It seems an improved PlayStation 5 controller may be incoming. Best Buy Canada listed and then quickly delisted a Sony PlayStation 5 DualSense "V2" controller, denoting a refresh of the stock DualSense design, as noted by TechPowerUp. The pricing was identical to the original DualSense in Canada ($89.99 CAD), but there actually are some nice improvements that come with this refresh.
The biggest change is definitely to the weight, which is given as 280 grams versus the original DualSense's 360 grams. That's a roughly ~22% reduction in overall weight. The original DualSense wasn't particularly heavy, but this should serve to improve long-term comfort while gaming even further. It's even lighter than the 331-gram DualSense Edge.
Another major improvement to the DualSense V2 will be in battery life, which is advertised as 12 hours. Under heavy use, the original DualSense can be depleted in as fast as 6 hours or less, so this could be a major improvement. The DualSense Edge is even worse in this regard, depletable in as fast as 4 hours.
Reportedly, DualSense V2 controllers also are going to be bundled with a DualSense Charging Station, which can charge up to 2 controllers at a time. Since this is normally a separate purchase and you otherwise need to plug in the controller to charge it, this is a nice way to reduce strain on USB ports and make things slightly more convenient for PS gamers. This is particularly pertinent because while battery life is seemingly improved with the DualSense V2 refresh, it still isn't even close to the high-end of what you get from competitors.
This refresh should prove beneficial to the PlayStation 5-owning audience it serves, as well as PC gamers who prefer the PlayStation gamepad layout. For the same price as the original controller, a lot of improvements have still been made, and if all the refreshed units actually do come with free charging stations, that does help mitigate the battery issue versus other consoles.
The appearance of this refresh could also mean that the announcement of the PlayStation 5 Pro is closer than we think, following whispers of devkits being sent out in December. The PS5 Pro would definitely make the most sense shipping with these refreshed controllers compared to the original DualSense or the $199 DualSense Edge, but we'll have to wait and see how that all plays out.
