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.

  • tal@lemmy.today
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    10 hours ago

    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.

    • Scrubbles@poptalk.scrubbles.tech
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      9 hours ago

      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.

      • tal@lemmy.today
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        9 hours ago

        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.

        • superglue@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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          8 hours ago

          Kids toys are another use case for non rechargeable. I’m not going to buy a 100 pack of rechargeable batteries.

              • howrar@lemmy.ca
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                5 hours ago

                Um, I use rechargeable batteries in all my kid’s toys? With how often they need to be replaced, these batteries have already long paid for themselves.

                • superglue@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  5 hours ago

                  Sure, but your an outlier.

                  Kids toys are a use case for non rechargeable. In fact, I wouldn’t be shocked its the most common use case.

                  Before I had kids I used rechargeable for everything but flashlights and smoke detectors.

                  • wellheh@lemmy.sdf.org
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                    2 hours ago

                    I don’t think you are the norm with the amount of batteries your kids consume. Most people don’t have that many toys nor have that many kids.

              • mnemonicmonkeys@sh.itjust.works
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                7 hours ago

                You can get 8 rechargeable AA’s from amazon for $12, or $1.44 each. Non-rechargeables are $0.78 each. If a rechargeable battery prevents you from having to buy a second set of non-rechargeables then it’s paid for itself.

                If you want, you can just put rechargeable batteries in their most commonly used toys. Or better yet, teach your kids how to replace the and charge the batteries themselves. A 4 or 5 year old should be able to handle that without issue. And it means you aren’t doing everything for your kids, which means they learn some self-sufficiency

                • superglue@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                  7 hours ago

                  Firstly, the rechargeable dont last as long in the toy. So if you have a ton of toys you need a lot of both AA and AAA because the toys will die more often.

                  Second, using AAA as an example, I can get non rechargeable for as low as 12 cents each right now. Rechargeable look to be 77 cents a piece if you can find them on sale.

                  Ive already looked into it for my family. We have rechargeable for things that make sense. I would need somewhere in the range of 150 to 200 rechargeable batteries and it would be a much bigger hastle. And guess what happens to those too? Recycled, because I would have no additional use for them beyond toys. And it turns out people dont like buying used batteries second hand.

                  I’m sure there are some people that actually do what you are suggesting, but saying that is the dumbest comment on Lemmy for stating what 99% of parents do is just silly.

                  • tocopherol@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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                    7 hours ago

                    How many AA powered toys does your family have?? I’m actually baffled that anyone would possibly need up to 200 AAs for their kid’s toys. Are there non-powered toys in your household? I’m not trying to shame you, I’m just intrigued.