Engadget Weighs Wired vs. Wireless Xbox Controllers as Latency Assumptions Fall Away

The piece, written by an Xbox player who keeps a pair of rechargeable AA batteries on hand, notes that consoles have shipped with wireless-by-default controllers for decades mainly for convenience, and that the author rarely connects a standard controller to the console over USB despite the option being available.

The expectation that a cable guarantees less input lag does not survive testing, Engadget reports. Polling Rate Test recorded similar polling rates for Microsoft's Xbox controllers over USB and through the Xbox Wireless Adapter, the accessory that uses the same proprietary protocol as Xbox consoles to link a controller to a PC. Both came in at around 125Hz, which works out to a maximum input delay of roughly eight milliseconds, or about half a frame in a game running at 60 frames per second. Most players will not perceive that.

Bluetooth is a different case. Connecting a controller over Bluetooth to a PC, phone or tablet adds an estimated four to eight milliseconds of delay on top, with the exact figure depending on the setup and how many other wireless devices are nearby. Engadget suggests trying a cable if a controller feels slow to respond, while noting that a wired connection will not eliminate input lag entirely. On the Xbox Series X and Series S, Microsoft uses Dynamic Latency Input to deliver the latest button presses just before a game needs them. The display and the game itself also affect what a player perceives, since frame rates and overall performance introduce their own delay.

Power is the second dividing line. A wired controller draws electricity over USB, so there are no batteries to swap, no recharge schedule to track and no recurring cost for replacements. Any suitable USB data cable will do, which makes keeping one nearby a reasonable precaution. Players who stay wireless need more planning. Microsoft estimates a standard controller can run for up to 40 hours on AA batteries, a figure that varies with the batteries used and with accessories such as a headset or the plug-in keyboard. Carrying a spare pair of rechargeable AAs for a fast swap is one compromise. Another is the Xbox Rechargeable Battery, a pack that sits where AA batteries normally go and charges through an included nine-foot USB-C cable, long enough to reach a console if power runs low mid-session. Engadget notes the pack avoids the separate charger that rechargeable AAs require.

Where the controller is used shapes how much a cable matters. At a desk, a wire is unlikely to be a trip hazard or something for children to pull on. In a living room, it is more likely to become an obstacle, and cable length becomes a calculation: enough slack to sit comfortably, but not so much that the cord wraps around furniture or is snagged when someone stands up. Running a cable under a rug or along a baseboard can help, though that is not always possible. Going wireless removes those considerations, letting a player sit anywhere with a clear view of the screen and hand a controller to someone else without rearranging anything.

The article also notes that wired controllers can be simpler and cheaper, and that cheaper third-party Xbox controllers are widely available.