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Sony's £210 DualSense Edge controller will have worse battery life than the original

Senseless.

Sony has revealed further details of its new DualSense Edge wireless controller for the PlayStation 5, but one particular point stuck out the most.

In a hand-on preview, The Verge noticed that battery life was noticeably worse than the base DualSense controller, and this was later confirmed to the publication in a statement.

"The DualSense Edge wireless controller's operating time is moderately shorter than the original DualSense wireless controller," a Sony spokesperson said. "We wanted to strike a good balance between wireless operating time and delivering robust, high-performance features."

Cover image for YouTube videoNewscast: Eurogamer News Quiz of the Year 2022!
The Eurogamer Newscast News Quiz of the Year 2022!

This shortcoming is noticeably absent from the official PlayStation Blog post on the controller.

Most hilarious of all, Sony's statement ended by reminding owners that they'll get a long-braided USB cable if you want to avoid wireless connectivity altogether:

"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."

I can't find any official numbers anywhere on the average battery life of the DualSense controller or indeed this new DualSense Edge model, but from my experience, I can't go further than five hours at the most without a recharge.

Your experience will vary based on the extent the games you play utilise the controller's features and whether you have a headset plugged in, but anything lower than the already short battery life of the original DualSense feels like a trade-off I'm not willing to make.

The DualSense Edge wireless controller for PlayStation 5 release on 26th January for £210 in the UK.