Xenoblade Chronicles 2's Pro Controller looks to have improved the dpad

Some people have complained that the dpad on the Switch Pro Controller is causing some unintentional button presses. Now with the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 version of the Pro Controller available, those same people were wondering if there had been any improvements or changes to the dpad. Looks like there's some anecdotal evidence pointing to yes.

Howwy23 over on Reddit has been doing some detective work to look into the dpads on each controller, and he noticed some differences in the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 Switch Pro Controller once he took it apart. First up, the "pole" that attaches the dpad to the controller in the Xenoblade Chronicles 2 version seems to be a bit taller than the original. Second, the rubber membrane for the dpad has a tube in the center that the pole sits in. In the old controllers, this tube is made of a hard rigid rubber. The new controller has a membrane that is softer and less rigid.

According to Howwy23, these changes make some noticeable differences in how the controller's dpad operates, making for more precise inputs.