Based on the description on their site, the controller includes a built-in battery: "8.39 Wh Li-ion battery, 35+ hours of gameplay… "
That was disappointing for me. Specially condidering the Steam Frame’s controllers make use of AA batteries: “One replaceable AA battery per controller, 40hr battery life”
AA Batteries might not be as convenient to use, but being able to replace them is a great advantage. All my Xbox360 controllers still work fine, but none of my PS3’ Dualshock 3s.
The official docking station could be used to recharge (rechargables) AA batteries so the functionality could remain the same.
In a world where every household has rechargeable AA batteries, absolutely - but until and unless we successfully regulate away disposable batteries this solution (internal battery, easy to replace thanks to Right to Repair) will likely remain the most realistic, environmentally friendly one.
I think it is way more inconvenient when you pick up a dead controller and fiddle around with long cables then taking the minuit to swap out AAs. Recharchable AAs are so much more convenient and as you said ensure the controller’s longevity. I am still rocking the original steam controller.
I like how 8bitdo did it.
They gave you a rechargable battery pack that could optionally be replaced with AA batteries.
Best of both worlds.
that’s honestly the best move, even if it is more expensive it’s totally worth it.
Hell, these corporations could even make more money selling you additional packs you could swap if you didn’t want to use rechargeable AAs. It needs to be the standard, it would keep so many controllers out of landfills when their batteries go bad. Microsoft kind of does this with the standard Xbox controllers, but in typical Microsoft fashion they make your first rechargeable pack a separate purchase. I’d still way rather have that than the built in batteries though.
I have a headtorch like this. Keep it charged and most of the time everything is good. But that one time when I’m out skiing at night and shit goes wrong / I run out of charge it’s OK because I have a couple of AA’s in my bag as spares.
I disagree so much. I never want another AA device.
The idea of using disposable AA batteries seems nice… Until the day you go to open the compartment and find they’ve leaked and corroded the contacts (or worse) in the controller. Regular lithium are ok, they do last a good long while, but not exactly the most eco-conscious choice either. Rechargeable AA take forever to recharge. Like seriously, we are talking all night for the higher capacity ones.
I’m not sure what kind of black magic they employ, but I can charge three sets of 4 enloop pros in a day with the official charger, more if they weren’t completely dead. I’d been using an older charger before and it would take 10+ hours for a single set with that thing.
Same!
No, what we need are lithium batteries in the form factors and power outputs of traditional batteries.
Those exist, but they’re really expensive and not very good. Lithium needs circuitry to get down to the 1.5V of a nickel battery, but that circuitry takes up a good chunk of the available space in an AA.
Li-ion is fine but it should’ve been removable. The wireless Xbox controller was great how it let you swap the pack and keep going.
The new Steam controler reminds me of this!
😂😂😂
I was disappointed too. I have a handful of eneloops I use with my Steam Controllers, that last me a few months each charge.
For my partners Switch, we have 3 wireless controllers with rechargeable AAs as well. Meanwhile the Switch Pro Controller is dead as shit.
I get it, people want blocks of lithium around their house. But if you’re used to how good eneloops are this is a huge disappointment.
Ikea Laddas are made in the same factory I think, btw
That’s what I heard, but it’s a 2 hour trip for me to get to IKEA.
I absolutely would have preferred to use my existing rechargeable AA collection. I have them in a tray next to a charger on my desk, the charger shows the condition of the battery and swaps are fast, no need for disassembly and risking breaking plastic clips on the shell like happens every time I have opened a ps4 controller to replace not the battery but the charging board.
This is a strange argument to me. I just don’t get it.
So. You have the controller, advertised 35+h life on a single charge.
Unless you’re some sort of gaming machine, even a no-lifer sleeps.
We’ll do a crazy minimum, you sleep 4h a day. that’s 20h for gaming. You plug it in when you sleep, a time when no one will be using it and it can be “tethered”.
if it’s a straight line (it’s probably not) 20h/35h gets you down to 42% battery.
