This is a piss-poor excuse for a controller. The Nintendo Switch 2 Pro Controller makes promises it can’t keep. It’s Nintendo, so I expect namebrand durabili...
I don’t get why Sony and Nintendo refuse to follow Xbox and just have a battery door you can throw AAs or a battery pack into. It is a far better design. Still, props to Nintendo for being the only one of the big three to have modular sticks on all their regular controllers (Sony and Microsoft have soldered sticks except on their high end controllers). Disassembly seems a bit tedious on this controller but not a total nightmare. However, all of them need to have modular USB ports, as it’s a common failure point that needs to be user serviceable. I do wonder how Nintendo are going to handle the new EU repairability laws when they release Switch 2 revisions.
I’ve used both Xbox One controller (powered by AA rechargeable batteries), and Xbox Elite Series 2 (built in rechargeable battery). The battery life on the first one was really poor compared to the Elite 2. Considering the fact I did not have to charge the Elite often, I’d guess the battery might outlive the rest of the controller, and if not you could still probably find a replacement on AliExpress. Convenience of a battery that you have to charge less often than once a week is really much higher than using AA batteries.
What sort of AAs were you using? I used to get around at least a month or two on a set of fully charged standard Eneloop AAs. Then again, I didn’t use my Xbox too intensely, maybe you had a different experience. It would make sense for the Elite to have longer battery life simply because of better battery chemistry (lithium ion on the integrated pack compared to AAs with nickel metal hydride).
I believe I had Eneloop Pro’s (2500mAh?) in there and while the Elite would last 40h the Xbox One worked for 20-30h at most. When Elite’s LED turned orange it still had enough juice for a few hours, so I could complete my gaming session easily, can’t say that about the other one which was really annoying
I don’t get why Sony and Nintendo refuse to follow Xbox and just have a battery door you can throw AAs or a battery pack into. It is a far better design
because when the battery takes a shit in a couple years from all the charge/discharge cycles… You’ll have to buy a whole new 60-90 dollar controller, rather than a cheap set of eneloops.
I’ve been arguing this point about the batteries for ages. I bought a rechargeable set from Costco for like $12. Six AA batteries on rotation in my Xbox controllers means I can game wirelessly in perpetuity. I’ve been using those same batteries for over 5 years now and only recently felt it could be time for some new ones.
If you have one nearby, get your new rechargeables from IKEA. The LADDA 2450s are far cheaper rebrands of the usually decently expensive Panasonic Eneloop Pro, and they last such a long time compared to most rechargeables.
I’ve seen videos where people have replaced the sticks on the base sony controllers with hall effect sticks. They also have hall effect on the more expensive ones, of course.
You can put hall effects on the base DualSense, but it requires a lot of soldering work, putting it beyond most people’s reach compared to a simple connector, and most people would get another controller. Hall effect on the Edge is very easy though, since those sticks are modular.
I don’t get why Sony and Nintendo refuse to follow Xbox and just have a battery door you can throw AAs or a battery pack into. It is a far better design. Still, props to Nintendo for being the only one of the big three to have modular sticks on all their regular controllers (Sony and Microsoft have soldered sticks except on their high end controllers). Disassembly seems a bit tedious on this controller but not a total nightmare. However, all of them need to have modular USB ports, as it’s a common failure point that needs to be user serviceable. I do wonder how Nintendo are going to handle the new EU repairability laws when they release Switch 2 revisions.
I’ve used both Xbox One controller (powered by AA rechargeable batteries), and Xbox Elite Series 2 (built in rechargeable battery). The battery life on the first one was really poor compared to the Elite 2. Considering the fact I did not have to charge the Elite often, I’d guess the battery might outlive the rest of the controller, and if not you could still probably find a replacement on AliExpress. Convenience of a battery that you have to charge less often than once a week is really much higher than using AA batteries.
What sort of AAs were you using? I used to get around at least a month or two on a set of fully charged standard Eneloop AAs. Then again, I didn’t use my Xbox too intensely, maybe you had a different experience. It would make sense for the Elite to have longer battery life simply because of better battery chemistry (lithium ion on the integrated pack compared to AAs with nickel metal hydride).
I believe I had Eneloop Pro’s (2500mAh?) in there and while the Elite would last 40h the Xbox One worked for 20-30h at most. When Elite’s LED turned orange it still had enough juice for a few hours, so I could complete my gaming session easily, can’t say that about the other one which was really annoying
because when the battery takes a shit in a couple years from all the charge/discharge cycles… You’ll have to buy a whole new 60-90 dollar controller, rather than a cheap set of eneloops.
Its planned obsolescence.
I’ve been arguing this point about the batteries for ages. I bought a rechargeable set from Costco for like $12. Six AA batteries on rotation in my Xbox controllers means I can game wirelessly in perpetuity. I’ve been using those same batteries for over 5 years now and only recently felt it could be time for some new ones.
If you have one nearby, get your new rechargeables from IKEA. The LADDA 2450s are far cheaper rebrands of the usually decently expensive Panasonic Eneloop Pro, and they last such a long time compared to most rechargeables.
I’ve seen videos where people have replaced the sticks on the base sony controllers with hall effect sticks. They also have hall effect on the more expensive ones, of course.
You can put hall effects on the base DualSense, but it requires a lot of soldering work, putting it beyond most people’s reach compared to a simple connector, and most people would get another controller. Hall effect on the Edge is very easy though, since those sticks are modular.