We've been having great fun with the DualSense Edge controller for PlayStation 5 since it arrived in the Pocket-lint test labs. It's an excellent first pro controller from Sony, with assignable buttons, four easy to switch-between custom profiles, removable thumbsticks and modules, and a great build.However, we did note in our in-depth review of the DualSense Edge that its battery life was shorter than we've found on a standard DualSense. Considerably so, at times. Now we know why.A teardown of the PS5 pro gamepad has revealed that it comes with a smaller battery inside - quite a bit smaller, in fact. And, its rating of 1,050mAh is more than a third lower than the 1,560mAh equivalent in the regular controller.For us, that means we're getting four to six hours of gameplay out of it before needing to recharge. That's roughly a complete recharge per day (depending on how much gaming we do and the intensity of the game). We find we can eke around double that from our normal DualSense pads.Sony has been transparent about the shortened battery life - it claims it lasts five to 10 hours, whereas the normal DualSense officially lasts 12 to 15 - but the teardown by Budd's Controllers (see the video here) shows us exactly why.

The reason for the smaller battery is obvious really, there is more hardware inside the Edge than its standard equivalent, thereby reducing the installation space for components. But, when you also consider that the new controller does more, so potentially needs to draw more power, it results in a controller that doesn't really last that long during invoving gameplay sessions.

That being said, pro users will unlikely use it wirelessly anyway - and the included, braided USB-C cable reduces latency down to zero, as well as keeps it topped up during gaming. It's also plenty long enough, at 3-metres, to sit a considerable distance from the PS5.

Plus, as we found for our review, the many other benefits outweigh any battery life disappointments you might discover.