Even 2-3 years later, battery should be between 70-80% capacity. If the minimum after a full day of usage, from charged, is 42% from the 35h estimate, in your worn 70% capacity battery you’ve still got more than 15% spare between days, after accounting for years of degradation.
And then, after using it for 3 years, you might have to contemplate using the hated screwdriver and replacing the battery. And this is only if you’ve been no-life wrecking this controller for that long. It’ll be much better from “regular” gaming usage.
I think this just comes down to undisciplined people, who can’t manage to plug their stuff in routinely. I really can’t see any other logical reason to feel this way.
And even then, for the people who can’t do charging regularly, and don’t want to worry about being tethered to a charger/their machines, a $10 power bank from a gas station fixes this issue. I charge my controller from a phone charger, already next to me, whenever it needs it. No one says that you have to explicitly plug it in to whatever you’re playing on.
Personally, I think even giving the option of using disposable batteries is irresponsible on the designer’s end. Everyone talks about rechargeables, but there’s still going to be a percentage of people who just use disposables.
This does make more sense for the frame controllers, as when they die, there’s no good/safe way you can still use them, and have them plugged in. even with a power bank the cables are, at best, ungainly, and at worst, an active safety hazard, as you swing them around you while not being able to see them. I’ve tried using index controllers wired to a power bank I was carrying, and it wasn’t good.
This is a strange argument to me. I just don’t get it.
We have a universal, standardized, cheap power cell. To this day you can use the same type of power cell in any low power device since it was standardized, going all the way back to things made in 1947. We then made it reusable for hundreds or even thousands of uses a piece, and they still only cost a few bucks.
We then replaced it with millions of different single-purpose batteries that are only compatible with one thing each.
People keep trying to gaslight me into thinking this is somehow better.
but there’s still going to be a percentage of people who just use disposables.
Make them illegal, and I’m not kidding.
No one says that you have to explicitly plug it in to whatever you’re playing on.
You do if you want it to connect to the thing you’re playing on.
Unless you’re ok with a shitty Bluetooth connection. But I’m guessing few people comparatively are using that, at least as their primary use case.
You can’t tell me playing with a Bluetooth controller doesn’t actually hurt you. The constant latency is excruciating.
Then again, I use it for mostly real time- based games.
If you’re playing something like Balatro it probably doesn’t matter. But for almost everything else it sure does.
I use Bluetooth on TrackMania with no issues, and that’s a pretty fast game. Top 500 in the country for this week’s shorts as well so it’s clearly not my limiting factor.
Maybe for a twitch shooter it’d be an issue but that’s kbm anyway
For one, as far as I know that’s a single player game. Anyone with other players around means constant slight readjustments, and having everything you do held back (even if only a tenth of a second- I don’t know the actual number, that’s a ballpark guesstimate) really adds up.
For almost every game it doesn’t matter a whole lot. But when it does, it really matters. Bluetooth headphones pad the audio a smidge too, to the point of rather play without sound instead of late audio. It causes constant sending guessing, and if you’re using both your leaky playing in a game state that’s already past (although when online you always are anyway but cutting as much out as possible is miles better).
Trackmania requires the same precision as other racing games (I also used controller for Forza horizon and motorsport).
Bluetooth audio is a different issue, where my bt speaker adds like 400ms which… is not suitable for anything where accurate sound matters. Even my bt headset that is meant to be good is uhh… flawed. But noise is far more obvious than a controller being a tiny bit out.
My controller I can’t tell the difference.
A couple of things, first no, I don’t feel the latency of a Bluetooth controller. But also the steam controller will be able to pair to multiple devices, in one of the interviews one of the engineers said “The steam Machine has its own antena, but each controller comes with its own puck, we expect the common use case to be to plug that to your PC and use the steam controller in both devices”
I have to say, this situation has improved enough that I’ve had no problem using BT controller connection.
