While many of us like the convenience of using regular AA batteries with our standard Xbox One controllers, the reality is it’s not very eco-friendly. As an alternative, Microsoft makes their own rechargeable battery brick. Naturally, third parties make alternatives to that alternative. One such alternative to Microsoft’s solution is the TNT Interactive T-1200 Power Core.

The back of the box for the TNT Interactive T-1200 Power Core.

The insides of the box for the TNT Interactive T-1200 Power Core.

With the TNT Interactive T-1200 Power Core, you get the 1200mAh battery brick and a play and charge power cable. The battery fits neatly inside the standard Xbox One controller and behind the battery cover.

The battery and cable.

The play and charge power cable is a generous nine feet (about 2.7 meters) long. One end of the cable plugs into any USB port (including, of course, any of the ones on the Xbox One itself) and the other end plugs into the controller. An indicator light on the controller end of the cable glows red when charging and then changes to green when it’s topped off, which takes about four hours from full discharge. As the name indicates, the play and charge power cable can also be used for wired play on either an Xbox One or a PC running Windows 7 or later. Testing on my Windows 10 desktop PC was flawless.

Inserting the battery into the controller is a snap.

The battery gets covered up like normal.

Right now, the TNT Interactive T-1200 Power Core is only $15.95 on Amazon, which represents a small, but welcome savings over Microsoft’s first party offering.

The indicator like lets you know current charging status.

Thanks to TNT interactive for the review unit.