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.
First thing I did to my Xbox controller: I got a Li-ion battery because I don’t always have AA batteries around and recharging NIMH takes forever.
What’s wrong with connecting a charge cable to your controller? It does not stop you from gaming.
You can buy a pack of 4 NiMH batteries and use the other two when the first two recharge. The problem is not connecting a charge cable, but the fact that all rechargeable batteries eventually die, but NiMH batteries can be bought at the grocery store, and be replaced by anyone.
This introduces the next problem: The AA batteries are constantly depleted and I always forget recharging them. Or I put them away and cannot find them when needed.
Skill issue. Feel free to pay more to compensate.
Rechargeable controllers didn’t use to have dock stations some years ago, how did you manage then?
I just plugged them in and used them while they charged.
You can still plug a controller with AA in and use it while the batteries are in the charger
Personally the worst aspect of my original steam controller is the AA batteries. Constantly have to swap them and sometimes low battery meant buggy inputs. I very much prefer an integrated battery that gets topped up when I put the controller back to its place.
But I can see why you and others prefer otherwise.
Yeah, but battery replacements, spare parts, and repair tutorials will all likely be provided by iFixit, same as the Steam Deck or (formerly) Index, and even if the battery goes out of production I’m certain a third party can manufacture a similar spec at the same form factor.
Great, you can swap those in half an hour. AAs can be swapped in 10 seconds.
Swappability is not a matter of the exact size and shape, but how many screws are needed to access it etc.
Did you see a battery door on the Steam controller?
In your imagined world where the steam controller has AA batteries, the difference you’re taking about is the battery door, not the battery firm factor.
The difference in my hypothetical world is time. Pretty much all lithium batteries are not quickly swappable.
And the other difference is I already have a drawer full of rechargeable AAs. It’s a standard size thats readily available for purchase from 1000 different places and likely will be indefinitely and I can use the same ones in a dozen different devices.
Yeah, but NiMH AA battery replacements are sold for 5€ a pack at my local grocery store and will never go out of production.
I’m with you. I loved how the AAs slotted into the handles of the original steam controller. I bought some Eneloop rechargeable AAs for it that still work great. I use them in my toothbrush, which I also bought because the rechargable lithium version died. The AA battery version of the toothbrush was like 1/5 the price and will probably last forever
Fuck AAs , not enough power. They can however use any number of user replaceable, user chargeable LiIon batteries.
Also, AAs become literal toxic waste after like 20-40 hours of gameplay, and need to be properly disposed of (that is assuming that you live in a developed country and there are recycling options available at all). Single-use battery suck and should fuck right off.
Not enough power? Where did you get that idea? If they used more power than a AA could output they would suck and they’d die instantly.
You might be replying to a wrong comment? But I think the OC meant that a bigger lithium battery can provide more power for rumble and such, compared to AAs.
I did not reply to the wrong comment. Again, if the controller used that much power, it would die instantly.
Use rechargeable AA batteries
There are like 3 or 4 different types. NiCd and NiMH have slightly different voltages and vastly different voltage curves, and it’s a gamble whether your device will work with either of them and how long they will last. Li-Ion (with a voltage regulator and charge controller) are quite expensive (compared to a pouch battery of the same capacity) and you won’t be able to buy them in the nearest grocery shop. Also, it’s not safe for the controller to even attempt to charge any of them, so you will need a separate charger, and you’ll have to take the batteries out of the controller, put them in a charger, and then put them back every time they go flat. At that point it’s just so much easier and more convenient to have a pouch-style battery that the controller charges by itself, and you can very easily replace every 5 years or so by just removing a couple screws and slapping a new AliExpress special in there. The key here is to make batteries easily replaceable, of course, ideally without any tool, but a standard philips screwdriver is acceptable too.
When AA batteries go flat you swap them and the controller is already running while the old batteries charge on your separate charger, which you can’t do with pouch batteries.
