How Sony get away with the controller battery life?

Microsoft got so much flak throughout much of their time with the Xbox One, yet at least that controller lasted me 30 hours. The PS4 controller only lasts about 6 hours, sometimes that is even pushing it. I've got the LED on dim, but they don't use much power so I wouldn't have thought it was that. I just think they put a shoddy battery in the PS4 controller, I much prefer the Xbox One design of allowing you to remove the battery, that way you can just buy battery packs, though you don't need them as it lasts for so long.

With the PS4 you really have to count the cost of another controller with your purchase, otherwise you'll just end up playing with the controller tethered to the console most of the time, which that means buying a longer USB cable as well.

The one major flaw, Sony really have to revise the controller hardware and stick a bigger battery in the thing.

Battery life is pretty bad. If I didn't have two controllers to swap out as needed it would bother me a lot more.

Works perfectly for me. How many 6+ hour gaming sessions do you have where you have to be wireless the whole time? Probably zero, right? And if you wanna say that number is not zero, just buy a long micro-USB cord off Amazon for 5 dollars.

So no, it is not a major flaw, and no, Sony does not have to revise the controller.

Have a good day.

That's why I have NYKO PS4 controller chargers & multiple controllers. I simply switch controllers if I need to.

If you don't then you need to get them.

I don't get why so many people complain on the god damn battery life... get an extension cord! Problem solved!

"only 6 hours"............

I know mine does not last 6 hours. Maybe using the headphone jack for all sound shortens it for me though.

This ^^^

How is it even possible to sit for 6+hrs? (Yes I thought about disabled people, that's different) A movie goes for 3hrs max on average and after that I have to stand up at least, I wouldn't mind if the battery lasted 3hrs IMO...

6 hours is perfectly fine for a rechargeable controller, plug it in for 10 minutes and you're good to go. I HATE the stupid batteries on the x1 controller. it feels like a 1992 toy.

Yeah ditto.

I don't look forward to this after being used to a controller that's battery lasts, I don't know, a few dozen hours. It's not that I'm going to be playing 6+ hour gaming sessions all the time, it's that I'm probably not going to remember to plug it in and charge it every time I'm done playing. Plus, that would require me to leave my system on longer, which isn't something I really want to do. I'm sure I'll get into a better habit of charging my controller once I have a PS4, but I'm sure it's going be annoying, at least for a while, to have to charge it so frequently in comparison to the PS3 controller. But I can already see it as a flaw. Maybe not a huge one, but ideally I'd rather not have to deal with charging a controller that often.

It was surprising to me too....Don't get me wrong, I did buy the Xbox One rechargeable batteries that cost me more--but it lasts a days before I have to recharge it. The PS4 Controller on the other hand, I have to charge it every day. Dope controller--just short battery life.

What on earth is wrong with connecting it with a USB cable ? I mean , did you nag about it back in the good ol' days of PS2 and PS1 ?

They get away with it by ignoring you !

6hours is plenty, that is one long play in one go and i mean have a brake plug it in and within 10minutes the battery is good to go, and actually on a full charge and dim the light bar, it can last 9 to 12hours

I agree the battery life sucks. It's the one main fault I see of the system, even though it's not the system itself :P

@MethodManFTW: Couldn't have said it better. Agree!

Aren't there any 3rd Party controllers ?

I know when playing games, and watching movies a few hours do pass and from a full charge when I get ready to put the PS4 into stand by mode its down to 1 or 2 bars. It does go down pretty quickly, one problem is that the controller doesn't have a sleep mode like the PS3 had, it stays on constantly. I'm sure once an update patch that allows the controller to sleep it will help extend the battery, that being said I just plug in the USB cord which is long enough to reach where I sit from the console.

one thing m$ did right

You can adjust the battery saver settings in the PS4 menu. I set mine to shut off after 10 minutes which works perfectly when I'm streaming movies.

One problem: It's a "wireless" controller.... It should be built with the intent to always be.... oh i dunno... wireless!!

