Pocket-sized Xbox Ctrl

Xbox Nano Controller. Announced 14 October 2026 by James Hunter. $49.99. Rechargeable battery. Programmable Action Button. Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth.

On 14 October 2026, Xbox published the announcement on Xbox Wire. The byline is James Hunter, General Manager, Xbox Accessories. The controller is named the Xbox Nano Controller. Length is a little over 5 inches. Weight is 3.5 ounces. Xbox calls it the smallest controller the company has made, lighter and shorter than most modern smartphones. It carries all 18 standard gameplay inputs. Price is $49.99 USD. Pre-order opened the day of the announcement. Availability begins in November in Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Czechia, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hong Kong SAR, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Trinidad & Tobago, the United Kingdom, and the United States, with more markets later. Pricing and availability vary by country.

The controller has a rechargeable battery. It has a programmable Action Button that can be set for screenshots, gameplay capture, and other shortcuts. It supports Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth. The announcement points to local co-op and portable use, naming Minecraft Dungeons II and Forza Horizon 6 as examples. Two US holiday offers are attached: a Samsung TV purchase that includes the controller and two months of Game Pass Ultimate for new members, and a Meta Quest purchase with the same Game Pass offer. The Samsung path is linked to the Xbox app on the Gaming Hub built into certain Samsung TVs, where cloud playtime can be used with a connected controller.

 

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Signal. What happened: Xbox announced the Nano Controller on 14 October 2026. Exact product: little over 5 inches, 3.5 ounces, 18 standard inputs, rechargeable battery, programmable Action Button, Xbox Wireless and Bluetooth. Price: $49.99 USD. When and where: pre-order from 14 October, November avail in the list markets. Source: Xbox Wire post by James Hunter. Why it matters: Xbox’s smallest full-input controller, priced under $50, with two US holiday bundles.

The dimensions are the first number. A little over 5 inches long and 3.5 ounces. Xbox positions it against smartphones rather than against the standard Xbox controller. The second number is the input count: all 18 standard gameplay inputs. The layout is described as familiar. The controller is not a stripped-down pad. It keeps the full set and reduces the body around it. Coverage of the announcement notes a USB-C port at the rear and a pairing button. Earlier leaked images had shown a small screen. The Verge report on the same day states that screen is not on the final shipping model. The rest of the visible design matches the leaks.

The battery is rechargeable. No AA cells or separate pack is required. The Action Button is programmable and is explicitly tied to screenshots, gameplay capture, and other shortcuts. Connectivity is Xbox Wireless plus Bluetooth, so the controller can pair with Xbox consoles and with phones, tablets, and PCs that support Bluetooth. The announcement does not list a specific battery life figure or a charging time.

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Pre-order opened on 14 October at $49.99 USD. Retailers named in coverage include Amazon, Walmart, and Microsoft. November is the start of availability. The country list is long and includes the major markets named above. Additional markets are said to follow. Pricing is stated to vary by country, so the $49.99 figure is the US pre-order price.

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The Samsung offer is US-only in the text, tied to select Samsung TVs this holiday season, and includes two months of Game Pass Ultimate for new members. The Meta offer is also US and pairs the controller with two months of Game Pass Ultimate for new members on a Meta Quest purchase. The cloud-play note is that the Xbox app on Samsung’s Gaming Hub lets players use monthly cloud playtime on Game Pass titles by connecting a controller. No further terms of either offer are detailed in the announcement.

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The Nano Controller is Xbox’s smallest full-input pad, priced at $49.99, pre-orderable from the day of the 14 October post, with November availability in the listed countries and two US holiday bundles attached. The missing screen from the earlier leak is the detail that did not ship.