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.
Why? A serviceable Lithium Ion is leaps and bounds better than AA, not to mention it would lead to people using disposable batteries and creating more garbage.
I mean I get the reason, but at the same time Li-ion is just so much better compared to NiMH and especially Alkaline. As long as its easy to open up and replace I’m all for internal li-ion batteries.
Yeah the issue is easily replaceable standardized sized battery, if li-ion started doing that, I’d be all in Li-ion band wagon for handheld consumer electronics, till that point I must agree with OP and i would keep demanding Aa batteries and use my niMH cells
Those cells are almost always standard sized prismatic cells, but the connector is often not standard if you buy a random cell.
If it’s not a standard battery design, then being able to replace it doesn’t matter as much. It would mean the company can charge excessive fees because their ‘custom’ battery is the only one that’s compatible with their product.
It very likely might be a standard size, you can buy prismatic and cylindrical cells in tons of sizes.
I’m alright with this as long as the controller is easy to repair, which Valve has been pretty good about with the Steam Deck.
If swapping batteries is a fast 5-10 minute process I have to do every 5 or so years, and the batteries are widely available and reasonably priced, that’s a win in my book.
and the batteries are widely available and reasonably priced
If they’re not a standard battery design, then they will not be widely available or reasonably priced.
It could be a 18650 or another lithium standard size and make everybody Happy. Easy to remplace and a bigger life than square sized batteries.
I agree. 18650 are a much better starting point standard than AA.
Like brands do with their tools. One battery for all kinds
Well, I completely understand your point. I also have rechargable AA batteries laying around, but I see it from this standpoint:
- The Steam controller includes this magnetic charging puck, which is a good way to make sure it’s always charged.
- It will mostly be used more or less stationary, sitting down in front of a PC. So even if the need arises to charge it this shouldn’t be a problem in many situations. This is vastly different than with the new VR controllers, because they will be moved around a lot and it’s not really realistic to charge them while using them.
- Many people still just use disposable batteries. Which is quite frankly just not good. So my best guess is that this connected with point two may be a leading factor for why they did it this way. I think a hybrid option (puck-rechargable battery pack or two AA’s) would have been awesome though.
- Valve’s repair policy was exceptional with the steam deck so I have reasons to believe that the battery for the steam controller will be available for a very reasonable cost. A very interesting question will be for how long.
All in all I understand your point, but it’s not a huge issue for me personally.
Valve’s repair policy was exceptional with the steam deck so I have reasons to believe that the battery for the steam controller will be available for a very reasonable cost.
Just to piggy back on what you are say, one of the engineers in the LTT video mentioned they want to team up with iFixIt again, just like they did for the Steam Deck. And I saw the back shell off the controller in one of the videos. The batter looks dead simple to replace. It’s wild to even imagine that a company in 2025 would be be consumer friendly.
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.
Rechargeable AA take forever to recharge.
So have some extra ones ready to go. They’re cheap.
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.
Even cheap Ladda from IKEA recharge in mere hours now.
Same!
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.
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.
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.
Just have replaceable Li-ion batteries.
Reading these comments, I have to say that a number of users of this community have very strong views on batteries.
Like, I would not have expected as many people to get upset as did in a discussion over batteries.
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.
the 1.5V of a nickel battery
NiMH are 1.2 V. You’re probably thinking of alkaline.
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.
world where every household has rechargeable AA batteries
What do you need AA batteries for? And why do you think the whole world also does?
You have missed my point entirely. OP is disappointed that the Steam Controller doesn’t use AAs, while the Steam Frame controllers do.
Easily replaceable, rechargeable batteries are the best solution we as a society currently have for electronic devices. We can’t force people to not use disposables - so internals like that on the Steam Controller is the best-fit solution currently.
As an aside, we currently have ~20 or so AA Eneloops in circulation in our household currently, from TV and AC remotes, to children’s toys, to IOT devices.
You are right. Thank you for replying.
Personally I only always buy those enegizer alkaline batteries. Didn’t know you could recharge them, might try next time. I’ve almost usually always chuck them in the bin.
You cannot charge those, please do not try unless you like the smell of burnt chemicals or a house fire (or both), alkaline batteries are not rechargeable. There are lithium rechargeable batteries with the same form factor (AA, AAA, etc.) or if you use older ones there are also NI-MH or NI-CD (really old).
Just to clarify, the alkaline batteries like below are not rechargeable, and if you try you will have a bad time:
Energizer have their own range of rechargeable batteries, that look like this:
If you have an IKEA nearby, their LADDA (I think?) branded rechargeable batteries tend to be a quite affordable entry point.
Before you start establishing a working group to assess the impact of creating a commitee to judge the effect of switching to replacable cells, what if…
What if the companies just packed a few universal rechargable cells with their product? I meam the charging circuit is already a part of the design.
…lol, yes! Unless it’s the EU, they managed to get on the USB-C standardisation pretty early - there’s a chance we might see something like this out of them before 2050 🤞🏻
I do worry about the Monkey’s Paw nature of capitalism though, with the regulations on vaping here accidentally causing a surge of ‘disposable’ vapes equipped with lithium ion batteries - ending up having something similar occur as a result.
Duplicating charging circuits also seems a bit wasteful, especially if manufacturers cheap out and use the lowest quality components - rather than having a high-quality centralised GaN charger or similar.
Warms me heart to see the next generation of idiots supporting planned obsolescence.
I have mixed feelings about this. On the one hand I like the idea of AA because if the controller dies mid-session you can just swap them and keep playing, on the other this is easily solvable by having a dock like the 8BitDo Ultimate, which makes it so that the controller is always fully charged when you pick it up, so the only advantage that the AA had disappears, and it’s even more comfortable to have the controller always charged than having to get up in the middle of the play session to find new batteries. And the Steam controller has a charging puck, so it should never have the issue where AA are better. So my feeling that it would be better is not justified.
The other supposed advantage is longevity, since all batteries eventually die off, if it’s an external battery you just buy new ones and are done. Being internal makes it more of a hassle. But Valve has been very open with the repaiedness of their devices, so I expect this to not be a big issue, as long as the batteries are still being manufactured by the time the one in the controller dies off (which should take a lot more time to happen than regular AA).
Literally every wireless controller I have ever owned that used rechargable batteries could be plugged in while I was using it if it started to die. I would bet that 99% of wireless controller users have a power outlet at least somewhere near where they sit to game.
I don’t, this has never been a possibility for me in the last 4/5 houses I’ve lived unless I specifically bought a 3m long USB cable. I’m sure plenty of people do, but I don’t think it’s 99%.
I don’t want to have to pay a subscription for physical disposable fuel pods for my controller, and it would be really nice if plugging it in cut down on input delay.
You should be using rechargeable batteries.
Instead, you’re supporting planned obsolescence.
I do. They’re built in to the controller.
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.