Also, it’s a game of relying on a company’s good will to provide a compatible battery, or of some Chinese manufacturer to provide it. While AAs are standard.
There’s nothing that can change my mind on the subject outside of “these batteries are standard and available everywhere forever” which you can already say for AA NiMH batteries.
If it’s a popular enough device, Chinese manufacturers will copy its batteries for more than the lifetime of the device itself. I’ve bought new replacement batteries for a smartphone over 10 years old off AliExpress.
If it’s not, chances are it’s using one of the standard pouch battery sizes (yes, that’s very much a thing, AA is not the only battery standard out there), which Chinese manufacturers will keep producing for longer than the lifetime of the universe.
The only tangible benefit is the hot-swap feature.
To me it doesn’t outweigh all the drawbacks of having to charge batteries separately. For a controller like this it literally doesn’t matter, you can just plug it in to charge while playing.
For VR controllers it does matter more, but I would still much prefer some explicitly rechargeable standard size, e.g. 14650, with a way for the controller to also be a charger still.
AA batteries are horrible for the environment if something goes wrong during the disposal process (e.g. you accidentally throw them in the trash). Also it’s yet another thing you have to buy like weekly if you’re going to use the thing. A rechargeable cell that is easy to replace is the perfect sweetspot, and from the videos I’ve seen of the controller it will be very easy to replace the bat. Just unscrew some screws, unplug the battery, plug a new one back in, screw some screws back in (optional). You’ll only have to do this once every 5 years or so if the BMS is good. You’ll be able to get a new bat from AliExpress for very cheap, probably like $10-20 or something, way way cheaper than getting new AAs for those entire 5 years.
I really don’t understand why everyone is speaking like rechargeable AAs don’t exist…
Because they are more expensive and much less convenient than an integrated pouch-style battery in the device.
Until it dies
And you have to (gasp) order a bat from AliExpress for $10, take out 9 screws, and plop it in there, just once every 5 years or so? Yeah, how inconvenient and expensive, compared to buying your own batteries before you can even use a thing, a separate charger, and taking the batteries out every time you want to charge them, which is like weekly.
Well, I am sure waiting up to months for the Aliexpress battery to arrive is not inconvinient at all.
And good luck hoping the battery you bought is genuinely new and not just an old one “refurbished”.
The point of rechargable AA batteries is that it is a standard. You can interchange them with other devices and use a single charger.
Last time I ordered a phone battery from AliExpress I got it in two weeks flat. If you notice that your battery doesn’t hold as long, just order a new one, it will arrive long before the device dies. There are also local battery shops, but they will charge a premium for quicker delivery.
Doing this once every few years is nothing compared to the hassle of taking out the batteries every time you want to charge them.
So you expect for someone to have 2 controllers? With AA batteries I can just slide the cover swap them and continue playing, with this? well you can do jack shit
Yeah. AA batteries suck though! I’d be happy if they used 14500 cells or something. but the form factor was probably the issue, the controller is a chonk in the middle already with the flat battery pack
People forget we had hot-swappable li-ion batteries decades ago in phones and DSLRs. They absolutely could’ve done that with no to minimal form-factor changes.
Hot-swappable battery meaning without turning off the device?! Lol I’ve never seen that 😉 I get what you’re saying though, but from what I’ve seen the battery is replaceable! It’s retained with a screw but that’s not a deal breaker imo. Using a standardized form factor would have been even cooler, but I think that would’ve been very difficult for space reasons
Some laptops used to have that. They would have two batteries, one internal one and one hot-swappable external one.
Ahem, my x250 Thinkpad is still chugging along with its two batteries .
Yeah, if memory serves, the last ThinkPad to do it was the T480, which was in 2018. Maybe there’s some P-series that did it afterwards too. Hello from an X2100!
Hot-swappable maybe not the right word. I mean those which you can swap without hardware. Like this https://youtu.be/KKUvHL6Pyes
I think you might be onto something. Probably the reason why they went for a built-in battery is space limitations
Did anyone see the MASSIVE rumble/haptic motors in the grip area? Yeah. This is the answer. They packed a lot of stuff in there.
