According to industry estimates, over 197 million Xbox consoles have been sold since 2001, and a majority of those consoles shipped with Xbox controllers that depend on replaceable AA batteries to stay powered. Even in 2026, the latest gen Xbox Series X S still ships with controllers that rely on AA batteries by default. For most gamers, this means having to swap in a fresh pair every few weeks of regular play unless you opt for the $199 Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 , which has a...
