If like many console gamers you are looking for an easy way to plug a mouse and keyboard into your console then you have found the answer. In this Xim Apex review I am going to go over the set up and answer some of the common questions.
Controllers are great for playing many games but for those who want to be highly competitive and perform at their best they just don’t cut it.
If you watch any competitive FPS eSport you won’t find a single controller in sight. But of course, most people don’t play in tournaments and just want to be as competitive as possible to ensure they can play at the top of their game.
If you are interested in the Xim Apex then you may have found your answer. The Xim Apex provides an excellent solution for gamers looking to use their favourite pc peripherals on their console.
Table of Contents
Short Answer

- Easy Setup
- Huge advantage over controller players
- Opens up gaming mice/keyboard market to choose from
- Community is helpful with settings and customisation
- Certain games with poor free look mechanics are more difficult to use with mouse & keyboard.
What Is The Xim Apex?
Before getting into the review let us talk about the Xim Apex overall, what does it do? The Xim Apex and its previous models are what’s known as a Console Input Adapter (or CIA for short.) A CIA like the Xim Apex gets around the restrictive designs of today’s modern consoles by tricking a console into thinking your mouse and keyboard are actually a game controller.
The Xim Apex does this via specially designed USB stick that uses smart translation technology to read each FPS’s specific aiming mechanics. It then streams that information through its app and hub to grant you the smooth and flexible controls of a mouse and keyboard on your console. You could of course also plug in any number of other input devices like tablets, smartphones, joysticks, and other gamepads.
In short, it liberates you from your clunky console controller prison and allows you to personalize and fine-tune the way you play your games.
However, achieving your dream of gunning circles around hordes of preteen mic-screaming opponents first requires that you endure a bit of setting up.
How To Set Up The Xim Apex Step by Step
In order to enjoy the benefits of the Xim Apex, you first have to follow a few steps to properly connect and configure it to your console. After all, the Xim Apex is a workaround for a device that was designed to only ever function using a game controller.
- To start you should have your Xim Apex USB stick and accompanying USB hub at the ready. Along with this, your console, accompanying console controller as well as your new input devices, in this case, the mouse and keyboard and USB cables should also be at the ready.
- Then, use the app store to download the Xim Apex Manager app which you will need later.
- You should have your console on and your console controller connected but turned off.
- Now take your Xim Apex USB hub and being plugging your devices. USB hub should have 3 slots. The first most right slot is where you plug in your mouse, the second slot is for your keyboard and the third is for your console controller; be sure to use a data streaming USB cable to connect your console controller, not simply a charging USB cable.
- You can now turn on your Console Controller and now that all three devices are plugged into the hub you can plug the USB hub into your Xim Apex USB stick and plug that into your console.
- At this point, the Xim Apex LED display will cycle through its various colours and when it has successfully connected to your console will flash green three times.
- Now that the hardware has been plugged in correctly you can open the Xim Apex Manager App. It will first need to download the game collection update and once that is done it will sync with your Xim Apex. You can click the central button on the Xim Apex USB stick to sync it with the manager app manually.
- After this, the app will display a list of games and consoles you can choose from, select the specific title you want to play and the console you are playing on. Once the selections are made the Xim Apex will flash white to show it is communicating with the app and then flash yellow once to confirm that it has saved the new configuration.
- Now make sure that your in-game sensitivity settings are at their maximum value. Depending on the game you are playing the manager might ask you to change a few other settings as well.
- Lastly, the next screen in the app will let you set up a key configuration for your mouse and keyboard. Fiddle around with that until you are satisfied and voilà, all done, you are now that much closer to console gaming godhood.
Xim Apex Settings For Fortnite

The Xim Apex is a huge improvement when it comes to Fortnite. You probably already know how difficult it is to build using a controller instead of a mouse and keyboard. PC players can build much smoother and quicker especially when it comes to those 90’s.
I have put together some basic settings you can use below to get you started. From there I suggest you test what works for you.
First, be sure that your in-game sensitivity settings are maxed out so that your mouse has the best feel and movement flexibility. The settings you should change are as follows:
- Button Layout should be set to default
- Controller Sensitivity X: 10
- Controller Sensitivity Y: 10
- Gamepad ADS Sensitivity: 1.0
- Gamepad Scope Sensitivity: Users Choice
The rest of the configurations are done in the Xim Apex Manager App. Here you can set up your buttons configuration and set the hip fire and aim down sights (ADS) sensitivity to your preference.
- As a standard value, you can choose to set your Hip Sensitivity to 15 and ADS Sensitivity to 10.
- Another tip I can give is to set your synchronization mode to default in the advanced settings if you want slight aim assistance or off if you want complete control over your aiming while in hip firing mode.
- If you experience mouse stuttering while you play you can also open the advanced menu for both the Hip and ADS settings and set your smoothing value anywhere from 3 to 7, find that sweet spot that works for you if you have this problem.
- You can also add a specific color to your configuration that the Xim Apex will flash in to indicate that you are using that configuration.
That pretty much covers everything you will need for your Fortnite Xim Apex experience, we recommend you check out the xim apex community forums too as there are lots of helpful guides there from players with their own custom configuration.
Xim Apex Settings For Apex Legends

