New PS5 Controller Revealed: DualSense Specs and Design Details

Sony has unveiled the controller of the PlayStation 5, and it’s surprisingly not an addition to the company’s iconic DualShock series, but part of a whole new line called the DualSense. You can see a picture of the new controller above.

Hideaki Nishini, senior vice president of Platform Planning & Management at Sony, outlined the new peripheral in a blog post, explaining that the DualSense “will deliver a new feeling of immersion to players.” As far as immersion goes, a big focus of the new controller is improving on the touch features that were initially included in the DualShock 4’s touch pad. Sony is further embracing touch as a form of immersion by including haptic feedback in the new DualSense.

“We had a great opportunity with PS5 to innovate by offering game creators the ability to explore how they can heighten that feeling of immersion through our new controller,” Nishini explained. “This is why we adopted haptic feedback, which adds a variety of powerful sensations you’ll feel when you play, such as the slow grittiness of driving a car through mud.

Nishini also revealed that the DualSense will feature adaptive triggers in the L2 and R2 buttons “so you can truly feel the tension of your actions, like when drawing a bow to shoot an arrow.”

A subtle improvement you’ll notice in the image above is the USB-C port, which replaces the micro USB port of the DualShock 4. The USB-C compatibility brings the controller up to current tech standards and should make it easier to recharge the battery with most modern wall chargers not produced by Apple. Nishini did not elaborate on the USB-C post in the announcement.

Sony has also nixed the Share button and replaced it with a new Create button that will offer “new ways for players to create epic gameplay content to share with the world, or just to enjoy for themselves.” Nishini didn’t go into detail about the exact functionality of the button but it sounds like it’ll retain at least some of the features of the Share button.

One interesting change is the built-in microphone array, which lets you chat with people online without a headset. Nishini described this feature as “ideal for jumping into a quick conversation. But of course, if you are planning to chat for a longer period, it’s good to have that headset handy.”

It’s unclear how exactly the built-in mic will work and whether players will be able to switch between public and private chat without a headset. He also didn’t go into detail about the quality of the mic. After all, most of us don’t hold the controller that close to our faces.

“Traditionally our base controllers have a single color. As you can see, we went a different direction this time around, and decided on a two-toned design,” Nishini said of the color scheme of the controller. He also explained how the controller’s light bar has been tweaked: “Additionally, we changed the position of the light bar that will give it an extra pop. On DualShock 4, it sat on the top of the controller; now it sits at each side of the touch pad, giving it a slightly larger look and feel.”

Overall, the look of the DualSense is very different from what we’ve come to expect from Sony’s solid gray or black DualShock controllers. It remains to be seen how the new features will change the PlayStation experience in the long run. We’ll keep you updated! In the meantime, here’s everything you need to know about the Xbox Series X.