All units in the console will feature this new improved version of the Xbox Wirelles Controller, but there is a reason to keep the batteries.
Xbox Series X unveiled in mid-March its final technical specifications, a machine left over from gross power and with its sights set on immediacy. Apart from this hardware, which has seduced developers, we have the command, the new Xbox Wirelles Controller, which will continue to be powered by batteries (AA). There is a reason behind this policy, a tradition that has existed since Xbox 360.
Microsoft has wanted to dispel all rumor mill and speculation. Unlike the solutions from Sony and Nintendo, which bet on a rechargeable internal battery – not removable -, in the case of Xbox Series X, it will bet on a controller based on that of Xbox One but with improvements applied. It will not change the battery power method because it provides "flexibility".
In the words of Digital Foundry, Jason Ronald, associate director of the Xbox management program, approximately 50% of people prefer removable batteries; while the other 50% of people prefer a controller based on a rechargeable power, such as the DualShock or the Nintendo Switch Pro Controller. The balance, for him, is to give the option for people to choose and buy separately a battery pack, the already traditional Xbox “Charge and Play Kit” where an external rechargeable battery is included; allowing the remote to be charged without using batteries.
“Giving flexibility is the way to satisfy both types of people. You can use a rechargeable battery and it will work like an Elite controller does, but that goes separately. ” Microsoft's premium premium range controller, the Xbox Elite Series 2, does adopt this rechargeable internal power feature via USB-C. Another advantage of the batteries with respect to the rechargeable battery is the duration of the charge, which is longer with traditional AA power.
The new Xbox Series X controller will have a share button
Microsoft has improved in a few aspects the new Xbox Wirelles Controller for the Xbox Series X: crosshead, lower latency, compatibility, buttons, share button… “One of the keys to improving was to make a control adapted to those with smaller hands; By making it comfortable for hands similar to those that are 8 years old, we have been able to improve the accessibility and comfort of hundreds of millions of people without negatively affecting those with larger hands, "said Microsoft in the statement where they revealed all the specifications of this new Xbox Wirelles Controller.
Source | Digital Foundry (via Eurogamer)
