Sony’s £210 DualSense Edge controller has a shorter battery life than their standard gamepad

If you want a longer battery life, Sony’s premium DualSense Edge controller is a miss

Sony has released more information about their upcoming DualSense Edge gamepad, and have even let some publications try out the new controller ahead of its launch this year. This has allowed for pre-release/hands-on articles to release regarding Sony’s new Edge controller, revealing a shortcoming of Sony’s new controller design, battery life.

The Verge has noted that Sony’s DualSense Elite gamepad has a notably shorter battery life than the company’s standard DualSense controller, leading the publication to reach out to Sony for an explanation. Sony responded with the below statement. 

    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. 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.

The funny thing about Sony’s statement is that they have effectively responded to The Verge’s battery life concerns by saying that they are shipping their DualSense Edge controllers with a longer USB cable, effectively saying that gamers can use this controller as a wired gamepad in response to battery life concerns.  

Sony has confirmed that their DualSense Edge gamepad will have a shorter battery life than their standard DualSense gamepads, stating that they wanted to utilise the same form factor as their existing DualSense gamepad and that they wanted to “strike a good balance between wireless operating time and delivering robust, high-performance features”. Simply put, Sony did not see the DualSense’s battery life as something that needed to be elongated with their enhanced Edge design, despite the fact it is one of the things that many gamers dislike most about most recent Sony gamepads.

While Sony’s DualSense gamepad typically offers gamers a longer battery life than Sony’s older DualShock 3 and DualShock 4 controllers, battery life is a bugbear for many PlayStation users. While Sony’s inclusion of a 2.8m USB Type-C cable for DualSense Edge charging is a welcome addition, it would have been nice to see Sony address battery life concerns with their £209.99 controller, either in the form of a larger capacity battery or investment in power saving improvements.

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