Sony's solution to poor DualSense Edge wireless battery life: Plug it in
Sony's DualSense controller already had something of a rep for poor battery life. Now it seems the upgraded DualSense Edge is even worse. Sony's solution to this poor wireless battery life? Keep the controller plugged in. No, really.
Sony has confirmed to our sister site TechRadar Gaming that the DualSense Edge has slightly worse battery life than the original DualSense controller thanks to the addition of new features to the same form factor:
"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," Sony says.
Somewhat redundantly, Sony also pointed out in its statement that keeping the controller plugged in preserves battery life:
"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."
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So there you have it. The solution to poor battery life is keeping the DualSense Edge plugged in.
For the record, TechRadar found the original DualSense managed around 12 hours when new, but that degraded with battery wear to more like six hours over the course of a year. Sony doesn't specify battery life for the Edge, but the fact that it will concede the Edge will be worse than the original unit hardly bodes well.
Anywho, while the DualSense Edge is PC compatible none of this is making it seem like a remotely appealing alternative to the likes of the Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 which hits 30 to 40 hours of battery life. That's especially true given the new Sony controller is more expensive at $200/£209. Yikes.