The 1914 Xbox Wireless Controller is the best gamepad but paying $25 for Li-ion is infuriating

[hanshen]

My problem with DS4 is mostly that it doesn't charge through microusb from any charger other than the PS4 console itself and the battery life is abysmal. I had to buy a charging station just to keep it charged every night with opening the media cabinet all the time.

Also with rechargeable batteries, you have the option to use AAA batteries with AA adapters if you want your controller lighter.

 

[TSM]

DS4 from launch, 2013. Battery life is pretty much zero. None. Zilch. Nada.

Xbox 360 Halo 3 controller? Pop a new pair of Eneloops, battery life is just as new.

Wavebird? Yup, you guessed it: pop a new pair of Eneloops, battery life is just as new.

DS3 from my PS3 Super Slim? LOL.

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Pretty much, and even if you want to change the internal batteries yourself Sony makes it so annoying with their plastic membranes that never want to sit right as you close the controller up.

 

[xch1n]

Do you have some time to talk about our gaming savior Eneloops?

Seriously, if you don't have them already but have been in the Xbox ecosystem in the past two decades...why not?

 

[TheYanger]

I jumped on the eneloop band-wagon after hearing about them for years, and I'm not impressed honestly. I was expecting like Wii U Pro Controller or at the very least Switch Pro Controller battery life but that's not the case at all.

I get annoyed having to swap out the batteries in the Xbox controller I'm currently using to swap with my one I have synced with my laptop and then put those into a charger. So to get around this I would have to buy another set of these expensive ass batteries.

I have no idea how so many of you have issues with your built in rechargeable batteries in your controllers. I've had my PS4 and Switch Pro Controllers since 2017 and I've never had a problem with keeping charge. The problem was with the analogs if anything.

If I wanted all of my gaming controllers to always have batteries in them to play whenever It'll cost a fortune in just purchasing the eneloops or rechargeable AA's. So instead I have to play this stupid game of constantly switching batteries between controllers and that shit is annoying. I just rather have built in rechargeable batteries, never been an issue before if they were well made (I had a set of third party Xbox Battery packs that shit the bed after a few months).

I paid around $40 for just 4 batteries and the charger for the eneloop Pros. If I wanted coverage for just two more of my controllers It's another $32 for just 4 more, and that would just cover having one set in place for one of my Switch controllers and one for my extra Series X controller. Shit gets expensive really quickly. I'm honestly fine dealing with built in rechargeables, it's way more convenient and I can just charge them daily and they're fine.

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Sorry but this isn't a 'you got lucky' thing, this is a natural endpoint for Lithium ion batteries. You are very literally lying if you're trying to claim DS4 or Dualsense controllers last more than MAYBE 10 hours on a charge, and you have actual dud batteries in your xbox controller if they're not going for like 25-30

 

[xch1n]

Sorry but this isn't a 'you got lucky' thing, this is a natural endpoint for Lithium ion batteries. You are very literally lying if you're trying to claim DS4 or Dualsense controllers last more than MAYBE 10 hours on a charge, and you have actual dud batteries in your xbox controller if they're not going for like 25-30

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If I got 10 hours from any Sony controller in the past two gens I'd assume someone else was playing and I had a controller that was turned off the whole time. Pretty sure the longest I've gone is 5 hours. Granted, I don't do marathon gaming sessions anymore, but I plug my controllers in every other time I play because otherwise I get a "low battery" warning mid-session.

EDIT: And the "Officially licensed Play and Charge" kit from Xbox is somehow even worse.

 

[neoak]

Sorry but this isn't a 'you got lucky' thing, this is a natural endpoint for Lithium ion batteries. You are very literally lying if you're trying to claim DS4 or Dualsense controllers last more than MAYBE 10 hours on a charge, and you have actual dud batteries in your xbox controller if they're not going for like 25-30

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He also went for the Eneloops Pro. Which is a no-no. They don't retain their capacity over time as much as the regular ones due to faster charging, and they only have like 500 cycles.

All he needed was a 15 bucks pack of 4 AA Eneloops and the basic charger.

 

[Guppeth]

I have three DS4s. Two that I bought alongside my original PS4, and one that I got when I upgraded to a Pro. The original two are pretty much useless now. From a full charge, they die in 20 minutes. They are otherwise functioning perfectly. Installing new batteries seems like a hassle, and buying new controllers feels like an appalling waste. I wish I could just slide the back off and put some AAs in.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Eneloop Pros are just nuts how long they last.

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How long do they last?

 

[bobmonkey]

If I got 10 hours from any Sony controller in the past two gens I'd assume someone else was playing and I had a controller that was turned off the whole time. Pretty sure the longest I've gone is 5 hours. Granted, I don't do marathon gaming sessions anymore, but I plug my controllers in every other time I play because otherwise I get a "low battery" warning mid-session.

EDIT: And the "Officially licensed Play and Charge" kit from Xbox is somehow even worse.

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No way that this is true. I've had to get into the habit of plugging in my DS4 after every play session because it's almost dead every time.
At least with the Xbox controller and an official Play and Charge kit (Xbox One & Xbox Series) I can get 15/20 hours without charging.

 

[nekkid]

How long do they last?

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I get about 30 hours play time out of them on the XSX controller. Probably more, actually.

 

[Mingoguaya]

I mean just get black eneloops, they last for a long ass time.

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Can you recharge them with the regular Panasonic charger? I have some white Eneloops but heard that the black ones are way better.

 

[metal]

I've been using the same two pairs of enelops in my xbox controller since the start of the Xbox One generation.

I will NEVER buy the Elite Series 2 specifically because it uses a built in battery. Fuck that shit, no thanks. Not on a expensive as hell controller.

