Take a look at the new DualSense controller, releasing alongside PS5

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Dualsense Ps5 Controller
Dualsense Ps5 Controller (Image credit: Sony)

What you need to know

  • PlayStation 5's specs and features were previously revealed and it runs at 10.28 TFLOPS.
  • We now got our first good look at the DualSense controller.
  • It features haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, and more.

The DualShock 5, now officially called the DualSense, has been unveiled by Sony on this random Tuesday. As indicated in earlier reports, the DualSense looks much like its predecessor with a few notable improvements — though sadly, it still features a symmetrical thumbstick layout. This is the official controller of the PlayStation 5.

We already knew it would feature haptic feedback to replace previous rumble technology and adaptive triggers so that you can feel the tactile sensation of whatever action you're performing in-game, but the rest remained a mystery. From what patents were discovered, Sony was also planning to give the DualSense the ability to read biometric data and be compatible with PS4. It appears this is not the case, at least that we know of. It does add a built-in microphone though, so that's cool.

For the buttons, you'll notice there is no longer a "Share" button as we had with DualShock 4. Don't worry – it's not going away. In fact, we've built upon the success of our industry-first Share button to bring you a new "Create" button feature. With Create, we're once again pioneering new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world, or just to enjoy for themselves. We'll have more details on this feature as we get closer to launch.

It looks like Sony is retaining the touchpad found on the DualShock 4 but changed the position of the light bar. Let's hope that Sony's worked out a way for it to not drain the battery, because that was a common complaint with the DS4. The DualSense will be chargeable through a USB-C port found on the top of the controller, which is more than can be said for Xbox's upcoming Xbox Series X controller that still uses AA batteries for some reason.

Barring any delays or production shortages due to COVID-19, Sony expects the PlayStation 5 to release holiday 2020 alongside Microsoft's Xbox Series X. It is unknown how much it will cost, and it is currently not available for pre-order. Looking to pick up a PS4 still? Be sure to check out our roundup of best PS4 deals now.

