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Most underrated feature of the Switch is the battery life of the pro controller

TheSubsequentStrajack

TheSubsequentStrajack

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Dec 12, 2017
587
My god, how do the battery wizards at Nintendo do this? I feel like I've been playing Hollow Knight for hours upon hours, and I go to check the battery of the pro controller, and it's still near 100%!! Contrast this with the PS4 controller's abysmal battery life, and I just have no idea how Nintendo does it.

It's so good it has incentivized me to buy many 3rd party indie games on the Switch over the PC or PS4, especially games that won't have a large visual or feature discrepancy. Sure, Wolfenstein and DOOM are still going to be played on the more powerful platforms, but for games like Hollow Knight, Celeste, or Owlboy? Switch is my absolute go to.

Battery life aside, this controller is ergonomically excellent, and maybe my favorite controller period. It's not very innovative but god damn this thing is a workhorse. Hugely impressed.
 
JeffGubb

JeffGubb

Giant Bomb
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Oct 25, 2017
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It's still not as good as using Double A batteries on the Xbox One controller.
 

Deleted member 249

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Yeah, the Switch Pro controller is excellent, and the battery life is insane. I love how great the battery life is on Nintendo products in general (3DS being the obvious exception).
 

Deleted member 873

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yeah, the Wii U one had a great battery life. So expected, I guess. I really want one, but the d-pad thing makes me afraid of purchasing one.

Is that fixed in any new model? :(
 

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PtM said:
So it's a Wii U Pro 2.0...
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See, i wouldn't even say that, the Wii U Pro controller stripped out most of the functionality. The Switch Pro controller has gyroscopes, accelerometers, full HD rumble, NFC chips, the full shebang, and it manages its battery life. Wii U Pro took out everything (and even rumble was weak af on that one).
 

Deleted member 2102

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Maxrunner said:
Is it better than the wiiu pro? I'm using the wiiu pro with the 8bitdo receiver.
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I like the general feel of it better, and the gyro capability's excellent in games that use it, but the battery life is worse and seems to have more passive drain. The d-pad's awful as well. I didn't think the Wii U Pro's was anything special either, but the Switch Pro's suffers from flawed pad, membrane, and contact designs. Apparently they've gotten better, but it still seems to be a gamble. I'd have to see pictures of each part before I actually believe that it's anything more than placebo.
 
Butt-shot Katana

Butt-shot Katana

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Dec 14, 2017
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It was so weird to go from my DS4 (which I basically had plugged in all the time and hence it was a wired controller) to the Pro Controller. It took a couple weeks before I realized I truly didn't need to leave it plugged in, even for multi-hour BotW sessions.
 
Kouriozan

Kouriozan

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Oct 25, 2017
21,060
I love it, I can play for 50 hours without the need to recharge it.
Meanwhile I need to recharge my PS4 controller way too often.
 
darkness

darkness

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Oct 25, 2017
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Steam support is also very good. I've been playing Rise of the Tomb Raider with gyro aiming and it feels great. It works via USB or Bluetooth so you can enjoy that great battery life on PC as well.
 
Firebrand

Firebrand

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Oct 25, 2017
4,709
Are bouncy sticks a common issue? I didn't notice until a friend told me, but letting go of the stick causes it to overshoot past the deadzone and can cause menu cursors to step in the opposite direction (like when switching weapons in BotW etc).
 

Deleted member 2145

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honestly it's almost a negative for me because a charge will last so long that I never think about it so when it gets low it's always out of nowhere and at an inconvenient time

meanwhile the DS4's battery life is so bad that it's always on my mind so I always keep it charged
 
number8888

number8888

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Oct 27, 2017
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Not surprising if you compare the size of the pro-controller to the joy-con. They can probably fit a pretty big battery in there.
 
LuigiV

LuigiV

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Oct 27, 2017
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phanphare said:
honestly it's almost a negative for me because a charge will last so long that I never think about it so when it gets low it's always out of nowhere and at an inconvenient time

meanwhile the DS4's battery life is so bad that it's always on my mind so I always keep it charged
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When the low battery indicator comes on, you still have a few hours of charge left. Just keep playing and plug it in when you're done.
 

