By This has sparked debate ever since it first came up.
- written by Fraser Gilbert
This afternoon we were leafing through some earlier Pure Xbox posts from the launch era of the Xbox Series X and Series S, and we’d completely forgotten just how heated the discussion around AA battery use got at the time.
Cast your mind back to March 2020 — the month we brought Pure Xbox back after an extended hiatus — and you’ll recall we asked readers how they felt about the new gamepad still shipping with AA cells as standard (with a rechargeable pack available separately). Responses were polarised: some loved the flexibility, while many called the approach antiquated.
We revisited the issue in 2021 after a spokesperson for Duracell hinted at a “constant agreement” between the battery giant and Microsoft, and the community’s vote split almost exactly the same way.
Nobody knows when Microsoft will take the wraps off its next-generation controller(s), yet when that redesign finally arrives it’ll be intriguing to see whether AA cells survive another round. After all, both PlayStation and Nintendo abandoned removable AAs ages ago.
So let’s ask you once more: should future Xbox controllers keep the AA option? Cast your vote below and share your reasoning in the comments area.
Which option did you tick? Sound off down below!
Fraser oversees news at Pure Xbox, chronicling the biggest tales from the Xbox world and beyond in his day-to-day work.