PowerA has revealed a new way for Xbox One and Series X|S owners to tidily refuel a couple of controllers, and it comes in the form of Duo Charging Station. Unlike PlayStation and Switch consoles, Xbox gamepads rely on replaceable AA batteries for power. This can be seen as a good or bad thing, and tends to be a gamer argument that is usually divided down the middle. One downside that is quite clear is that charging docks tend to be a bit pricer since they have to include rechargeable battery packs, but PowerA Duo Charging Station manages to do a reasonable job in that department. Continue reading to learn more.
PowerA Duo Charging Station wants to streamline your gaming setup
PowerA is back at it again with a new officially licensed controller charging accessory for Xbox One and Series X|S owners. It features a streamlined design that stacks one controller in front of the other. As you would expect, two rechargeable batteries are included, each of which has contacts that are visible to the dock via what PowerA calls “charge-thru battery doors.”
While Xbox One and Series X|S controllers are quite similar, there happens to be enough of a difference that PowerA includes a total of four battery doors, two for Xbox One and two for the new Series X|S gamepads. The color of the doors will match the version of Duo Charging Station you pick, and choices are currently limited to either black or white.
Pricing and availability
The new PowerA Duo Charging Station is now available for pre-order and is slated to be released on October 30. Cost is locked at $29.99 and it’s worth noting that it the new offering clocks in at about $5 more than the PowerA Dual Charging Station that preceded it, but some may prefer the orientation of Duo better.
9to5Toys’ Take
Having used controller charging stations since I owned a Nintendo Wii, I am quite familiar with the concept, and for the most part, am still a pretty big fan. It’s great to have a designated area to neatly place controllers when they aren’t in use, but I have personally switched to rechargeable AAs, which work perfectly with my Xbox Series S controllers.
One downside is that I do have to manually swap batteries instead of seamlessly docking my controllers and letting something like the Duo Charging Station take care of the rest. That being said, going with rechargeable batteries doesn’t require me to use a third-party cover that may not blend well with colorful controllers and even frees me up to do something unique with my gamepads.
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