Review on Gamepad Microsoft Xbox Series, 20th anniversary by Jnis Hermanis ᠌

Name: Gamepad Microsoft Xbox Series, 20th anniversary
Item: Gamepad Microsoft Xbox Series, 20th anniversary
Rating: 5

May 24, 2023

I would definitely recommend the purchase, I don't think there is anything wrong with it.

If you use NiMH batteries instead of regular batteries, the controller will not indicate that the battery is at 100% since the rest voltage of NiMH batteries (after roughly a day of being removed from the charger) tends to be between 1.2 and 1.3 volts, but the rest voltage of non-rechargeable batteries is between 1.5 and 1.6 volts. However, in general, everything works fine with them without any issues; the most important thing is to use paired batteries from a suitable brand (for example, Panasonic Eneloop, IKEA LADDA 2450, Fujitsu, and other products made by FDK Corp).

When connected to the controller through a wire, a pair of NiMH batteries will not be charged in the controller (because the controller is unable to differentiate between the chemistry of the batteries). On the other hand, a branded cassette of two batteries is linked via a different contact group and is an assembly of two batteries in one case. This allows the cassette to charge properly.

If you have controller "dumps" or instability in operation, try connecting via cable; if the problem disappears in this case, then likely this is the same issue that occurs with some implementations of Bluetooth adapters when they are used with a PC and the issue described above.

Pros

Excellent gamepad, however it can only be used with a PC, hence all of the information provided only applies to that platform. Given that it was received as a gift, it is possible that this observation is not exhaustive, particularly when considering only recent experience. When compared to the previous generation, a pleasant plastic texture has been introduced, the emphasis has become more elastic when the triggers are fully squeezed, and the sticks have not significantly altered, but they may have become a little smoother. Type C port, as opposed to the cumbersome micro USB port seen on prior models, which can also be used with a cable connection and is not limited to merely being used for charging. Lasts longer (both battery life and rechargeable life) than the gamepad from Sony belonging to the same generation (DualSense initial revision - at the time of this comment).

Cons

Regarding Bluetooth on a computer, I was a very finicky user in my instance. For instance, there are occasional crashes when using receivers with Bluetooth 5.0 / 5.1, although everything works without any issues while using Bluetooth 4.0 (in both cases, the adapters are USB; in the case of 5.1, a PCIe adapter that combines BT with WiFi 6 was additionally verified). The fact that batteries are not included in the package is a downside, but the fact that AA, LR06, or HR06 batteries can be used is a plus; nonetheless, the fact that a battery kit must be purchased separately rather than being included in the package right away is peculiar in light of modern expectations. One product that falls into this category is the 8BitDo Pro 2 controller. Although it does ship with a battery already installed, in contrast to the DualSense controller, it also has the capability of running on regular batteries if the user so chooses.