We’re talking about games like Elden Ring, Enter the Gungeon, MGS:Snake Eater Delta… and reaction time definitely matters for those games. One controller even came with a 2.4ghz 1000hz dongle, and it seems the new controller will probably have an option like that if the GabeGear has the hardware built into it: “Steam Controller’s wireless adapter is built right into Steam Machine for direct pairing.”
I realize that. But that’s just for that machine, but I’m speaking for arbitrary devices.
The protocol hasn’t gotten faster in the last few years that I know of.
I’ve used several with different devices, but most of my direct comparison experience is with an Xbox series X controller paired to the Deck via BT and by dongle, and it’s very noticeably more laggy with Bluetooth. I’ve only occasionally tried others, but every Bluetooth-connected controller I’ve ever used definitely has a noticeable delay.
But the controller comes with the high speed wireless puck. That puck works on anything. I don’t see the problem.
My point (the part I quoted in my original reply) was that you would need the puck plugged into the device you’re playing on, assuming you don’t want to deal with the delay.
So if that’s not a problem for you, then that doesn’t apply, but I assume most people will want the fast connection.
The overwhelming shortsightedness of thinking highly polluting AA or AAA batteries are a better choice over a LiON solution pack because one needs to unscrew a couple of screws to replace it is completely unreasonable. AA or AAA are a stupid ask for a controller, it’s unnecessary waste.
The overwhelming ignorance of rechargeable NiMH AA batteries is completely unreasonable. It’s so nice when my Xbox One controllers die to just simply swap batteries, and throw the existing batteries on the charger. That said, you’re not alone with that ignorance, those massive packs of single use AAs at Costco must sell to someone.
Heck, the Xbox One and newer controllers have replaceable battery packs that charge using the controller’s USB port. You don’t even have to swap them. All the advantages of a built-in battery, but when they crap out, it’s like $15 and 30 seconds of work to replace them.
Or they could have included them with the controller at-cost instead of making us pay $15 to $30 (the official battery packs are $30) PER CONTROLLER - many of us have more than one.
Considering the price difference between an Xbox Series controller ($40 on frequent sales) and a DualSense (rarely below $70), maybe they did.
Classy, tfw when people who don’t understand energy density and recharge cycle count, pitch in. Moar stuff, moar polution. Don’t know how to lower the bar further on the point.
edit: love the US defaultism, I guess I shouldn’t expect much…
We’re talking about a controller here, not a smartphone. Rechargeable AAs are more than capable enough for these kind of devices. Not everything needs to have the energy density that Li-ion batteries provide.
Huh? Rechargeable AA and AAA batteries and chargers are highly affordable and work great. I only have a few items where I don’t use them like smoke alarms. For everything else I use rechargable and absolutely love having devices with easily swappable batteries.
Yeah but most people don’t buy them. If you release a product that uses aa batteries most people are going to buy disposable ones and most of them will not dispose of them properly and just throw them in the trash. Some people using rechargeable AA batteries is nice but it’s better to just remove the option for disposable batteries and make it with a builtin rechargeable battery.
Also, if they made it so you could swap lithium packs that would be a better option than AA batteries.
Agree wholeheartedly.
Disagree. I bought the rechargeable replacement for all my xbox controllers. When those wore out, after years, I just replaced them with another rechargeable. Too Easy. I think you are making a mountain out of a mole hill.
Yes but you could easily replace the battery. Going by the description, it sounds like the battery is going to be internal. Now of course video game controllers have been historically easy to open, but it’s not going to be as easy as simply popping out the battery and popping in a new one like the XBOX.
I hear you. I agree requiring the whole back shell being removed to swap the battery is an oversight. Maybe they have a good reason for it, but doubt it. I’m not too worried about it considering, how often I’d have to swap in a new battery. I mean, even my used PS5 controller I bought 3 years ago, the battery works just as well as it did when I bought it. Still sucks compared to a PS4 controller, but that’s a whole other issue. If I’m removing the backshell once every 3-5 years, I’m really not bothered in the least. It’s just not an issue I care about.
ive preferred rechargeable batteries on all my controllers as they last quite a while.
only absolute shit one is the ps5 controller which last a couple hours and has atrocious standby time. i don’t know how it can be so bad.
