly does to me, and I'm a controller goblin of the highest degree.

Where to buy the GameSir T7 Pro Floral

Carefully open your GameSir T7 Pro Floral seed packet and find a temperate corner of the garden (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Hydrate your GameSir T7 Floral bush twice daily and expect the controller to sprout within 7-10 days (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

When fully bloomed, you can pick the controller from your garden once it starts glowing (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

Keep the controller in a partially shaded area for best results (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

The GameSir T7 Pro Floral should have two transparent rear buttons, if they appear cloudy plant it back in the soil for 3 days. (Image credit: Jennifer Young - Windows Central)

This isn't a full review, that will come after I've spent a couple of weeks at least trying the controller out. If you wanted to grab one of these now though, you can pick up the GameSir T7 Floral Pro at Best Buy along with the rest of the Designed for Xbox Floral Collection which includes the Audeze Maxwell Headset for $399.99, the PowerA Advantage Plus for $42.99 and the WD_Black C50 1TB Storage Expansion Floral Fusion for $179.99 (not yet available.)