When it comes to buying a new console there is something a lot of people skimp on: battery solutions. Picking up that freshly sealed new piece of hardware often puts you in a tunnel vision mode whereby you have capped off your spending limit and don't really want to splash out on another expense on the same day. Ironically if you did invest in a battery pack you would be unknowingly saving yourself heaps of time, money and issues further down the line.

Not Reinventing The Wheel

Battery packs are nothing new. Ever since the inception of mainline wireless controllers back in the early 90's there has been a demand on batteries to power them, and in turn a demand for higher capacity and less user interaction: aka changing and disposing of them.

8BitDo has brought to the table its own, sleek, sexy-looking see-through dock and nominal-capactiy battery solution for Xbox players around the globe, and I'm going to test whether it packs enough punch in terms of value for money and playtime, compared to standard batteries and even other battery packs I happen to have reviewed too.

Transparency Is Key

8BitDO has opted to go for 1100mAh power in this offering, bringing forth a roughly 15 hr playtime paired with 3 hr charge time. While it's clearly not a bad ratio, I always feel that by now battery packs should charge far faster by now. Three hrs is not an eternity but equally when you're in the zone, you run out of juice, you can't just bang it down for 20-30 mins and expect to pick up where you left off for the next session. If you did leave it for 20-30 you would find yourself with about 10-15% charge and roughly an hour's worth of power to continue your questing, but then again: you would have taken a well-earned break.

The highest-rated battery pack I have seen in the wild recently is 2600mAh which boasts 45+ hours of playtime, but I have not read good things about them and they require removing and placing in a dedicated external charger to recharge them. While 40+ hrs sounds ideal the mere fact that you have to remove them to charge automatically de-merits them and pushes them down the list of the most desirable accessories in my humble opinion. I think 8BitDo are on the right track with this product.

A One For All Solution

Thankfully this 8BitDo dual charge dock comes with backs for Series S/X pads as well as the now antiquated original Xbox One controllers. You wouldn't think the controllers were that different, but yes, Microsoft saw fit to adjust the battery back design by just enough that you have to purchase different packs for different gen controllers, and there is still no standard controller with a built-in battery, like on Sonys PS3/Ps4/PS5 consoles, but that's a whole other argument/debate!

Supplied with 2 batteries, they snap in easily and feel incredibly solid. The backs push on and snap into place offering you a method to magnetically connect them to the dock and charge them without cables. No, you cannot charge the batteries with a cable as you would any other "Play and Charge" packs. This is the only real negative I have here, it would have been great to have that option, but sadly it doesn't work via plugging in a USB-C cable to the controller. Perhaps a magnetic-style trickle-charging cable could be suggested as an intermediary solution to make it play and charge? If it happens, you heard it here first!

Should you absolutely hammer your batteries by charging and discharging over 2000 times, you can order more batteries via 8BitDo's link on Amazon. Currently a preorder, you can replace those rechargeable units individually rather than having to splurge out on an entirely new dock and batteries, as is the case for the majority of docks with batteries out there on the high street.

The dock plugs into the mains, which in my opinion is the best option in terms of freeing up USB ports on your console, and supplying ample power to charge your batteries the quickest way possible because if it takes 3hrs on mains imagine how long it would take trickle charging via 5v USB ports!

The Final Word

8BitDo's dual Xbox charger is compact and acts as a controller storage/tidy too keeping your peripherals in check when not in use, and with built-in overcharge/heating and current protection, you can rest assured that your batteries won't fry if you leave them on the dock for extended periods and more importantly: that the battery life won't degrade without use, and they will be charged and ready for action whenever you are.

I love the simplicity, the ease of use and the fact that customers cannot get this wrong when buying a new battery pack for their kids, and the fact that it will force those gaming addicts to ease off a bit rather than plug and play through the re-charging stages: as sometimes kids need to touch grass, take a break and enjoy the IRL world around them too!