Jennifer Locke
Jennifer Locke

Jennifer Locke is Android Central's Games Editor and has been playing video games nearly her entire life. You can find her posting pictures of her dog and obsessing over PlayStation and Xbox, Star Wars, and other geeky things on Twitter @JenLocke95.
50 Comments
  • Eww I can't imagine havo g to connect a wireless controller to a wire just to charge.
    On top of that the ds4 battery is weak as hell. That's one reason why I would like a ds controller with a bigger battery or at least one that will give me the option to use my own premium batteries. Like the xbox controller. The bigger the battery the better, and right now the xbox has the most options.
  • Yeah, pulling the back off and swapping out AAs like a 90s kid with a Gameboy is so much more elegant lol.
  • Definitely more elegant and more convenient than having to use a screwdriver ;)
  • Aww look at you trying to stand up for a useless method. It's adorable... Stupid. But adorable.
  • Yep, screwdriver method is useless when you still require to change the battery when it eventually wears out. AA's can be annoying but objectively a better option in the long run, than just a fixed battery.
  • What's objectively a better option is a removable rechargeable battery. Best of both worlds.
  • Yep, a removable rechargeable AA battery is the most objectively better option. AA's are common and come in different sizes and specs giving everyone choice. AA's stops a company from making 'custom' rechargeable batteries specifically for a controller, which require you to pay extra just because its 'custom'
  • See I tried to meet you halfway... Custom batteries like the play and charge kit, you mean? Here's why AA rechargeable suck. You will inevitably forget to charge your spares (also you have to have spares) when this happens, you just don't have a controller for 4-16 hours. With aPS4 controller you just plug in and keep going. Also, different sizes? I don't think you understand how batteries work lol, if it's a different size, it's not a AA.
  • Correction, I meant to say capacities regarding AA 'sizes'.
    The play and charge kit is one example which I dislike because of its custom nature, yet thankfully you don't actually NEED or are bound by it, I'd be surprised if MS sell even sell that many.
    You can also keep playing with the xbox controller hooked up to the console/pc but who wants to do that? Unless you have to connect it up like the playstations option, I can remain wireless with the xbox controller (assuming one is smart enough to keep spare batteries charged as you say, which thankfully I've been).
    I've had to replace my PS controller due to not charging anymore, the problem with always having to connect a cable to it (metal connector wear) was my assumption of its demise. Can't say I've had that issue with my xbox controller since cables aren't generally needed. Very 90's thing to have a controller connected with a cable don't you say? *jokes*
    Simply put, people are making too much of a big deal regarding AA batteries.
  • My 6 year old PS4 controller begs to differ. Still holds a charge for days and has NEVER had an issue. I haven't bought AA batteries since I was in middle school, which was about 15 years ago. LMAO
  • Same goes with my rechargeable Li-Ion AA batteries ;)
  • So you're telling me that my batteries I've used since my xbox360 are still gonna work? **** yeah. Lmao a 4 pack of rechargable AA's can last you like... A decade depending on use.
  • However there a think called rechargeable battery packs. Once a PS4 controller battery starts to fail you have to get a whole new controller whereas if the Xbox controller battery starts to fail you just replace the battery pack and not having to spend another $70 I get it you were making a troll comment but still do a bit better
  • No, YOU have to buy a new controller. I replace the battery. I know you're trying to post a troll comment, but seriously, do better.
  • No what you do is an self refurbishing as the manufacturer has designed and also stated and printed that the battery is a non user serviceable part and any attempt to change or repair instantly breaks any warranty heck they won't even work on it for payment if you attempted it yourself first. So one screw up and you're controller is officially done. No thanks. I have a ps4 pro but I still play everyday with my Xbox elite instead and spent 16 bucks getting 2 weeks worth of batteries that are always ready to go and fully functional. When they lose that ability it# just another few bucks to replace. And that's years and years down the road. And as far as your hypothetical situation where I manage to use every single one of my 24 rechargeable AA batteries without remembering to charge ANY of them. Well just like you I plug my controller into my system and continue playing exactly the same way you would. The truth is there is nothing better about a non user serviceable battery in lieu of ANY option that gives you the freedom to choose. Plug in, swap out, replace, and charge all possible with the Xbox and only the tethered wait amd hope your controller never gives up its charging capabilities option with the PS4. That or a warranty breaking non user serviceable battery refurbishment/replacement is required with some knock off Chinese cells that are more likely to blow up your controller than provide you with a sufficient charge. Yes that sounds like such a better option. You know the option of just having less options. LMAO
  • Seriously, this is the truth. I always hear ppl complain about the xbone controller not having built in batteries but at the end of the day, who wants to sit 1 to 2 feet away from the console with the supplied short ass charging cable PS4 provides. You basically can't play after your dualshock battery does after 4 hours of playing. At least with xbone, I can pop em out and start playing again right away. You can also buy lithium charge packs which last waaaaay longer than ds4. I like the ds4 but the battery sux nuts. If you're gonna do built in battery, do it like Nintendo pro with 40+ hour battery life at least. 5 hour ds4 doesn't cut it for hc gamers.