Nowadays you can get AA-shaped lithium cells. Anyways I hope free battery is easy to replace after 2 years.
According to reports it is. Not as easy as a hot-swapable one, but close. You just have to remove the back panel, pop it out and put the new one. No adhesive involved.
Week one, somebody’s going to release a CAD file for a 3D-printable shell with a removable battery cover.
If JSAUX or ExtremeRate did not already made one. Hell, DBrand already announced a companion cube skin for the Steam Machine. 😂
Amazing. This should become industry standard.
18650 is awesome, a good balance of weight to capacity. They are the standard cells used in laptops, vapes, small powerbanks, power tool batteries, and so on. They can also go into a fairly standard charger for AA and AAA batteries and give a lovely nominal 3.7V.
That said, pouches are better for inside a device like a controller. The weight of a battery is significantly influenced by the casing. A pouch is almost entirely capacity, a cell like an 18650 or AA is largely the metal of the casing. If you have the pouch inside the plastic of the device you can save that weight.
Pouch cells suck, there are no standard sizes and they like to puff up and break open the case of whatever they are inside of.
I think laptop batteries are usually thinner than 18650s? All the ones I’ve seen are, anyway
Perhaps more modern ones, but the ones in my last and current laptops are both 18650s. 6 cells, 9 cells, you stack in series to increase voltage, parallel to get more capacity, so a 3s2p would have ~14V which is more than the required 12V for internal components, no boost converters needed. That said, now they do a lot of pouch batteries which are actually multiple internal pouches run in series to get the same sort of voltage but made with the chassis fitting them perfectly, no wasted space.
Yeah I’ve only seen the pouch type.
Batteries and lack of audio are my only gripes with the steam controller. I still think it’s better than every other controller, but I wish it had those. At least though, valve said it will be easy to disassemble with a screwdriver, so we will have a way to replace the battery with an after market one when it dies.
I’m not aware of any controller that can charge NiMH batteries tho. I think the hardware for that would weight as much as the entire controller. Also NiMH batteries don’t do well with continuous charging via dock, unlike lithium batteries.
Audio? It’s not a Wii remote lol
Edit: Just realized you probably meant headphone jack on the controller, but that would likely both murder the quality and have worse latency (Bluetooth is not great for PC gamer audio).
They probably mean having a headphone/microphone jack. Thinking about it now, I don’t think I have ever actually used the jack on the few controllers I have owned that had one, but I can definitely understand why some would find it very useful.
I meant headphone jack. But what if I don’t care about quality and latency and just want audio on my device because it’s useful to have?
Also, I think the dual sense has audio haptics like a Wiimote?
Edit: also the controller has two other connections other than Bluetooth, that can easily handle audio better than Bluetooth.
You can remove the 9 screws in the back of the controller and fully remove and replace the battery. Going by valves track record they will have replacement parts on ifixit. Also one of the engineers confirmed while speaking with tested that you can easily access the battery compartment and interior of the device and replace it.
And I’m fucking going to do it every time it’d depleted. I have 4 AA batteries for my Xbox 360 controller, pop the cover swap them and continue playing. It’s that easy.
It’s a li-on battery. Just connect it to the charging puck. The internal battery lasts 35 hours.
and do what while it’s charging, jack-off?
It wouldn’t be such an issue if battery was plug-n-play type
and chargable outside controllerGet some sun? 35hrs is quite awhile.
Also fuck off with that attitude, you’re getting all worked up about a fucking toy. Grow up
What I do with my weekend is none of your fucking business
maybe some weekends I’d like to forget work and binge a gamePlease by all means, I just ask that you save your vitriol for something a little more important than game controller power supply. There’s no jack-offs here, we’re just having a discussion.
What tf kinda usecase you got, that 35hrs of playtime are not enough?
