Warms me heart to see the next generation of idiots supporting planned obsolescence.

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.

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.

Well, I completely understand your point. I also have rechargable AA batteries laying around, but I see it from this standpoint:

1. The Steam controller includes this magnetic charging puck, which is a good way to make sure it's always charged.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.

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.

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.

Just have replaceable Li-ion batteries.

No, AAs are crap. Charge your stuff when you go to sleep and you'll never have problems.

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

Hard disagree, AA batteries are passe.

Steam did the right move here.

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 disagree so much. I never want another AA device.

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.

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.

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

This is a strange argument to me. I just don't get it.

So. You have the controller, advertised 35+h life on a single charge.

Unless you're some sort of gaming machine, even a no-lifer sleeps.

We'll do a crazy minimum, you sleep 4h a day. that's 20h for gaming. You plug it in when you sleep, a time when no one will be using it and it can be "tethered".

if it's a straight line (it's probably not) 20h/35h gets you down to 42% battery.

Even 2-3 years later, battery should be between 70-80% capacity. If the minimum after a full day of usage, from charged, is 42% from the 35h estimate, in your worn 70% capacity battery you've still got more than 15% spare between days, after accounting for years of degradation.

And then, after using it for 3 years, you might have to contemplate using the hated screwdriver and replacing the battery. And this is only if you've been no-life wrecking this controller for that long. It'll be much better from "regular" gaming usage.

I think this just comes down to undisciplined people, who can't manage to plug their stuff in routinely. I really can't see any other logical reason to feel this way.

And even then, for the people who can't do charging regularly, and don't want to worry about being tethered to a charger/their machines, a $10 power bank from a gas station fixes this issue. I charge my controller from a phone charger, already next to me, whenever it needs it. No one says that you have to explicitly plug it in to whatever you're playing on.

Personally, I think even giving the option of using disposable batteries is irresponsible on the designer's end. Everyone talks about rechargeables, but there's still going to be a percentage of people who just use disposables.

This does make more sense for the frame controllers, as when they die, there's no good/safe way you can still use them, and have them plugged in. even with a power bank the cables are, at best, ungainly, and at worst, an active safety hazard, as you swing them around you while not being able to see them. I've tried using index controllers wired to a power bank I was carrying, and it wasn't good.

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).

Hard pass on AA, but having a 21700 would be great: Epic battery life but it's still standardized and swappable. I'd even take 18650s.

The overwhelming shortsightedness of thinking highly polluting AA or AAA batteries are a better choice over a LiON solution pack because one needs to unscrew a couple of screws to replace it is completely unreasonable. AA or AAA are a stupid ask for a controller, it's unnecessary waste.

Meh. As long as the lithium battery is as easy to replace as it was to perform other Steam Controller repairs, it shouldn't be a big deal.

Think about how many AA batteries will end up in a landfill over the lifetime of the controller VS the typical lifetime of the lithium battery. The AA batteries lose every time.

Think of it like this: You can replace the battery once every two years (if the controller lasts that long in your sweaty ass hands 🤣) or you can replace the batteries every month... 24 times, adding 48-96 batteries to the landfill in that time.