Xbox One Play and Charge Kit

Game controllers are energy-intensive, especially if you use them on a daily basis. With the Xbox One controllers, I was switching out batteries every two weeks. That's roughly 50 batteries per year for one controller! The Play and Charge kit saves you money and is more energy-efficient.When the battery starts to get low, you can either plug it in and keep playing or charge it when you're not using the controller; I frequently charge it overnight so it's ready to go the next time I pick it up. It doesn't take long to recharge, but the time varies depending on how low the battery is; if your console warns you that the battery is low, it'll take at least three hours for a full charge. It also seems to charge slower if you continue to use it as it's charging, but that's understandable. I can go several days without needing to plug it in.The cord plugs into the top of the controller between the bumpers so you can continue using all of the buttons without it getting in the way. The other end of the cord is a USB, which you can plug in to one of the USB ports on the Xbox One or any supported USB port (I've heard that you can plug it into a wall charging unit if it supports enough voltage). The cord is at least eight feet long, and the battery is a Lithium-ion, which means it's more effective and will last longer. It would be nice if there was a charging station to keep more than one battery on hand, but this one lasts for a long enough period of time that it's a minor gripe.I've had this product for over seven months and it continues to work like a champ. At less than $20, It's one of the best purchases I've made on Amazon.

In my very humble opinion, it is absolutely a requirement to use the official ones (or ones that do not require you plug directly into the battery) if it is going to be used for children. We got my oldest a non official one that plugs into the battery instead of the controller and it worked well for a good price but he accidentally plugged it into the controller and it blew out a tiny capacitor and maybe the buck converter. It ended up rendering the controller almost useless as it acts all kinds of funky (left control stick doesn't work anymore and I've repaired the circuit board). Long story short, I'd go with this; the official one to avoid any possible issues.This kit charges easily, it's simple, effective and it has a light on the cable to let you know when the battery is fully charged. This feature alone is great and I love it and another reason I suggest going with this kit.

I bought this to keep me going until I buy a second controller and one of those Nyko charge docks.1. It's simple. A charging cable and a battery. That's it. No weird parts or confusion at all.2. It works well. Every part worked as expected.3. Battery keeps a charge for a good long time. No issues. I don't have exact estimates, suffice it to say that I've forgotten the last time I'd charged it a few times.4. Lithium ion battery.Cons1. Kind of expensive for a battery and a cable.2. Didn't come with the controller like it should have. Kind of upset I had to buy this separately.Overall, it's either this or the Nyko charge base. They're both great options but until I get a second controller, a dock seems too much.*update*So I went with that Nyko base and that turned out to be a bust. After so long, I figured I might as well just buy a second one of these for charging my two controllers. The price hasn't hardly dropped but that's okay. The first one I bought back in April of 2015 still works and still holds a charge.I've seen the other reviews about how the battery dies after 6 months. That was likely a bad batch from the manufacturer. It happens. I'm not making excuses for Microsoft because that's really not cool, but I can see both sides of the situation.Willing to take another shot with one of these. The first one turned out fine and it can't get worse than that "I work when I want lulz" charge base from Nyko.

These batteries are an improvement over the 360 counterparts and definitely last 3-4x longer than those in the Dualshock 4 - and this is with vibration and use of headphones pretty often, but Microsoft needs to iron out the bugs as I experienced this across 3 Xbox Ones and multiple controllers.I tend NOT to neglect or abuse my electronics but I have tried using these batteries every which way to maintain proper function of a Lithium Ion battery and they still end up having issues in keep a charge. I am on my 4th battery in 2 years and the issue is eventually they will just charge how they want, when they want even though the battery is still very much viable. My previous battery (3rd) can still hold a very long charge but when it chooses, it can just bleed out over the course of 1~2 hours at times. If I plug in the official USB charge cable, the white light indicating a full charge can come on instantly or within minutes or it could be on all night. It doesn't happen that often but even a little can be often enough for some, so just be aware of this inconvenience and IMO, is still the way to go in terms of cost/benefit since the 3rd party batteries seem to not only have a low output but also seem to even be hazardous.