You can play while its charging…
Funny, the steam frame using AA’s was disappointing to me. There’s multiple types of rechargeable AA’s on the market and having them through the controller and not potentially cause problems would be difficult as I understand it. Valve has been pretty good about parts being replaceable and available, the steam deck’s parts are sold through ifixit.
There is no bigger disappointment than wanting to play some VR and your controller is dead and you have to charge it. Can’t really charge them while playing like on normal controllers either.
So I’m quite happy that they went with AAs this time around. Although I need to pick up some rechargeable AA batteries when the Frame comes out.
That’s fair that you can’t charge them while playing like you could a regular controller I hadn’t really thought of that.
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
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
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
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.
Where have Steam said they are partnering with a company to offer replacement parts? As far as I’ve read, Valve have not provided any details around sourcing replacement batteries for the Steam Controller. All they’ve said is that the controller is able to be serviced by opening via the screws and clips - ie it’s not glued closed like many user-hostile companies, eg Google Stadia.
This is in no way the same as old smart phones (eg Galaxy S1-S5) toolless battery replacement, where you would just slide off the battery cover, pop out the old battery insert new, click battery cover back on. PS3 Dualschock 3 controllers are also exactly as user-serviceable - clips and screws, no glue. So I agree with OP: batteries that are built for toolless user replacement to a standard format are far superior. This is just asking for e-waste.
One of the nice things with Xbox 360 controllers were the rechargeable battery packs. By default, the controllers used 2 AAs, but you could instead use a battery pack. Just remove the AA battery cover, pop in the rechargeable battery, and that’s it. You could then connect a cable to the controller to recharge the battery. And, if the battery happened to be empty (or dead because of old age), you could just replace it with 2 AAs, and continue playing. Some of 8bitdo’s controllers uses (or used) the same design, but they come with a rechargeable battery pack in the box.
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
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.
Lazy fuck.
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 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.
-
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. I’m talking about normal use. 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
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 to 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?
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.
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.
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.
If there’s a market for it, replacements will be made. You can buy a replacement PS5 battery for $5. You can also buy a iPhone 4 battery (still). LiPos are quite easy to make (geopolitics aside) so making one that fits is not hard at all.
The PS5 battery has a plug, if the Steam Controller is like that (probably is), the only tool required is a screwdriver, which seems like a great tradeoff to replace the battery every 5+ years instead of every week or two, and being able to recharge it easily and quickly.
Worst case scenario you have to use a generic battery that is about the right size instead of a perfect fit. Maybe a little less battery life but it’s still more than enough anyway.
I own an 8BitDo SN30 Pro+ controller that has a neat feature: It comes with a rechargeable battery back that is user replaceable via a simple back cover, but regular AA batteries can also be used in the same slot instead.
Kinda like an Xbox controller, except that the rechargeable battery was actually included instead of being a separate purchase, and no adapter is needed for either battery types.
Kinda like an Xbox controller, except that the rechargeable battery was actually included instead of being a separate purchase, and no adapter is needed for either battery types.
I don’t recall the Xbox rechargeable battery pack requiring an adapter. It just pops in where the AAs would be.
Pardon me, I realize I was a bit vague in my statement. I think what I was referring to was specifically the Xbox 360 wireless controller.
If I remember correctly, AA batteries didn’t quite fit directly in the controller. Rather, they fit inside a small detachable casing designed specifically for their cylindrical shape, which was then clipped onto the underside of the controller. If you then purchased a rechargeable battery pack, it replaced that attachment entirely, clipping directly onto the controller in its place.
I had totally forgotten about that, but you’re right.
I had something similar to this for the original fat gameboy in the 90s, except instead of being a rechargeable battery, which weren’t really worth it then, it was a plug-in adapter, and it replaced the battery cover panel to do so.