Hard disagree, AA batteries are passe.
Steam did the right move here.
Vastly prefer my DualSense with built-in rechargeable that lasts multiple days unplugged over my Xbox Series pad that eats AAs. Just make the replacement simple and affordable, which it appears they will.
Vastly prefer my DualSense with built-in rechargeable that lasts multiple days unplugged over my Xbox Series pad that eats AAs. Just make the replacement simple and affordable, which it appears they will.
Meanwhile I’m over here bitching about how my DualSense dies after like 8 hours of gameplay while my Xbox Elite Series 2 lasts like 40.
(But both of those are built-in rechargeables.)
yeah, that’s my experience. But I just plug in a remote battery and keep going. 0-100% in seconds.
I just keep them on a stand that charges them. Works for any controller with USB-C, I just plug a little dongle into each controller and rest them in the cradle when not in use.
I have the exact opposite experience: the NiMH rechargeables in my Xbox Series controller lasted ages (before I replaced them with a play-and-charge pack that uses the controller’s port to charge and also lasts forever), while the DualSense dies in like 10 hours of play.
I honestly really like them. Get a charger and some good batteries and you can go from 0 to 100% charge in a few seconds and the batteries will cost basically nothing in the long run.
Nasty waste though
Disposable sure, but it sounds like they’re describing using rechargeable ones?
They might be, but people using those are pretty uncommon I think. By designing it with a rechargeable battery they’re preventing the use of millions of single use batteries
if you wanted to cut down on disposable battery waste it would make much more sense to me to make them more expensive than rechargeable batteries
There are rechargeable lithium batteries in the form of AAs that would reduce the waste, they might not last quite as long though
Yeah, I have some, but I’m definitely in the minority on that. By designing it with a rechargeable battery, they’re preventing the use of millions of single use batteries
Yeah I love having non-user-replaceable batteries in my electronics devices to give them an inbuilt death timer.
Very zeitgeist.
Important to note that the controller is designed to be serviceable and Valve is partnering with a company to provide replacement parts.
It sounds like it’ll be as hard to replace the battery as old smart phones were, which makes it very customer friendly.
Meh. As long as the lithium battery is as easy to replace as it was to perform other Steam Controller repairs, it shouldn’t be a big deal.
Think about how many AA batteries will end up in a landfill over the lifetime of the controller VS the typical lifetime of the lithium battery. The AA batteries lose every time.
Think of it like this: You can replace the battery once every two years (if the controller lasts that long in your sweaty ass hands 🤣) or you can replace the batteries every month… 24 times, adding 48-96 batteries to the landfill in that time.
Why wouldn’t you get a pack of rechargeable AAs and a charger? $30-40 investment and you never need to buy batteries again, you don’t generate waste, and can go from 0-100% power in seconds.
OP might but a majority of people won’t, thus contributing to the landfill issue compared to if the controller just came with a rechargeable battery.
And a fair number of people will just throw the controller away when the battery wears out instead of replacing the battery like they would if it had AAs. If you’re talking about the lowest common denominator, there’s going to be a lot of waste either way.
Plus, you can definitely swap out AAs in five years (or ten, or fifty). Whatever Li-Ion cell they use may or may not be easily available.
Well the rechargeable AAs will wear out just like an internal battery, but there’s more of them and they’re individually packaged. It’s a bit more waste and a bit more money, even if it’s not a big difference.
Personally I think the big difference is in usability - I’d rather just leave the controller on a charger when not in use and never have to worry about swapping cells in and out. (I think battery degradation is overblown - it should last way more than 2 years, especially if you aren’t gaming for 20 hours straight)
0-100% instantly isn‘t really needed with the canvenient charging dock. AA accus suck most of the time anyways. Now if it used an 18650 or better a 21700, that would have been cool. But these are heavy and a replacable inbuilt battery is better for space management
All my Xbox360 controllers still work fine, but none of my PS3’ Dualshock 3s.
