Microsoft just shrank the Xbox controller, and the internet immediately started arguing about batteries. The new Xbox Nano Controller goes on sale today, Nov. 4, for $49.99. It is a little over 5 inches long, weighs just 3.5 ounces and still packs all 18 standard gameplay inputs, according to Xbox Wire. Microsoft calls it its smallest controller ever, lighter and shorter than most modern smartphones. Austin Evans got one early, and his Short is pulling far more views than his usual clips.
Small pad, full layout
The Nano is not a stripped-down kids toy. You still get both sticks, the D-pad, ABXY, bumpers, triggers and the menu buttons, plus a programmable Action Button you can map to screenshots, clip capture or other shortcuts. It connects to Xbox Series X|S and Xbox One over Xbox Wireless, and to PCs, phones, tablets, smart TVs and even VR headsets over Bluetooth. The Verge notes that the D-pad and Xbox button stay full size while the sticks, buttons and triggers shrink. Its hands-on headline? “Surprisingly comfortable.”
Microsoft pitches it at younger players, smaller hands and anyone who wants something that disappears into a jacket pocket. It works for the couch too. Pair a couple for local co-op and nobody has to fight over the “good” controller.
The great battery fight
Here is where the comment section loses its mind. The Nano has a built-in rechargeable battery instead of the swappable AA batteries Xbox fans have defended for two decades. Half the replies say good riddance to digging through the junk drawer. The other half want to know what happens when the cell dies in five years.
Early reports are mixed. The Verge saw it drain around 10 percent in 30 to 40 minutes, though it charged from 30 to 60 percent in under 10 minutes over USB-C, and you can play while it charges. Windows Central and The Independent both say they had not managed to kill the battery after long stretches of play. Microsoft has not published an official battery life number. One more catch: the USB-C cable is sold separately, so check your drawer before gift day.
What you give up
There is no rumble. Windows Central says the vibration motors simply would not fit, and The Verge misses them, pointing out that even Joy-Cons rumble. Bigger-handed players will also cramp up in long sessions. The Independent’s 6-foot-6 reviewer loved it for short bursts but felt it in Forza Horizon 6. So this is a travel pad, spare pad or kid pad, not a replacement for your Elite.
GadgetKing take
Fifty bucks for a real first-party Xbox controller that fits in a pocket is a strong pitch, especially for phone and cloud gaming where a full-size pad feels like bringing a suitcase to the corner store. Skip the rumble, accept the built-in battery and this thing is a stocking stuffer with all 18 inputs. Microsoft also has holiday bundles that throw in a Nano with select Samsung TVs and Meta Quest headsets.
Get the Xbox Nano Controller ($49.99 list).
Sources: Xbox Wire, The Verge, Windows Central, The Independent and Xbox Support. Video: Austin Evans. Images: Microsoft/Xbox (01) and Austin Evans (video stills, 02 to 04).
More handheld gaming: the see-through ROG Xbox Ally X20, the Abxylute M5 and M6 magnetic phone controllers and Mario 64 in mixed reality.