With the growing popularity of Apex Legends I thought it would be best to include a section here for those of you looking for a Apex Legends set up. Apex legends is a complex game with extensive menus and option wheels. After researching the best way to setup the Xim Apex for myself I found an extensive guide online in the community forums. Head on over to https://community.xim.tech/index.php?topic=75392.0.
The user “alanmcgregor” in the above post has put together a solid guide on how to do a proper Apex Legends button configuration.
Is The Xim Apex Cheating Or Bannable

Although it gives you a significant advantage in FPS games against players with console controllers the Xim Apex is not considered cheating.
The Xim Apex is simply another way to play the game and having multiple ways to play a game is considered a positive for the community.
There is no reason for you to be banned since all you are doing is playing the game with a different peripheral.
It’s also worth mentioning that even if you were to enter a competition the tournament would usually be at an event location and that means the event administration will have provided equipment for players to use ensuring everyone is on a level playing field.
There are also the cases where certain games were hosted in offline tournaments that could only be played on console and in those cases practically everyone was using a CIA including the Xim series.
The only situation in which the Xim Apex might be considered for a ban is in online tournaments where teams group up and play their matches online and report them on a community site. In such cases, the site might privately have rules against alternate input devices.
There are of course those among us that demand a pure and untampered competition and would see the Xim Apex as something akin to foul play. It’s best to simply check with the judges just to be sure. In general, the Xim apex is not a bannable offence and isn’t considered cheating but is rather seen as a necessary step to keep up with the competition.
Xim Apex Vs Xim4
You may also be considering some of the other options available to you such as the Xim4. What is the different between the Xim Apex and the Xim4?
Overall the Xim Apex is the next generation of CIAs it packs more functions and configurations while being smaller and cheaper to buy, it comes in multiple languages and is overall just the next logical step in CIA devices. For a quick comparison check the specs list below.
|
| Xim Apex |
| Xim 4 |
Response (latency) Modes |
| 1, 2, 4, or 8ms |
| 8ms |
Supported Consoles |
| X1, PS4, X360, PS3 |
| X1, PS4, X360, PS3 |
Manager Platforms |
| Android, iOS, PC (wired-only) |
| Android, iOS, PC |
Manager Bluetooth protocol |
| Bluetooth LE |
| Bluetooth Classic |
Cross console controller support |
| Wireless, Wired |
| Wired |
Wired USB Audio |
| X1, PS4 (DS4 slim), X360 |
| X1, X360 |
Joystick Support |
| Full support, custom axis bindable |
| Limited support, fixed axis bindings |
Config Storage |
| 24 |
| 24 |
Manager Config editing |
| Novice and Expert modes |
| Expert only |
Ballistic Curve Resolution |
| 51 by 10000 steps |
| 21 by 200 steps |
Manager Localization |
| EN, DE, ES, FR, JA, KO, ZH |
| English only |
Form Factor |
| Dongle + external hub |
| All-in-one |
Price |
| $99.99 (USD) |
| $124.99 (USD) |
I would recommend you go with the Xim Apex as it is much better value for money and is arguably more supported through community forums and the like. This makes it easier to find trusted configurations. It is also easier to set up and in general configuring the Xim Apex is easier than the Xim 4.
Xim Apex Vs CronusMax
So you’ve learned a few things about the Xim Apex but how does it fare against another CIA like the CronusMax? To start, the Cronusmax is a simplified CIA that merely allows your console controller to be used over multiple console brands beyond this it is said to be useful for running mods but doesn’t offer much more than this.
Since its uses are limited and simplified to the essentials the Cronusmax is also quite easy to set up. It also saves quite a bit of money since having multiple consoles means buying multiple controllers and replacing them from time to time. Buying a Cronusmax for a price of 100 bucks is an easy money saver going into the future.
But for the same price, you could also buy a Xim Apex, get the same benefits the CronusMax offers except you can use any input device you would like on your console and finally customize your button inputs and create a library of configurations to be used at any time.
The only drawback to the Xim Apex is that it requires a bit more setup to function but if you pride yourself on your tech savvy knowhow this really shouldn’t be an issue.
Most players today tend towards the Xim Apex and a lot of previous CronuxMax users have actually switched over the Xim Apex because of its better configurations manager, easier setup and thriving community.
Final Thoughts - Is The Xim Apex Worth It?
If you crave a smoother console FPS experience and long to bring that good old mouse and keyboard combo to your ranked matches or just want to freshen up your controller experience, then I really recommend you pick up a Xim Apex.
Being able to use a mouse over a controller is a drastic improvement and provides you with so much more opportunities for customising your gaming setup. Instead of being restricted to one controller you have all the gaming mice on the market available to you and the advantages that come with using a keyboard too.
Adaptive, community focused and packed to the brim with extra functions and settings the Xim Apex is a beast worth taming and solves that age-old issue of restrictive console gaming once and for all.
Last Price Update on 2025-01-28 / Data taken from the Amazon Product API
1 thought on “Xim Apex Review | A Gateway to Enhanced Console Gaming”
Why don’t the people who want to play on keyboard and mouse not just play the pc version of the game instead. it might be fun for them using it on a ps4 but think of the players who use controllers as they don’t like keyboard and mouse having to be killed because they have no recoil from there guns because of there setup but unfair if I was to use keyboard and mouse I would buy the pc version of the game and play it on there not on a controller based console.
It’s does get annoying when your on a run of high kill games to come across some one you know who uses keyboard and mouse and with a few shots and your dead. ruins I for the average players .
They should create a lobby designed for people with using XIM Apex or cronusMax so they fight each other rather than infesting normal lobbys.
C