An important thing to note is that the Steam Controller will be user-serviceable and they want to continue their partnership with ifixit
This is a very good point. If it’s as easy to replace as AA and it lasts longer, it’s just better all around.
A few problems: it will still use rare earth metals, and those are a hot political topic right now with China restricting them
The fact that AAs are eternal. Who knows if this specific battery will still be available in 10 years.
Also, the small problem of you can’t just buy a new one at Walmart. It is small, but out of sight, out of mind, and out of the public consciousness.
Problems with Li-ion itself, I suppose. What we really need is a standardized small rectangle form factor since Li-ion is just more efficient in that shape.
Why is that important
Because it means you can probably swap your battery with a single screw or two.
I’m not doing that on a regular basis. I can swap the battery in my Xbox controller without any screws.
E: Wow, I really love being downvoted for my opinion. Super cool shit, guys.
I used my launch day PS4 controller up until last year without ever having to unlatch a cover or unscrew a screw. After more than a decade of use, I finally had to open the case and replace the USB port with a new board I bought for $2 by unscrewing and unplugging the old one and swapping it out with the new one.
Why are you acting like having to replace the battery is this super inconvenient thing that you’ll have to do frequently when the odds of having to do so more than once every 5-10 years is unlikely with proper care? I’d consider having to replace AA batteries more of a hassle than that. Especially if they go bad and leak all over the contacts or something. Crystalized battery acid is a pain in the ass to clean out.
Why are you acting like having to replace the battery is this super inconvenient thing that you’ll have to do frequently
…I don’t know how to be more clear about this. I don’t want to be tethered to a cable. The only other way to charge it is by removing it. I didn’t come up with this ridiculous suggestion. My suggestion was using a battery door, like my current Steam Controller has.
Especially if they go bad and leak all over the contacts or something. Crystalized battery acid is a pain in the ass to clean out.
I don’t use lead acid battery.
People think this is a crazy complaint because the controller has an estimated battery life of something like 30 hours and a wireless charger included. So as long as you remember to put it on the dock when you put the controller down once every couple of days, you shouldn’t have to worry about your battery’s charge.
I agree that being able to hot swap the battery would be nice, but this is closer to having to remember to charge your phone and being able to change the battery in a phone at all is a crazy concept in this day and age.
Not downvoting you, but you’re not being reasonable. Serviceable means actually serviceable. It might be “better” to use AA batteries but if they can’t, the next best thing would be that it can be serviced by the actual end consumer. And yeah if you’re planning on fixing your own things you may need to own a screwdriver.
I don’t think you understand. I’m not talking about service. No one is talking about normal use. We’re talking about swappable batteries. Remember like we had in phones back in the day? I swap the batteries on my current controller every few days. It’s not unreasonable to expect modern controllers to have the same functionality they had 20 years ago…
Except that you don’t have to swap the batteries on a built-in rechargeable battery every few days. You plug it in when you aren’t using it, and swap the batteries every few years when they stop holding a charge. I guarantee you the time spent swapping AAs every few days will far outweigh the time you spend using a screw driver to replace this battery at the frequency it requires.
I guarantee you the time spent swapping AAs every few days will far outweigh the time you spend using a screw driver to replace this battery at the frequency it requires.
Yeah, but the AAs will still be around in 10 years. Until we standardize internal power cells and legally mandate companies use them, I don’t really care how user-serviceable it is, by the time it actually needs a swap most companies are done selling it anyways and just want you to buy the next thing instead. At best you can get a shady third-party knockoff. Valve is slightly better in this regard, but I don’t expect them to still sell batteries 10-15 years from now.
I think most people just use “user-serviceable” as a cope and never actually intend to service it, it just makes them feel better to think they can. They just throw it away and get a shiny new thing when it becomes slightly inconvenient.
You plug it in when you aren’t using it
I would leave a device on charge permanently. That would use excess electricity.
You plug it in when you aren’t using it
And what happens when the controller dies? That requires:
- Having a cable nearby
- Being tethered to said cable for an hour.
