When considering the merits of a gaming controller, there are a lot of factors to take into account. Some gamers will to throw their fully charged controllers in a bag and take them along to their next gaming match. Others may prefer to set up a dedicated space for their console and chargers to stay indefinitely. Those who prefer the latter may opt for a dedicated charging dock, such as a mimd dual charging station for PS5 DualSense controllers which is available in two configurations from our store, one where two controllers charge upside-down, another where two controllers charge facing each other.
Although the PS5 DualSense controller has a laundry list of features that are objective improvements from its predecessor, the DualShock 4 controller, there are some features all wireless controllers share that need a bit of scrutiny. All wireless controllers perform differently from each other, even among the same line, in two key aspects: how long a gamer can play on a full charge, and how slowly the controller's battery loses that charge when it is idle.
Last April we reported that the PS5 DualSense controller's battery life would be similar to that of the DualShock 4, according to a post on the PlayStation blog. The battery itself may be a little more than half again as large as its predecessor (1560 mAh compared to DualShock's 1000 mAh capacity), but the DualSense's fancy new features do use up a little extra charge over time, bringing its expected playtime anywhere between 7 and 12 hours, depending. Of course, by that time the player really should set the controller down and take a break anyway.
Games that make use of the DualSense's full range of features, such as Astro's Playroom, are going to drain the battery a lot quicker than, for example, a legacy game that does not make use of power-draining features like the gyroscopes, lightbar, and haptic feedback. Players who wish to preserve the controller's battery life while playing wirelessly can also make some changes to the controller settings such as lowering the internal speaker volume, decreasing vibration and trigger effect intensities, and setting the indicator brightness to "dim."
Not all players play in the same place that they charge their controller, and all conventional rechargeable batteries lose a small amount of charge over time. In a scenario where a gamer takes a freshly-charged DualSense controller and throws it in a backpack to play hours later, that player can expect to lose a certain percentage of the battery's charge even if the controller is turned off. Unfortunately, PlayStation support could not verify how fast the rate of energy loss actually was.
Some players have been reporting issues charging their controllers while the PS5 is in rest mode. The solution to this for many has been to connect the USB charging cable to the ports in back of the console, rather than in front.