 

[meenseen84]

Buy four rechargeables or a charging dock and you'll be happier than the play and charge kit.

 

[Grunty]

Just purchase rechargeable batteries. I went the entire Xbox One generation and some of the Xbox 360 generation on the same 4 rechargeable energizer batteries and charger before they finally stopped keeping their charge. And you know how much it cost? $15. Not bad for nearly a decade of play time.

 

[Scarlet0Pimp]

Just use the play and charge kit, makes it pretty much the same as having built in battery and you get a really long USB cable to charge while your playing when the time comes. Or use rechargeables, though personally I have 4 play and charge kits for my pads can't be botherd changing batteries when they run down always seems to happen at the most inconvenient times.
You can even buy pads that include the play and charge kit, I got one recently for £39.99

 

[Freakzilla]

Buy Eneloop batteries, charge them yourself. They'll stay fresher longer than any built in battery, you'll likely get a decade of hard play out of them.

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Eneloops + MS controller is a better combination than the battery pack or the non-replaceable's on the Sony side. Best of both worlds IMO and I prefer it.



My Man.

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I mean just get black eneloops, they last for a long ass time.

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Eneloop 4 lyfe. I much prefer having rechargeable hot swappable batteries than built in wimpy batteries.

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My eneloops say Sanyo on them and they are still rocking.

 

[antispin]

As someone who has controllers with in-built batteries alongside the Xbox controller -- I prefer the latter. Because:

1. In-built batteries degrade over cycles, it's very frustrating to pick up something and it's not charged, because it's now losing charge faster than before
2. In-built batteries need to be mothered like a hawk. Is it charged? Did I charge it?
3. Eneloop or any other rechargeable batteries can be kept as buffer set(s). One in the tank, and another on stand-by, and then cycle

 

[Solaire of Astora]

Buy Eneloop batteries, charge them yourself. They'll stay fresher longer than any built in battery, you'll likely get a decade of hard play out of them.

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I have a launch ds4 and a launch day DS3(bought on the first day they released to replace my sixaxis) that are still going strong.

If your benchmark is a decade, I'm beginning to think that built in lithium ion is not as bad as you hear all the time online.

 

[Ada]

Agree OP, all those suggesting rechargable AAs just don't get it. As an elite V2 user that switched away from the regular X1 pad, having the controller charge just by putting it away instead of managing AAs is so much better.

 

[prodyg]

I have a launch ds4 and a launch day DS3(bought on the first day they released to replace my sixaxis) that are still going strong.

If your benchmark is a decade, I'm beginning to think that built in lithium ion is not as bad as you hear all the time online.

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My launch DS4 is still going strong too.... for 1 hour and then i gotta plug it back in. It doesnt keep charge when im not playing either, so i expect it to be dead every time im ready to play. Its basically a wired controller at this point.

Switching out Eneloops every two weeks is better than having my controller plugged in the console all the time.

 

[wwm0nkey]

Can you recharge them with the regular Panasonic charger? I have some white Eneloops but heard that the black ones are way better.

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Yup, I even use an ikea charger sometimes lol

 

[Veliladon]

Agree OP, all those suggesting rechargable AAs just don't get it. As an elite V2 user that switched away from the regular X1 pad, having the controller charge just by putting it away instead of managing AAs is so much better.

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They do get it though. Eneloop AAs clearly work for them and I'm happy for them that it does. It's just that their solution doesn't really work for me in this case because it's going to be a traveling controller, I already take USB-C cables everywhere, it's more convenient to not take batteries and chargers in my travel pack and that's perfectly fine too. Different strokes for different folks. I just wish I didn't have to pay a $10 premium for it when it could (should?) be a second SKU the same price as a Dualsense.

 

[Mingoguaya]

Yup, I even use an ikea charger sometimes lol

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Nice! I was thinking of getting an 8 pack but wasn't sure if they were compatible.

 

[xch1n]

No way that this is true. I've had to get into the habit of plugging in my DS4 after every play session because it's almost dead every time.
At least with the Xbox controller and an official Play and Charge kit (Xbox One & Xbox Series) I can get 15/20 hours without charging.

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When brand new, the Xbox One Play and Charge was better than a DS4. But in around 4 years it now won't hold a charge basically at all. The caveat I'll give is that I had an Astro headset that needed a plug in to the controller for the voice, and I think that draws some power to the point that if the battery is near the end of life at all, it just shuts the whole controller down. But the point being, Eneloops work no problem. Years and years later.

 

[Mesoian]

Buy Eneloop batteries, charge them yourself. They'll stay fresher longer than any built in battery, you'll likely get a decade of hard play out of them.

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Eneloop Mafia for lyfe

 

[Apath]

.

 

[Solaire of Astora]

My launch DS4 is still going strong too.... for 1 hour and then i gotta plug it back in. It doesnt keep charge when im not playing either, so i expect it to be dead every time im ready to play. Its basically a wired controller at this point.

Switching out Eneloops every two weeks is better than having my controller plugged in the console all the time.

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Mine still lasts for quite a while. I haven't timed it, but it's still more than enough for my longest gaming sessions.

I also have two controllers for local MP reasons. I charge one whenever the other controller's battery indicator gets down to one bar.

 

[NLCPRESIDENT]

I don't mind the AA variant existing, and you guys do you, I just want an SKU with Li-ion straight out of the gate at a more Dualsense price. For me it would be for my iPad and Mac laptop when I'm away from home playing either something natively or Steam Link so plugging it in is less annoying than having to take a charger and AA batteries everywhere if I'm traveling.

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I prefer it this way too.