Ever since the XM1 has released in mid-2019, Endgame Gear has continuously worked and improved on that original release. The XM1r marks the culmination of that process and may be considered the definitive iteration for some time to come. The XM1r not only received a visual overhaul, with translucent shells and variants in white, but also several improvements under the hood: PixArt's flagship sensor for both wired and wireless applications, the PAW3370, instead of the trusty old PMW3389, Kailh GM 8.0 main button switches, a more durable yet still highly flexible cable, and the ability to either use four small or two larger mouse feet.

In practice, however, not much changed. The original XM1 already had flawless sensor performance, and the same is now true for the XM1r. The 3370 is superior to the 3389 only for wireless applications, whereas for wired use, the differences are minuscule to where it becomes difficult to measure them, let alone notice in-game. By default, and much like on the XM1, there is no smoothing across the entire CPI range, ensuring the lowest possible motion delay no matter which CPI step is chosen. Compared to the original XM1, the software now allows enabling angle snapping, in addition to ripple control and lift-off distance, options that already were present on the XM1. Speaking of which, even several months after the XM1r hit the shelves, the software has yet to leave the beta stage. Very much true to that description, I encountered several bugs during testing, though none of them affect functionality to a significant degree. As of now, the software barely offers any new functions over the old software, yet uses significantly more resources. Since the software is merely meant for setting everything up according to preference once and not for continuous use, I'm inclined to let that slide, however.

The Kailh GM 8.0 switches provide a good middle ground between the switches of the original XM1 and the XM1 RGB. Not as heavy, but almost as tactile as the GM 4.0 of the latter, the buttons also lack the slight hollowness the XM1 had. Coupled with the highly tactile scroll wheel and side buttons, the XM1r has my favorite buttons out of all XM1 iterations so far. Though I've heard reports about double-clicking and related issues (slam-clicking, inconsistent scrolling), I didn't encounter any of these using the latest firmware. And owing to Endgame Gear's patented analog switch technology, click latency is as low as ever. The solid yet lightweight (71 g) build, highly flexible cable, and excellent mouse feet round things off, and the inclusion of an additional set of larger feet is commendable as well.

At this point, the XM1 has been around for a while, and already received several awards here on TechPowerUp. To those generally interested in the XM1, I'd recommend getting the XM1r as it's simply the most refined and accomplished out of all iterations thus far. That said, there's no shortage of worthwhile alternatives. The ROCCAT Burst Pro comes with similarly great performance, low weight, and button and build quality on top of optical main button switches, for $59.99. For $79.99, the Razer Viper 8K brings 8000 Hz polling, optical main button switches, the same low weight, but a worse cable to the table. The HyperX Pulsefire Haste has great performance, very low weight, very good build and button quality, and an incredibly flexible cable, but suffers from ludicrous CPI deviation, for $49.99. Finally, the Xtrfy M42 is another no-software option, with great performance, an interchangeable back cover, low weight, but somewhat stiff cable, for $59.00. All in all, Endgame Gear earns another Editor's Choice for the XM1r.