  • Never had an issue w/ battery life. The few times it did get low during a session, well, I'm never far from a phone charger. And if you don't know how to take care of batteries in 2020, a replacement and a 10-12' cord will cost you $10. Which is less than you'll spend on rechargable AAs or regular AAs in that span of time. For about $16, you can get that and all the tools in a little case. Do you also bemoan MS getting away from the 360s style of snap in HDD?
  • Yep all you people stupid enough to think ps4 has the worse end of this controller? War someone here started you need to think the ps4 controller cable is a usb that means you can charge it with 1 a pc tower 2 a wall charger with usb slots 3 well really anywhere that has a usb slot for it albeit its probably not recomended for it its still a way to get it charged loopholes people
  • Lol these salty xbox kids. The ps4 controller is superior end of story. The battery never degrades and your xbox controller will crap put before any ds4 battery does. Also we don't have to spend millions of quid on AA batteries. Accept it, you're forgotten console lost.
  • Lol a 4 pack of rechargeables from IKEA would blow away the PS4 on playtime let alone convenience as well as when they do finally stop working 5-10 years later they are a quick 6.99 fix and your back in business. Not to mention just like when you forget to charge your controller and MUST plug in we too can CHOOSE to plug in anytime as well as use a built in rechargeable cell like you (play and charge) or even grab a couple standard AA's if we find ourselves stuck with no other option. We have options you have none and the one option you do get we also can do. Not to mention when our battery does die our controller continues just fine with a 30 second switch while you're grabbing screwdrivers and breaking manufacturer warranty to hopefully complete a non user serviceable battery replacement. No thanks.
  • You obviously don't have a PS4. My 6 year old controller still holds a battery that lasts for days... not to mention it can fully charge in about an hour. Having to constantly go buy and change AA batteries is what makes me "Ewww". 10 times easier to plug a controller in to a cord for an hour and not have to buy anything. I have 2 controllers and one is always on the charger so I never have to worry about dead controllers. Simply pick the other one up and keep playing for days. Imagine having to buy AA batteries for your cell phone. LMAO
  • No one's "constantly buying AA's" we either plug in all the time, use a rechargeable AA kit (that with multiple backups never requires us to plug in even for weeks months or years at a time) or we just copy exactly what you do and get a play and charge kit. The difference between you and us is we can choose and Sony gives you none. Not to mention once your battery does die (and it WILL eventually) you're either replacing a 60+ controller or you're attempting a non user serviceable battery replacement amd kissing any help from Sony for repair goodbye. Again I'll just grab a couple new eneloops when these go and be back in business on 30 seconds with cells that last like day 1 (cause it is day 1 for them).
  • I would just like to add i hole hearted agree with that post ☝️☝️. Still on the same controller's i got with my first 4 and the latest one i got with my 4pro. Me and my partner game a lot and the longevity and stability of them both is fantastic value for money and quality product development is faultless. all that needs to be done is always use the 1.5 meter official wire and nothing else and always plug in to the console not a plug. 2 simple things to have problem free fun. Microsoft have always been unprofessionaly and profit oriented to see that!! To comfortable at producing mediocre half effort console's to keep there top line profits safe and the little guy buying more. i would never turn back.
  • For now the future only gets brighter though lets hope xbox can put out some decent exclusives this year lol
  • AA batteries are better...you can use whatever rechargable batteries or regular batteries you want and you don't have to throw the controller away and buy a new one when the internal battery craps out...
  • You're not wholly wrong, but I would like to introduce you to an invention I call the screwdriver.
  • And Id like or introduce you to the term warranty and void as well as non user serviceable parts.
  • And id like to introduce you to the way sony upgrades its consoles every year and microsoft just started to figure their stuff out again i look forward to praising sony for outselling microsoft once again also i just also wanna note one last thing sony made crossplatform a thing because im sure they took pity on microsoft last year and i may be wrong but i mean cmon theres a reason sony took so long :)
  • AA batteries are trash. Costs money to constantly supply. Ps4 is superior. Accept it.
  • No one is "constantly replacing" their aa's You get a much more superior rechargeable cell in the shape of a couple AA's and you have the benefit of them having a much higher charge and much longer life not to mention when they eventually do lose the ability to hold the charge it's 6 dollar replacement and 30 seconds to swap them out (warranty still fully intact) va a no user serviceable replacement with some knock off Chinese battery ready to explode in your hands (and that of you don't just break the controller itself doing the repair). All that or you just fork out the 60+ for a new one. No thanks a 10 dollar investment that will last me years and keep my controller feeling brand new is a much better option than what Sony is providing (not to mention the exact same user experience can be had with the Xbox controller as the PS4 any time you want. We have options you have none.
  • So far my PS4 controller is still good after 6 years and holds a charge well. Lasts for at least 2 days with continuous usage and charges fully in about an hour. I have 2 controllers and just swap them out every time one dies and it's great.
