PS5 Players Surprised With Unexpected Controller Downgrade

There’s a new PS5 controller releasing next month that’s pitched as a premium version of the standard DualSense, yet it has a downgrade compared to this cheaper and less-advanced version. If you have already pre-ordered the PS5 DualSense Edge — PlayStation’s long overdue answer to the Xbox Elite controller — or are intending on buying one when it releases on January 26, you should know the battery has a shorter life. In other words, it will die quicker than the standard PS5 controller, which already dies fairly quickly. 

When the PS5 DualSense Edge releases, it will cost a whopping $199.99. Depending on what color you get, the standard DualSense runs at $69.99 or $74.99. In other words, the DualSense Edge costs $100 more and some change, yet it has a shorter battery life. According to Sony, this isn’t because the battery is inferior, but because the controller itself is more advanced and drains said battery quicker. As for how much more quickly the battery will die, Sony describes the difference as “moderately shorter.” This is to say, we don’t know. Sony does, but it clearly doesn’t want to say, suggesting this difference is noticeable.

“The DualSense Edge wireless controller’s operating time is moderately shorter than the original DualSense wireless controller because we’ve included many more features within the same form factor and ergonomic design as the original DualSense controller,” said Sony speaking to The Verge. “We wanted to strike a good balance between wireless operating time and delivering robust, high-performance features. Additionally, the longer USB braided cable is also great for competitive players who prefer playing with a wired connection to avoid wireless interference – this option preserves battery life.”

As you can see, using a USB connection will save battery, but again there are no specifics, suggesting the difference doesn’t make the controller look much better. 

It’s unclear why the controller battery wasn’t upgraded to offset the extra battery-sucking tech inside. You’d assume at $200 there is plenty of wiggle room to account for this and still turn a hefty profit per unit, but this is just speculation. It’s possible improving the battery more would have launched the price past $200, which would have been an optics mess. Again, this is just more speculation, which, unfortunately, is all we have at the moment.