With only three weeks to go until launch, enough PS5s are out in the wild that a number of celebrities and content creators have been showing off their new hardware. While Sony went ahead and dismantled a PS5 console for all to see, there has been not as much coverage devoted to the new DualSense controller. This is where tech YouTuber Austin Evans steps in, having just released a video unboxing a DualSense controller and giving his audience some early impressions of it.
Right out of the box, Austin notes that the controller has a slight grayish tinge to it; it's not as pearlescent white as the PS4 controller he holds it up against. While there has been no official word on if the controller will be available in a range of colors, there is already a third party producing custom faceplates for the PS5.
As the unboxing continues, one thing that folks leaning towards the PS5 as their favored next-gen console should take note of is that there is no USB-C cable included with the controller. The assumption that people already have the cables required and won't need another is a trend in tech these days, with Apple forgoing the charging cable and earbuds in its iPhone 12 models. Plus it should be noted that the console itself comes with a controller charging cable.
Austin spends time clicking buttons, twizzling sticks and hooks the controller up to a number of different devices to test it out. While the makeup of the DualSense is similar to the DualShock that came before it, the YouTuber notes that the "Adaptive Triggers" that are touted on the box do have a particularly nice feel to them. While there is no mention of the weight of the controller, it likely doesn't weigh too much more than the PS4 controller, unlike the PS5 console, which weighs twice as much as the PS4 Pro.
With no PS5 to actually test the controller, one feature that this unboxing video is unable to test is Sony's haptic feedback. Haptic feedback features have been included in controllers dating back to the Rumble Pack for the N64, and have been refined through the console generations. The haptic feedback has been described as magical on the PS5 by one developer, so not getting impressions on how that feels is a little unfortunate.
All told though, this is the best look at the DualSense controller to date. It gives people a good idea of what to expect should they be picking one of these up in the near future.
The PlayStation 5 launches on November 12th.