I’m not sure what it is, but whenever we start hearing about new controllers, it feels like people get hayday fever, and suddenly tons of leaks start pouring through the industry’s rusty pipes. This time around, it’s a little different. We’ve covered Xbox news quite often on this site, and yet it’s mainly been small things that Xbox has publicly announced or teased; this time, thanks to Tecnoblog, we have our first looks at two new controllers. This article will focus solely on the Xbox Elite 3 controller and the interesting quirks it seems to have.
In the documentation that Tecnoblog managed to obtain, it would appear that the controller will come with:
- Wi-Fi 6 Support
- Bluetooth Support
- Unknown chipset, Tecnoblog speculates it’ll use the RTL8730E
- Interchangeable D-Pad, Triggers, and Paddles
- Two new scroll wheel buttons on the side
- A New Cloud Mode
- Rechargeable and Removable 1,528 mAh battery
While the purpose of the scroll wheels is currently unknown, Tecnoblog speculates that it could be designed for flight simulators, functioning as throttle controls, but due to it being right by where a headset can be plugged in I would like to introduce a new possibility of sliders to adjust the game audio and voice audio, allowing the console feature to be embedded into the controllers themselves.
It’s currently unknown when the controller model will be released, and even if this is the final revision before it hits consumers’ hands, but there is one feature I really hope we learn more about, and that is the Cloud Gaming toggle. This will allow the controller to link directly to cloud gaming servers instead of linking to your computer or console. It really makes me wonder how that might differ from just linking it to a console or computer and playing Cloud Gaming that way. Could it possibly decrease latency due to that extra man in the middle layer not being there, or could it just be a weird Microsoft gimmick that quickly gets forgotten about as time goes on?
For those who want to know the biggest key features for this controller compared to the Elite 3 so they can decide if this is something they want, here’s what we’ve noticed as the main pros/cons: The Elite Series 3 controller introduces Wi-Fi 6, sure this is only really needed for Cloud Gaming but it is a great sign, as the Xbox Series X doesn’t support that standard, causing complications for those playing on Wi-Fi 6 or even Wi-Fi 7 routers. This could serve as a sign that Microsoft will finally be introducing Wi-Fi 6 support into future consoles, potentially starting with Project Helix.
When it comes to the device’s battery, it’s a mixed downgrade and upgrade at the same time. You can remove the battery again, which is great to see, as the Elite Series 2 controller doesn’t support that, but you do get a less powerful battery, dropping from 2,050 mAh to 1,528 mAh, which means you’ll most likely need to charge the controller more often. The Elite Series 2 controller can typically last up to 40 hours, so it’s not a game-changer if you end up losing maybe 5-10 hours, but it gives players the opportunity to swap batteries if the capacity degrades, helping fix a durability complaint the Elite Series 2 had.
With this said, I’ll let you be the judge on whether this controller will be the future of Microsoft or just another expensive toy for those who are major controller nerds. Regardless, I can’t wait to see what the new scroll wheels do and how cloud mode works.
