What does "it feels cheap" actually mean? Some people keep saying this, but I suspect they are expressing their own personal pejorative opinions of materials, and not actually whether those materials are fit for purpose and doing the job intended.
It is the same with phones. Glass or Machines Aluminium are supposedly "premium" despite that they easily scratch and break/bend/shatter, are heavy, make it difficult to implement core features like antennas, etc etc. I think "premium" just means "expensive", as in, "look at my conspicuous display of wealth, I can afford to spend money on materials for my phone which are entirely unsuitable when considered in any objective way". Give me some robust plastic any day.
This is how it is with the steam controller. Valve made the "mistake" of constructing a controller that is light and strong, from plastic. A handheld device being light is a GOOD thing. But everybody complains of it being "cheap" - perhaps they should have made it from machined aluminium or gorilla glass or something absurd like that.
I haven't used the Steam controller, but when someone talks about a controller feeling cheap, I assume that they're referring to "creaking" under stress, lack of rubber stops on the triggers (i.e., when you press it all the way down, it feels like the trigger is bottoming out on plastic), sounds during vibration, etc...
That said, I have no clue whether the Steam controller exhibits some of these properties or not.
I think it feels cheap because it feels like rubber and it doesn't have any weight. It feels like a toy when I hold it in my massive hands. My Xbox controllers feel more "real".
I would normally be totally okay with a controller "feeling cheap", and think of it as a positive (especially since it means the price isn't inflated for no good reason), it's just with the mixture of constant-growing-pains that makes me snap out of disbelief and say "why am I using this controller?" to myself a lot.
I in no way think Valve made a mistake making this controller, as I stated I use it a lot, I just think I personally would be more inclined to stick through the growing pains if I had paid more money and was more invested and knew that when I put in the time to configure it perfectly for a game it'd be a "premium" experience all around.
When it comes to a controller, or anything, that I myself just use inside my own apartment and no one else sees ever, I'm not talking about it feeling cheap as a way of not letting me demonstrate my wealth and purchasing power to the world.
It is the same with phones. Glass or Machines Aluminium are supposedly "premium" despite that they easily scratch and break/bend/shatter, are heavy, make it difficult to implement core features like antennas, etc etc. I think "premium" just means "expensive", as in, "look at my conspicuous display of wealth, I can afford to spend money on materials for my phone which are entirely unsuitable when considered in any objective way". Give me some robust plastic any day.
This is how it is with the steam controller. Valve made the "mistake" of constructing a controller that is light and strong, from plastic. A handheld device being light is a GOOD thing. But everybody complains of it being "cheap" - perhaps they should have made it from machined aluminium or gorilla glass or something absurd like that.