Sleek, with minimal details, and controls that are as baffling as the AppleTV Remote yet equally appealing. This may be Designer Hannes Geipel’s version of a Microsoft Surface Gaming Controller, but it definitely has a very strong Apple-esque vibe to it.

The Surface Gaming Controller concept by Hannes Geipel boasts of a brilliantly simple form. With absolutely no frills, textures, accents, or color-separation, the Surface Gaming Controller has a clean look to it that is a major contrast to Microsoft’s own Xbox controller. The Surface Gaming Controller comes with a soft, satin finish, and sports two rather slick looking joypads with a metallic ring around them. The joypads lie perfectly in reach of your thumb, while two large X signs sit where you’d expect the D-pad and the XYAB buttons.

However, instead of the buttons, the controller opts for flaps, using the X-shaped cutouts to create triangular plastic flaps that bend inward when pressed. The flaps give a natural spring-like action, providing just the right amount of resistance as you press it… although whether this detail is better than your average button from a tactile standpoint is something that’s yet to be determined. On the aesthetic front, the X-shaped cutouts definitely set the controller apart visually! There are even a pair of triggers on the upper corners of the controller, although they sit flush against the surface and recess inwards when pressed.

All the details on the Surface Gaming Controller focus more on form than on function, resulting in a device that definitely looks good. I’d arguably compare this to the AppleTV Remote, which most consumers will agree is more visually pleasing than functionally useful. Then again, the Surface Game Controller is just a concept. It echoes the clean, no-nonsense design of Microsoft’s Surface Book and Surface Pro, comes with minimal backlighting for night-time gaming, and if you look carefully, you’ll even spot the Microsoft logo on the back!

Designer: Hannes Geipel