Sony’s DualSense Edge is the company’s first shot at making an internal pro controller. However, this PlayStation 5 pad won’t be superior to the base DualSense in every single way.
According to a statement provided to The Verge, the Edge will have a “moderately shorter” battery life when compared to the regular DualSense because it has “many more features within the same form factor and ergonomic design.” Sony also pointed out that it has a longer braided USB cable (that can also be locked into the controller), which will also help preserve energy.
It’s unclear how these extra features will “moderately” inhibit its battery life. The Edge has new shift buttons on the bottom of each analog stick hub as well as two back paddles, but it does not appear to rumble harder or have a brighter light. Sony also declined to answer The Verge’s inquiries about if it considered giving it a longer battery life. No range was attached to the Edge’s battery life, though, so those tests will have to wait until the controller launches on January 26, 2023 for $199.99 on the official PlayStation website (and February 23, 2023 for other retailers).
In addition to multiple hands-on impression videos from the press going live, Sony also released a video of its own engineers going over the DualSense Edge. Battery life was not mentioned, but the crew explained that the DualSense’s form factor was popular enough to keep for this pad and the intricacies of its many customizable parts and functions. A post on the PlayStation Blog also ran down the different profiles and settings users can set related to stick dead zones, trigger pull length, and more.