PS5 DualSense Edge controller has a nasty trade-off — shorter battery life

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Didn't Ratchet & Clank teach PlayStation anything?

DualSense Edge
(Image credit: Sony)

The DualSense Edge controller was PlayStation's answer to Xbox's Elite series, but unfortunately, it launched with battery life inferior to its base model. Considering that the original DualSense was already criticized for its short-lived battery life, this is more than a little disappointing.

The reason for the DualSense Edge's reduced battery life is simply a matter of size. As shown by Twitter user Budd's Controllers, the DualSense Edge's physical battery is significantly smaller than the original. Doesn't Sony recall what the hit PSP game Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters taught us? Come on PlayStation, it's in the title!

According to a Dexerto report, the DualSense Edge's battery is 33% smaller than the regular DualSense, with the former boasting a capacity of 1050 mAh, while the latter has a far higher 1560 mAh. Dexerto's testing yielded only six hours of battery life from the Edge.

Many have pointed out that the steep price of $200 for a controller with such a short lifespan seems unacceptable, but a Sony representative who spoke to TechRadar Gaming claims it was to "strike a good balance between wireless operating time and delivering robust, high-performance features."

Back when the DualSense Edge was just a rumor (and we were calling it the "Pro"), I wrote about how my greatest desire from this new iteration would be for it to improve the battery life. And somehow, Sony has managed to accomplish the exact opposite. It's also worth remembering that li-on batteries degrade over time, so the currently disappointing battery life could be infuriating after a year or two of using your $200 controller.

The DualSense Edge is a more complicated controller than the base model, featuring replaceable joysticks, adjustable trigger length, mappable back buttons, and a controller interface button, which would explain the lack of space for a larger battery. After all, with such modularity, it's easy to imagine that the controller is less roomy internally. It's likely that this was a sacrifice that had to be made, but it's unfortunate nonetheless. 

Claire Tabari
Claire Tabari
Contributing Writer

Self-described art critic and unabashedly pretentious, Claire finds joy in impassioned ramblings about her closeness to video games. She has a bachelor’s degree in Journalism & Media Studies from Brooklyn College and five years of experience in entertainment journalism. Claire is a stalwart defender of the importance found in subjectivity and spends most days overwhelmed with excitement for the past, present and future of gaming. When she isn't writing or playing Dark Souls, she can be found eating chicken fettuccine alfredo and watching anime.