Yes getting an extension cord is a good idea (of course because they didn't give us much of a choice), and it's something I had to do for the PS3 (who's battery lasted longer than the PS4's controller) but the thing is I shouldn't have to.. Had this been a problem Xb1 owners had to deal with, fanboys would've cried foul, but seeing has how that's not the case, we should just ignore the issue and "get an extension cord..."

These double standards make me chuckle...

DISCLAIMER: I own both consoles before you go on a tangent about the XB1's shortcomings... The Xb1's wireless controller is a lot better and that's with all the damn rumble motors inside it.

@MethodManFTW By that logic, are we really noticing a huge difference in the graphics between the XB1 and PS4.... Are those 180 extra pixels we're seeing just bleeding our eyes with sheer graphical fidelity... No... than the XB1 is not at a huge disadvantage (post price drop anyway)... right?? lol

@cejay0813: there are more imporant issues than short battery life for the ps4 controller. This problem is easily fixed with purchasing an extension cord. I seldom game for more than 6 hours, so I don't see the problem.

It's short. No doubt about that. But it's just about long enough to outlast most single play sessions, making it tolerable. I've considered replacing the battery in mine with the one from the DS3. Just waiting for the warranty to wear off.

Is it really that bad? Seems fine for me, maybe I just don't game as much as some people or I have it plugged in more.. I don't know.

The battery life isn't as good as I expected, but I have no problem playing with it plugged in, makes no difference to me.

@gajbutler: at least it's rechargable, and why is it a big deal? I don't have any problem with it. You could just get a longer cord for it

See I still don't get how you people give it a free pass, 6 hours is dire and tbh my PS3 controller doesn't last any more either, it hasn't done for years, have had to keep it plugged in. To me me this is the problem of built in batteries, what happens if in 20 years I want to play the console like I do some of my old consoles? The battery is going to be leaking everywhere and probably would have destroyed the inside, if it hasn't it will be dead.

It is a major flaw and tbh one point Microsoft get spot on, at least with that controller I have the choice of buying rechargeable batteries or just sticking standard AAs in there. The thing lasts me so long I didn't have to charge it once in the month I owned the Xbox One, I only knew the batteries were giving up because the trigger rumble stopped.

What is up with the flimsy creaky bumpers as well?

yeah the battery life sucks, although mine never died during the gameplay i like to complain about irrelevant things... :D

i would have much rather have one which you didn't have to charge at all, or since i am a alternative energy freak and live in an environment with abundant sunshine, i'd much rather charge it via internal solar cells, come on sony...

By what logic, actual logic? Because yes, I would agree the difference between multiplats is minimal.

@SoNin360: I agree with the point is not just the battery should last for gaming but movies etc. If the battery wasn't a issue Sony would not have given us a patch to dim the lights. So enough gamers must have a issue with it. I do recall a battery attachment is coming out for ps4. I probably charged my ps3 every 3 days. 6 hrs is way too short and the patch didn't seem to extend the battery life. It's annoying buy not a deal breaker but isony needs a more permanent solution.

actually you can set your controller to automatically turn off when not in use for 10 minutes from the power save options, so you will not deplete it when you are watching a movie...

the light bar issue is due to users' comments about it interfering with i don't know what, the led light does not drain the controller's battery dramatically, at least i haven't felt a difference, however i do not see the reflection of the light bar on my tv that much, so it is a plus... :D

The battery is pathetic. It really should last longer.

by not having any games to play so my PS4 has collected dust for 3 months or so... I only turn it on to watch BD movies or Ustream nonsense then turn it back off. Same goes for my Wii U too though. I don't notice the horrible 1 and half hour battery life because I never play games anymore.