  • Yea no ill take the 10 dollar amazing rechargeable AA's kit that can be replaced at anytime for a couple bucks and 30 seconds of swapping vs a non user serviceable battery that requires you to use a screwdriver and break warranty of you want to ATTEMPT to repair and don't expect Sony to help when you mess up you can't even pay them to work on something you already screwed up. We have have tons of options Playstation only has 1 and the thing is that exact same option is just 1 of many we have (it just so happens to be one of the weaker choices we can use so not many of us do).
  • Hmm I prefer the current dual shock aesthetics. The handles of this new controller are becoming too similar to the moulded Xbox style. Not a bad thing per se, actually a very good thing and would make it comfortable to hold but imo not implemented as well as on the xbox. Id get rid of the two tone colour scheme as well. As for the touchpad, they shouldve just turned it into a button. Cant wait to hold one in my hands!
  • It's a shame the sticks aren't asymmetric... I can't believe they've stuck with the same rushed, half baked "design" for almost a quartet of a century.
  • The design is superior to the crappy asymmetric xbox controller. What a dumb design that is. This is much better. That's why practically no one plays xbox these days.
  • You're wrong, but that's ok. The DualShock controller wasn't even designed, it was a rushed out mess to compete with the N64 controller. The DualShock 4 is better than it's absolutely terrible predecessors, but the sticks still suck and feel unnatural.
  • They just further melded the DS with an Xbox controller. We are only a couple iterations away from Sony just accepting their loss in the controller department and just used the Xbox controller themselves. This looks like a cross between a DS, Xbox, and that old ass prototype with the loooong ass handgrips from years ago.
  • What a bunch of rubbish. Ps4 lost no such thing. Ps4 controller is superior. Every design is a crossover of something you make up. Your xbox controller is copied from the xbox 360 controller, LOL.
  • Hope you are joking since iv seen more reviewers of consoles and critics and even myself prefers Xbox 360 to now controller. Also you missed the point fyi You're comparing a Microsoft product with another Microsoft product they are comparing a Sony product between two other products that belongs to two different companies that they're saying looks like more of a hybrid between the two other companies
  • Having experience with both I agree the PS4 controller is superior. It's far more comfortable, convienient, long lasting, and the build quality is better. Not to mention no paying for batteries and the built in battery lasts a long time and charges very quickly.
  • We see year after year and generation after generation sonys "iconic" design just slowly turning into what xbox done been doing. Sony knows their esthetics sucked for a long time but they built too much fanboys up on that design and now they have to slowly walk them back to a much more functional and ergonomically superior design that Microsoft has been pushing for years. The icing on top will be when they bring asymmetrical stick design but I think that's going to take a while (I see them offering a choice at first through either a swap system or just 2 different sku's) but eventually the asymmetric setup will become "default" once the Sony fanboys actually can come to terms with accepting it since you know Sony did it.
  • Hopefully it won't take q couple of generations... Although I'd argue that the "Xbox controller" is really just a Dreamcast controller hybridised with a DualShock anyway...
  • Not sure why the people just like the op bring up having to get a battery pack for Xbox controller which you can get one that lasts as much longer on a charge then the one that PS4 put in their controllers and don't need to buy a whole new controller when it fails
  • ,My PS4 controller lasts for days and charges up very quickly. And my original controller from over 6 years ago is still going strong with no issues.
  • I know this may come as a shock for all of you Xbox people, but most Sony players(myself included) love and much prefer the symmetrical joystick layout. I have actually owned the original Xbox and my brother owns the Xbox One X and so I have experience with both. I strongly dislike the Xbox joystick layout as well as the entire controller feel to be honest. But to each their own...
  • Controller battery issues?
    My keyboard and mouse never have battery issues.....oh that's right.....this is a console issue.
    We real gamers don't have these issues on our PC's! Ohhhhh you poor little console...... ..." Gamers" ( nudge nudge wink wink)
  • Someone who plays on a console is just as much of a gamer as someone who plays on a PC. And plenty of PC gamers use wireless keyboards, mice and headsets that require batteries. Many PC gamers also use a controller. Have fun being a "real" gamer who doesn't get to play real games that don't get a PC release.
  • wow some of these die hard fanboy comments are shocking, seriously getting all hot and sweaty about batteries on both sides of the fence!
  • "The DualShock 5" is not and was never going to be dualshock, because it doesn't have the rumble motors.
    Also for ppl saying rechargeable batteries are a better option: Your controller will sooner have analouge drift and other issues than battery degradation. I'm using a scuf controller which has the same battery as the dualshock 4, don't need to sit close to the console while charging, since i have a 10k mAh battery bank that I use for other things too. It charges in about an hour, dualsense 5 will come with USB-C, so we will most likely have an even quicker charging experience. And it lasts for days. I also have a steam controller for my pc setup which uses 2xAA batteries, but I find it such a chore and annoying sometimes... "oh your AAs depleted? just pause your online game and swap them, you sure wont die... more then thrice"
  • The author is obviously commenting on the PS5 DualSence controller from the perspective of an XBOX user because WHY would you want an asymmetrical thumbstick layout on a console controller??? As someone who has owned EVERY PlayStation console, I have ZERO interest such a layout!!!