Zowie's motto has always been "strive for perfection," and to this day, the people at VAXEE continue to live by this saying. While the XE Wireless was an excellent release already, it left room for improvement in some areas. This improvement manifests itself in the NP-01S Wireless, resulting in a mouse even better than the XE Wireless.

Though not really heavy, at 78 g, the XE Wireless did weigh 10 g more than the wired XE, which is a noticeable increase. With the NP-01S Wireless, on the other hand, VAXEE has managed to keep the weight unchanged compared to the wired NP-01S, at no more than 68 g. Granted, the NP-01S Wireless is a bit smaller than the XE Wireless, but it handles better as a result all the same. Despite the lower weight, the NP-01S Wireless improves on the XE Wireless in terms of build quality even, as there is neither creaking nor flexing on my sample, actuating the side buttons by pressing below them is completely impossible, and only a small rattle when shaking the mouse remains. No changes have been made in regard to the feet, which are still white-dyed PTFE and glide well, and even their shape and size have been retained, allowing one to use replacement feet made for the wired NP-01S just fine.

Performance has already been great on the XE Wireless, and this continues to be the case on the NP-01S Wireless. The biggest change relates to the way sensor run modes are handled. Originally, one could switch between standard and a so-called high-speed mode on the XE Wireless, along with an additional firmware solely enabling a so-called competitive mode. Having to go back and forth between different firmwares, which required re-pairing the mouse each time as well, obviously wasn't the most convenient way of handling things, which is why the most recent firmware has cleaned this up tremendously. High-speed mode has been deemed redundant and done away with entirely, leaving only the standard and competitive modes, switching between which is possible at the press of a button. Much like on previous VAXEE releases, mouse configuration is done entirely on-device through various buttons and button combinations, which is as simple as it is convenient. By default, the NP-01S Wireless is now set to competitive mode with MotionSync disabled, which is also the most responsive configuration in terms of motion delay, as parity with the wired NP-01S is achieved. Switching to standard mode affects motion delay only marginally, but also results in higher SPI timing jitter. Said timing jitter is taken care of entirely by MotionSync, albeit at the cost of a motion delay penalty equal to half of the set interval; i.e., 0.5 ms at 1000 Hz. Competitive mode sets the sensor run mode to what PixArt calls "corded mode," effectively resulting in the sensor performing as if it were running wired. Hence, competitive mode without MotionSync is the best choice from a latency standpoint, albeit not unequivocally so, since battery life in turn is almost halved, from 100 to 55 hours. Still, having the choice is most welcome, and one could run the mouse in standard mouse for casual gaming, but switch to competitive mode for, well, competitive gaming.

Click latency is unaffected by the choice between standard and competitive mode, and only differs depending on debounce time. When using the lowest debounce time setting of 2 ms, click latency sits at 3.3 ms in wireless operation. Compared to the XE Wireless, wired click latency is slightly higher but more consistent now, and virtually identical to wireless. This is useful especially when switching to wired for charging in the middle of play as consistency is retained. Speaking of, the charging cable is unchanged and still flexible enough to allow playing while charging without feeling overly restricted, and charging itself is quite speedy, which helps as well. Another novelty introduced with the latest firmware is the implementation of lift-off detection. When lifted, the debounce time is increased to prevent unintended clicks ("slam-clicking") upon resetting the mouse even when using the lowest debounce time. This solution has been used by the likes for Logitech and Razer for years, and as a result, slam-clicking has been eliminated entirely, which wasn't the case on the XE Wireless with its original firmware. Another improvement is CPI deviation, which likewise has been reduced to zero. The only flaw remaining is polling stability, since polling rates below 1000 Hz still exhibit periodic off-period polls. If VAXEE can get around to addressing 500 Hz at least, and possibly allow setting debounce time to 0 ms for even lower click latency, perfection in terms of performance would finally be achieved.

VAXEE mice have always scored with their buttons, and the NP-01S Wireless is no exception in this regard. Whereas the XE Wireless used Huano switches with a blue plunger for the main buttons, the NP-01S Wireless opts for Huano switches with a pink plunger instead. In practice, the difference is marginal, though I feel that the buttons on the latter may be slightly stiffer. The button design is just as excellent as on the XE Wireless, as lateral play is simply nonexistent. For the side buttons, low-profile switches likewise from Huano are used, which once again impress with their low pre and post-travel, accompanied by even actuation. The scroll wheel encoder yet again utilizes a mechanical encoder from ALPS, which is quite noisy when scrolling, but provides very nice tactility, allowing for pleasantly controlled scrolling.

Overall, the NP-01S Wireless is simply a standout mouse. Objective considerations aside, its shape, which is non-symmetrical (right-handed ergonomic), yet incorporates elements typically native to symmetrical designs in a seamless and organic fashion, is wholly unique to this day, setting the NP-01S Wireless apart from the generic releases churned out by other manufacturers. Hence, while no doubt pricey at $119.99, its uniqueness along with among the best performance of any 1000 Hz wireless to date serve to making an argument for the NP-01S Wireless quite easy. As such, the NP-01S Wireless earns our Editor's Choice.