The Pitiful Battery Life of the PS5's DualSense Controller
Sony's DualSense controller, which premiered with the original PS5, is a wonder of technology. It includes haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, a built-in microphone array, a mute button, an integrated speaker, a share button, a lightbar, motion sensors, as well as a touchpad. In other words, it has just about every feature you could possibly want in a modern game controller. The downside to this feature-itis is battery life. If a game takes advantage of all these features, and you leave them enabled—you can disable quite a few of them—the battery can drain in about 5 hours. Some games don't use most of the features, or if they are disabled, the battery can last as long as 10 hours. 10 hours isn't terrible, but it's a far cry from the Xbox Series S and X controller, which typically lasts 20 to 40 hours. I'll admit I wasn't originally a big fan of the Sony DualSense, partly because I prefer asymmetrical sticks, and because I like the feel of the Xbox controller ...
