A side-by-side comparison of the battery modules for the DualSense Edge and the DualSense shows the severity of the battery life decrease Sony was warning us about. A teardown of the new PS5 Pro gamepad revealed that the battery Sony equipped into their $200 unit can hold just 1050 mAh of charge, which is nearly a 30% decrease when compared to the 1560 mAh battery the regular DualSense controller carries.
Twitter user Budd's Controllers, which operates an electronics firm in Gold Coast, Australia, came to this conclusion after a live streaming teardown of the premium gamepad. Not only is the difference in size fairly noticeable, but just how Sony warned, it also has a lower capacity. And while Sony was transparent about the changes coming to the new hardware, the issue here stems from the fact that their gamepads have a documented history of deteriorating battery life after a period of usage.
In their hands-on session presenting the new Dual Sense Edge controller, Sony admitted the new controller would come with a "moderately shorter" battery life. Its figures ranged from 5 to 10 hours of active gaming, depending on the game and the intensity of the session. Sony also said that the normal DualSense should last 12 to 15 hours, but many users have reported a shortened battery lifespan after more than a year of usage. If owners of the original gamepad can barely muster up 8 hours of game time, those that are about to drop $200 on the premium version better be prepared for wired gaming or be satisfied with a 6-hour gaming session.