I don’t have a charging station in my couch.
I guarantee you the time spent swapping AAs every few days will far outweigh the time you spend using a screw driver to replace this battery at the frequency it requires.
I guarantee you it doesn’t. Not to mention those screws would become stripped in a matter of weeks.
I, for one, still don’t understand why you want to swap batteries. I’m assuming you’re talking about rechargable AA batteries, and not the environmental disaster that are single use batteries. How’s taking the batteries out, going to the charging station, swapping the batteries, returning and installing them back into the controller less convenient that just dropping the controller onto the recharging puck when it’s not in use?
So you have some special conditions where you can’t recharge the controller between sessions?
I, for one, still don’t understand why to you want to swap batteries
Because I don’t want to be tethered to a cable.
How’s taking the batteries out, going to the charging station, swapping the batteries, returning and installing them back into the controller less convenient that just dropping the controller onto the recharging puck when it’s not in use?
Because then I have to be constantly concerned about the state of the battery at any time. I have enough rechargeable devices to be worried about.
So you’d rather swap batteries than put the controller on a charger - which they showed to be crazy easy to do? You’re still not making much sense.
LOL I don’t know how to be more clear about this. Yes, I would absolutely rather spend 10 seconds popping the battery door off and swapping out the batteries than spend an hour tethered to a cable, and MUCH rather than spending 10 minutes walking around to find a screwdriver to do it…
You’re not making much sense. Why wouldn’t I want that?
Lazy fuck.
I mean, there are two reasons that you want to swap batteries.
-
So that the device doesn’t die. This is what OP is worried about. This probably takes years and years of use, though (unless you leave the thing discharged for a long time).
-
So that you can use the controller wirelessly (say, in a living room, so people don’t trip over a cord) and also charge its batteries. For most people, I’d think that this isn’t a huge problem — I mean, my controllers with lithium batteries last way longer than I would stay awake on a full charge, and next time I use them, they’re charged. I normally run my controllers wired for better latency and not having to care about charge, but there are people who do have a legit need for wireless. However, I can think of some exotic cases where it would be necessary. Think of, say, a rec room on a ship or something with shifts of people who are constantly using the thing, where there’s no time to recharge (though then, I think you could just get a second controller or something, swap out the one charging for the one in use). The XBox controller did the AA battery thing, and I have a Logitech F710 that does this. Makes a controller heavier than lithium batteries do, though, produces a shorter battery life relative to the weight, and places some constraints on the layout of the controller (since you need to have the volume to stick the batteries in.
For #1, yeah, the idea of taking off a screw after 10 years or something being prohibitive is pretty absurd.
But if someone is just wanting to do the “simultaneous charge and use” thing, #2, then the screw is an issue, because you’d need to do that every, say, two days or so.
#2 is not an issue with a controller advertised to have 35h of battery life. Which you should charge when not in use. Unless the commenter I replied to games for 35h+ continuous hours, in which case none of what they said applies to any member of functioning society.
-
Wow, that was super unnecessary…
It’s based on the bullshit you’ve been spewing about AA. And that last statement is just the cherry on top.
You’re not in this for longevity of device usage, you’re in this for convenience. Gtfo.
You’re not in this for longevity of device usage, you’re in this for convenience
Expecting my devices to be convenient? Oh, the horror…
I’d rather have screws than those clip-in covers that break or having to pry the device open like some brands of devices, ie most of the tech industry. Somewhere in the middle. Quickly being able to replace a battery easily a plus don’t get me wrong, but I don’t want it getting torn up in the process one either extreme. I am ok with it may take several minutes, but not with “can I buff this out” or “where is the tape/glue”.
I’d rather have screws than those clip-in covers that break
How about clip in covers that don’t break? I’ve been using my XBone controller for like 7 years, swapping batteries out every week or so, and it still works fine. Running in and out screws definitely will not be nearly as durable, especially if they’re anything like the Steam Deck’s screws.
