A new PS5 controller billed as a luxury version of the standard DualSense will be released next month, but it will be inferior to this cheaper and less-advanced version. If you have already pre-ordered the PS5 DualSense Edge – PlayStation’s long-awaited answer to the Xbox Elite controller – or plan to purchase one when it is released on January 26, you should be aware that the battery has a shorter life. In other words, it will die faster than the conventional PS5 controller, which dies rather quickly currently.
The PS5 DualSense Edge will cost a staggering $199.99 when it is released.
The regular DualSense costs $69.99 or $74.99, depending on the color. In other words, the DualSense Edge is $100 more expensive and has a shorter battery life.
According to Sony, this isn’t because the battery is bad, but because the controller is more complex and consumes power faster. Sony notes the difference in how much faster the battery will die as “moderately shorter.” To put it another way, we don’t know. Sony does, but it certainly does not want to admit it, implying that the 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 saves battery life, but there are no specifics, implying that the difference doesn’t make the controller appear significantly better. It’s unclear why the controller battery wasn’t improved to compensate for the additional power-sucking technology within.
At $200, you’d think there’d be plenty of flex room to account for this while still turning a healthy profit per item, but this is just supposition. It’s possible that upgrading the battery would have pushed the price above $200, which would have been an optics disaster.
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