Deleted member 16908

Oct 27, 2017
9,377
I don't think it's fair to compare a $70 sold-separately controller to the controllers that actually come with the other consoles. I'd take the DualShock 4 or XB1 pad over the joy-cons any day.
 
erikNORML

erikNORML

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Oct 30, 2017
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It lasts so long i get actively annoyed and surprised when the battery alert pops up while I'm playing because I never remember to plug it in.

Probably my favorite traditional controller.
 
LuigiV

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number8888 said:
Not surprising if you compare the size of the pro-controller to the joy-con. They can probably fit a pretty big battery in there.
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It's actually not that big. It's the same 1300mAh battery used in the 3DS and Wii U pro controller. That's only 30% larger than the DS4 battery. Not having a high powered LED on the back really does wonders for power draw.
 
Megasoum

Megasoum

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Oct 25, 2017
22,562
I mean... Nothing against the Switch pro controller but the issue here is not really how good it is, it's more about how shitty the PS4 one is.

I've been playing dozens of hours on my PC every week lately using my XB1 controller and I have to charge my AA Eneloops once a week max.
 
Jaded Alyx

Jaded Alyx

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Oct 25, 2017
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Robinson said:
I don't think it's fair to compare a $70 sold-separately controller to the controllers that actually come with the other consoles. I'd take the DualShock 4 or XB1 pad over the joy-cons any day.
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In terms of battery life, which is what the thread is about, the joycons are still better than the DS4
 
Alandring

Alandring

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Feb 2, 2018
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I bought a Pro Controler with my Switch last December. I never used it, except for multiplayer games. This is my worst purchase for the Switch.

I ever play in handheld mode, at home or outside. Honestly, I don't understand the interest to play on TV or in tabletop mode.
 
Arih

Arih

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Jan 19, 2018
471
Yeah it's insane! They should line the floor of a tesla with switch pro controller batteries. Range = 1 trip around the world.
 
Fruit&Nut

Fruit&Nut

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Mar 16, 2018
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The lag is so much worse than just using it portable mode though.

I really like the controller. But, the game you mention. Hollow Knight. There's just really really noticeable lag using the pro controller. It's just so much more sluggish and you have so much less time to react. You literally cannot do the same things.

Not sure what the issue is. What the underlying tech is, but certainly wireless tech has gotten a lot better with the lag. All wireless keyboards and mice used to have noticeable lag. With a mouse cursor, or typing it's really easy to notice it. Sometime in the last few years it seemed like that was solved though. The new magic mouse magic keyboard, unlike the older ones, just do not have that lag.
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

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Oct 27, 2017
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Yeah, it's really good. I wish my Dualshock 4 had the battery life of the internal battery in the Pro Controller.

The Pro Controller is almost perfect for me. Would just need a non-shitty d-pad and analogue triggers. I love it overall.
 
cgatto

cgatto

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Feb 9, 2018
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Fruit&Nut said:
The lag is so much worse than just using it portable mode though.

I really like the controller. But, the game you mention. Hollow Knight. There's just really really noticeable lag using the pro controller. It's just so much more sluggish and you have so much less time to react. You literally cannot do the same things.

Not sure what the issue is. What the underlying tech is, but certainly wireless tech has gotten a lot better with the lag. All wireless keyboards and mice used to have noticeable lag. With a mouse cursor, or typing it's really easy to notice it. Sometime in the last few years it seemed like that was solved though. The new magic mouse magic keyboard, unlike the older ones, just do not have that lag.
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25 hours in and I haven't noticed lag with Hollow Knight at all.

TC, I'm not so sure the battery life is underrated. I think it's been a pretty big selling feature of the thing since it's inception.
 

Deleted member 9486

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headspawn said:
Xbox One says hello.

That lasts 20+ hours.

I thought people were saying Switch Pro lasts 40 hours though.?
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I don't seem to get 20 out of Eneloops in my Elite controller--though to be fair my eneloops are oldish and I've not used the Xbox battery pack.