I genuinely don’t understand why that sort of thing doesn’t exist anymore, either as plug adapters or as rechargeable bricks (or both, why not), so you can fall back on standard AA or AAA if necessary. They’d be standardized parts so manufacturers would only get the original sale but… so? Would it not also be just easier from a manufacturer standpoint?
That is precisely how I feel, too!
Side tangent… Back in the day, I believe I had a power cable for the Game Boy, but it must have gotten lost or damaged at some point because I could never find it again.
Non-rechargeable batteries is a terrible idea from an ecological point of view. Also, Steam have made considerable effort to make the Steam Deck repairable. I hope they do this with all their new hardware, so replacing the battery won’t be a big hassle.
Non-rechargeable batteries is a terrible idea from an ecological point of view.
Most people won’t replace an internal battery. If the battery dies, they buy a new controller.
I’m not sure whether this is actually better for the environment than even if they were using non-rechargeables.
You can buy rechargeable AA and AAA batteries
Outside of specialized uses like wanting a very long shelf life for rarely-used devices, I kind of thought that everyone had switched to rechargeable AA and AAA batteries years back.
I get people even here who just swear up and down it’s impooooooosible for them to switch for a littany of excuses. It costs too much (it doesn’t, it’s actually way cheaper), why would I put them in a remote? (Literally why wouldn’t you) They aren’t as convenient (compared to buying them at a store?). Or my favorite “they don’t work as well” ,which they don’t in maybe 5% of cases. So they could still replace 95% of their alkaline but let’s be real they just don’t want to even try.
They’re still there, and usually it’s pure laziness, or just arrogance that they don’t care about the immense waste.
I mean, there are some legitimate reasons.
-
Non-rechargeable alkalines do have very low self-discharge rate, so they work well if you’re gonna stash a flashlight somewhere for a long time for emergencies.
-
The voltage on different types of batteries is not the same, and there are some devices with power supplies that cannot handle a wide-enough voltage range. I have a Grundig G6 shortwave radio, for example, which will not run on NiMH AA batteries (1.2V, rather than 1.5V alkalines or lithium). I suppose that I could get rechargeable lithium-ions, but I don’t really want to deal with rechargeables with different battery chemistry floating around, and my current battery charger can’t handle lithiums.
I just remember the 1980s, where the norm was alkaline, and people had to buy the things all the time for all kinds of battery-powered devices. Was nice to be able to just recharge batteries at home. Can’t imagine wanting to do that today.
Kids toys are another use case for non rechargeable. I’m not going to buy a 100 pack of rechargeable batteries.
Jesus, this has to be one of the dumbest comments I’ve seen on this site
If you think parents are putting rechargeable batteries in all their kids toys then you are the dumb one.
-
Yeah but so many people wouldn’t.
Rechargeable AA batteries are a thing. From an ecological point of view, the custom battery is a bigger problem. In 20 years the controller will still work and AA batteries will still be available, but no one will be making new built in rechargeable battery replacements (even if Valve originally intended for the battery to be replaceable).
One of my favourite controllers has been the Dual shock controller. I’ve got 2 PS3 controllers that I love using. Their rechargeable batteries are shot to shit. I would be much happier if I could use AA.
If the device has a 40 hour battery life and the battery lasts 1000 cycles, that will give you 40.000 hours. That means you can play for five hours every day for over 16 years. I don’t think many devices will last longer than that.
Batteries still wear out because of age regardless of how many charge cycles they’ve had.
Gross, no thank you.
18650 would be cool though.
My main concern about that is that using AA and AAA form factors promotes the use of disposable dry cell batteries, even if nickel or lithium cells are just as widely available. And, realistically, not even the closest Li-ion form factor is fully compatible with AA, and Ni-MH sucks balls.
The controller is also filled to the gills with hardware. Doesn’t look like there’s enough volume left for AA or AAA receptacles without giving it an underbelly to rival the Xbox Duke.
On a slight side note, the Duke is the only controller I have ever liked, they just don’t make controllers for giant hands at all anymore. Lol
