Rumor mill: The PlayStation 5 DualSense controller is pretty great but it's not without flaws that Sony could improve upon. Understandably, news of a revision quickly sparked excitement, especially if the lone improvement comes in the form of twice the battery life.
A mysteriously labeled "DualSense V2" controller for the PlayStation 5 has reportedly been available from retailers in multiple countries since at least late December. The revision might feature much battery life but otherwise appears identical to the original. Sony has yet to officially reveal a new PS5 controller and has not commented on these listings.
The now-deleted page on Best Buy's Canadian website claimed that the V2 offers 12 hours of battery life – roughly double that of the original DualSense. If true, this improvement alone could make the V2 a popular upgrade, addressing a common complaint among PS5 owners.
However, the information from Best Buy and other retailers contains questionable details. The Canadian page mentioned that the controller includes a charging station for the same price as the previous DualSense, which is too good to be true.
Additionally, German store pages indicate a battery capacity of 1650 mAh for both the V2 and the original model, which could easily be a mistake, given that Sony's official specification is 1560 mAh. The V2 also appeared on Swiss website CeDe.ch, offered in white and camouflage grey.
Although extended battery life is a welcome improvement, the lack of changes to address stick drift will likely disappoint some. The tendency for joysticks to drift as they wear down over time is arguably the primary issue affecting standard Nintendo, PlayStation, and Xbox controllers today.
Repair centers report receiving thousands of drifting controllers each week. Hall-effect sticks, which use an alternative input mechanism, have become a popular solution, but console manufacturers have not hinted any plans to make them the new standard.
Sony could also please fans by extending the upgraded battery life to its high-end DualSense Edge controller. It would be surprising if a new standard variant had a significantly better battery than the $180 premium model.
Hopefully, the information from the Canadian listing is accurate. Although the European stores suggest it was released around December 30, so far, no one has claimed to have ordered or tested the controller.