Xbox One QWERTY chatpad nestles up into controllers this November

By Will Fulton Published August 4, 2015

xbox one chatpad xb1 — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Tired of hunting and pecking across a virtual keyboard with your gamepad whenever you need to enter text on the Xbox One, or hoping to trash talk your opponents without waking your roommate? Fortunately for you, among a rash of other revelations at its Gamescom press conference, Microsoft announced that the Xbox One will be getting an official chatpad peripheral for messaging, searching, and inputting codes.

Chat, search, & message w/ the new #Xbox Chatpad for #XboxOne & #Windows10. Pre-order today #xboxgamescom pic.twitter.com/aLx5VpmG1Q

— Xbox (@Xbox) August 4, 2015

Slotting snugly into the bottom of the Xbox One’s gamepad controller, the chat pad is a full QWERTY keyboard, along with volume controls and a headset adapter. It also includes two programmable keys (X1 and X2, flanking the space bar) to automate common functions. Nearly identical to a chatpad peripheral for the Xbox 360, it works with both the Xbox One and Windows 10, if you really don’t feel like putting down the controller to use a full-size keyboard when gaming on your Windows PC.

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Adding a native keyboard to the Xbox One is particularly well-timed for its integration with Windows 10. Currently gamers can stream from the Xbox One to a Windows 10 PC. Although streaming in the opposite direction is not currently under development, Microsoft has said that it is a possibility for the future. Xbox head Phil Spencer recently expressed his interest in the feature in a Twitter conversation that also included the revelation if inbound mouse support for the Xbox One, blurring the line even further between consoles and PCs.

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The Xbox One Chatpad is available now to preorder for $35 (controller not included). It will be released on November 10, 2015.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…

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