PS5 DualSense leak may fix the biggest problem with DualShock 4

With the DualSense controller, Sony's PlayStation 5 will not just abandon the DualShock branding, but possibly also one of the DualShock 4's most annoying features as well. A new controller leak has seemingly revealed just how powerful the DualSense's battery is compared to the DualShock 4. Does that mean you'll have to charge your PS5 far less often than your PS4 controller (which is quite often)? Or could it just mean something else entirely?

Twitter user @Galaxyrain666 shared some images and information about the PS5 DualSense controller Wednesday morning. Their tweet gives us our closest look at the controller since Geoff Keighley's July 17 presentation, but it also includes the interesting detail the DualSense has a battery capacity of 1560mAH. Compared to the DualShock 4's 1000mAH capacity, that makes for more than a 50 percent increase. At face value, this suggests the DualSense will have a much longer battery life.

While Xbox controllers still use AA batteries, PlayStation's controllers rely on rechargeable internal batteries. Gamers never have to spend money replacing the DualShock 4 batteries, but the battery life of the controller is significantly shorter. When Sony revealed the PS5 controller in April, it said that the company put "thoughtful consideration into ways to maintain strong battery life for DualSense’s rechargeable battery," and this leak seemingly proves that.

Currently, the DualShock 4's 1000mA batteries that last anywhere from 4 to 7 hours, so it can still become an issue during longer play sessions or for those that don't recharge their DualShock 4 after every session. If the DualSense uses a similar amount of energy, then it will obviously last much longer than DualShock 4.

A Reddit leak from early August suggests that the controller has "3 to 4 hours more" of battery life than the DualShock 4. This newer leak corroborates that claim, which makes it seem like this next-gen controller will last about 7 to 10 hours on average. While this is still much shorter than what you can get out of an Xbox One controller with AA batteries, it's a significant step up from Sony's previous controllers.

While the DualSense appears to have a better battery life than the DualShock 4, we won't know for sure until we have a side-by-side comparison of the two controllers. With the touchpad, adaptive triggers, and haptic feedback of the DualSense all working in tandem in most PS5 games, it's possible that overall the DualSense will quite simply consume more battery life per second of use — which is to say it's possible the DualSense's battery drains a bit faster than we expect.

Even if that's the case, the stronger battery capacity suggests that it probably have a longer battery life than the DualShock 4 controller.

The Inverse Analysis — While the DualShock 4 is one of the best game controllers ever, battery life remains its biggest issue. That's why it's great to see that Sony appears to address this problem with the DualSense controller, which already has a ton of innovative features like haptic feedback and adaptive triggers.

If patents for a wireless controller recharging station or the DualSense also come to fruition, the DualShock 4's biggest issue doesn't seem like it will be a problem at all for the DualSense.

PS5 and the DualSense controller will be released during the 2020 holiday season.