I’ve been spending a ton of time with Logitech’s new gaming mouse, the G Pro X2 Superstrike, and if I hadn’t pressed those new rapid trigger buttons, I’d likely have assumed it was just a G Pro X Superlight 2 with a new and very appealing colour scheme. In fact, Logitech expressed as much to me at various points throughout my visit to its Swiss HQ, saying that very little has changed between the previous Superlight and this Superstrike other than those left and right mouse buttons.
Which isn’t as small of a thing as it might sound. Traditional mechanical and optical switches have been done away with entirely in favour a new, bespoke Haptic Inductive Trigger System (HITS) that allows for adjustable actuation and haptic feedback. The result is what is genuinely the “fastest click” on the market—at least for now, until other brands inevitably follow Logitech’s lead and release similar tech.
Apart from this major selling point, though, the mouse is essentially a Superlight 2, from the shape to the coating, sensor, side buttons, and even the weight.
At first I thought this was maybe down to an attitude of ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.’ But while that might be some of the reason, I also remembered something else Logitech expressed, this being that it wanted to get HITS technology and the Superstrike to market as fast as possible.
I sat down with Logitech G’s Head of Engineering, Regis Croisonnier, and a microtechnology engineer called Frédéric who is one of the inventors of the Superstrike’s HITS tech. Croisonnier explained:
(Image credit: Future)
“Usually when you start to talk about the technology or prototype, between the time we have the prototype and the time we implement it in a product, I would say the average time is between two to three years.
“Here, we knew we had a golden nugget in our hands, right? We wanted to move fast, so we took all the shortcuts we could.”
“This is why we did 3D printing; we found other ways to move fast, even though it was not perfect”, Croisonnier continued. “I think for us, it was clear that we had to move fast in that direction. Because in the end, if you think about it, it’s ultra-smart: we have a fantastic idea. And on the other hand, it’s obvious, right? When you know it, when you have it in your hand, it’s obvious, right?”
I can see what he means. It’s a fantastic innovation, but once you’ve seen it it does seem obvious, in the sense of, ‘Hey, why hasn’t anyone done this before?’
(Image credit: Logitech)
If technical limitations were the reason, then Logitech has shown these are no longer something that can’t be overcome, and it would surely only be a matter of time before other companies figured that out—if they weren’t working on it already. Thus the need to get it to market quickly.
In which case, it makes sense not to reinvent the wheel and instead use the Superlight 2 as a base to work on. Which isn’t to say absolutely nothing was done to the core design. In particular, the materials and internals have been shaved down and altered to get the weight down.
The first Superstrike prototypes were 68 g, but through shaving off millimetres from parts of the shell—while maintaining structural rigidity—putting holes in the PCBs, and even swapping out screws from steel screws to titanium ones, it’s now at about 60 g, depending on the puck you fit into the bottom.
I’m certainly not complaining. I love the Superlight shape, and I’m happy I have my hands on the Superstrike now rather than in two years’ time.