I defintely don't think I've ever hit 40 on my Switch Pro. Usually in the 20-25 range and it's bad about being dead when it's gone unused for months. The Wii U pro controller was 60+ easily and seemed to hold a charge better when going unused for long stretches.
 

Deleted member 4034

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Oct 25, 2017
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I like using it, but in use, I don't agree with the battery being 40 hours. Cause I've charged both of mine A LOT and I can't have logged more than 400 hours on my Switch.
 

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Jaded Alyx said:
Joycons are 20, Pro is 40ish

Wii U pro was 80
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I've definitely not gotten 40ish out of my Pro. Not that I'm complaining as the battery life is still great. It probably varies with rumble being on strong, playing rumble heavy games etc. It's also a launch one with the dpad issues so I wouldn't be surprised if I got a subpar battery as I have shit luck with stuff like that.
 
Shini42

Shini42

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Jan 7, 2018
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How is that a feature of Switch? This controller is not even included. You have to buy it separately for like a $70. If battery life of a controller bothers you so much, you can buy an external battery pack (as an example) for DS4 for $20.
 
Jaded Alyx

Jaded Alyx

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Oct 25, 2017
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dmaul1114 said:
I've definitely not gotten 40ish out of my Pro. Not that I'm complaining as the battery life is still great. It probably varies with rumble being on strong, playing rumble heavy games etc. It's also a launch one with the dpad issues so I wouldn't be surprised if I got a subpar battery as I have shit luck with stuff like that.
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Nah, I just think the stated duration is the upper end of what can be achieved, likely as you say without HD rumble and gyro sapping it every other minute.
 
sebco

sebco

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Oct 27, 2017
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It really is outstanding.

Switch Pro > XB1 Controller >>>>>>>>> DS4

That being said, all the controllers this generation are fantastic in the hand.
 
Stoof

Stoof

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Oct 25, 2017
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Using the Switch Pro Controller just makes me realize even more how trash the DS4's battery life is. I hope Sony improves it significantly for the PS5.
 
Musubi

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I think its more that the DS4 battery life is just such shit that it makes the Pro controller seem like a godsend. The Dualshock 3 battery lasted quite a while.
 

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dmaul1114 said:
I don't seem to get 20 out of Eneloops in my Elite controller--though to be fair my eneloops are oldish and I've not used the Xbox battery pack.

I defintely don't think I've ever hit 40 on my Switch Pro. Usually in the 20-25 range and it's bad about being dead when it's gone unused for months. The Wii U pro controller was 60+ easily and seemed to hold a charge better when going unused for long stretches.
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Me either probably like 15 hours definitely not 20 whole hours
 
Bjomesphat

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Nov 5, 2017
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WonderLuigi said:
yeah, the Wii U one had a great battery life. So expected, I guess. I really want one, but the d-pad thing makes me afraid of purchasing one.

Is that fixed in any new model? :(
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Anecdote:

I just got mine a few weeks ago and took it through all of the input testing motions and never got an incorrect input. Take that for what you will.
 
pswii60

pswii60

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Oct 27, 2017
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Jaded Alyx said:
Well, to be fair, the Switch Pro can be doing a heck of a lot more than an XBOX One controller with the gyro, NFC, HD rumble..
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You actually have triple rumble in the XBO controller. Standard rumble and then rumble in each trigger too. It's awesome and a hugely underappreciated feature.

I hate HD rumble, it's so noisy (on the Joycons at least) that I disabled it altogether on the Switch.
 
MP!

MP!

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Oct 30, 2017
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I've grown to respect the Switch Pro controller... I didn't like it at first...

Last week I just got one of these
snes30-pro.png

in preparation for the Megaman X collection... cause there is no way I can play megaman X on the Switch pro d-pad...
I've been really plesantly surprised... It looks about 10% worse in real life than this render makes it seem... but the D pad is LEGIT... the A B X Y buttons are a bit too stiff for my liking... but that may be just because my SNES controllers are 25 years old and millions of button presses have softened them. BUT... overall I'm quite pleased.
Has Rumble, gyro, clickable sticks and zl zr buttons ... menu and screen shot functionality... I believe they see an $8 adapter to use it with the classic minis... I will do that for sure.
 
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