Well, let's use a little logic. PS4 controller uses more power for quite a few reasons. It uses a more as it has the light bar even when dimmed to the lowest is still a LIGHT that is ALWAYS ON which is going to draw power. The PS3 controller lasted much longer because it doesn't have a light bar, doesn't have a speaker, and the draw on the PS3 was very low. 6 hours isn't enough? Who sits for 6 hours at a time? Also, why is watching a movie kill your battery? You know you can hold down the PS button and TURN IT OFF right? You can set it for 10 minutes of inactivity as well and it will turn off. I have two controllers so when one dies, the other is ready so there's no down time for me and if I only had one, I would go on Monoprice, spend under $3, and get a 10ft USB cable which wouldn't bother me at all, not sure why that would bother some of you. Again, you can turn it off when you're watching a movie or set it to turn off when it's been inactive for as little as 10 minutes. This will conserve a TON of battery life, it's not a big deal. Then someone mentioned how the XB1 controller lasts longer. Yeah, that's cool but it's also RETARDED in 2015 that you need to put batteries in a controller. Also, don't mention yeah well we can buy a battery pack for $20 that SHOULD be in the box to begin with but we all know how Microsoft likes to nickel and dime their customers and since none of those customers complain about it, Microsoft continues to do it. Let's recap, set your controller to turn off after 10 minutes of inactivity, turn it off manually when you start a movie or stream something. I leave my PS4 on all day and since I'm playing Dying Light I just pause it when I need a break and I walk away. My controller turns off after 10 minutes and it's fine. I play for about 30 minutes to an hour each session and I DO NOT charge it during my absence. I only charge it when it dies which cycles the battery anyway which is good. Yes, it would be nice if they would last as long as the PS3 controller as my PS3 has been on for 3 days and the controller is on too for almost 2 days now and it's not even blinking yet but that will NEVER happen with the PS4 controller as it's more advanced and draws more power. Again, you have the light bar, speaker, the better bluetooth also draws more power, and also the headphone jack when in use of course but when the PS4 has to transfer audio to the controller to your ears via headphones, yes that will use a lot more power too. 6 hours for the PS4 controller is actually very good with all of that into consideration so in conclusion, buy a 2nd controller, learn to conserve power, or buy a longer cable. Whining about it isn't going to make it start lasting longer and Sony is NOT going to modify the controller to last longer because in reality 6 hours for that battery size is VERY VERY GOOD, and there's NO REASON for it to last any longer. The reason why people complain about 6 hours not being enough is because nothing is ever good enough for those kind of people. They're so greedy, and can't be grateful for what they have, give me give me give me give me give me is all they want. I want I want I want I want, give me give me give me. SMH

Seriously, I'm surprised how people complain about the ps4 battery lifetime. Ok i'm not a huge gamer that last in front of my ps4 for 10hours long but i rarely run out of battery and everytime i finish a gaming session, i took the habit to plug my controller to recharge it. I don't personally see the problem of my battery not lasting more than this 6 hours because i never play more than that and like i said it is always charging between sessions. Personally, i'm taking care of things i own and i'd rather complain about the joystick quality because even if im precautious with it, the rubber around it started to break and now it slips because it is almost all removed. Almost all of my friend got agreed with this.

In reality (if you play 2-3 hours a day) that means you'll push past that 6 hours between every gaming session you play (other than the very first one). The result is you'll need to use the cable to power the controller at some point, at least once, during every single play session.

Also keep in mind that that's 6 hours across every user in the house. For me that's 3 people's worth of gaming sessions.

That's a step backward from the Dual Shock 3 (which would go on and on) and the Xbox One controller.

It's been found that the leading cause of the DS4's battery life has little to do with the extra features (none of which consume much power). The culprit is the cheap, lower capacity battery Sony is using in the DS4's that only gets around half the battery life of the DS3's battery. The same cheap battery they're charging you for at that high price. And with it comes a load of inconvenience that makes it a step backwards from the previous generation.

Turn it off when I'm watching a movie? Why? I never have to do that with any other system.

@LP11725: wow, you really told em off.

Yeah the battery life sucks. You pretty much have to have a couple of spare controllers lying around. I know the other console gets crap from fanboys about using AA batteries, but it is so much easier to just swap out recharged batteries than having to sit with a cable hooked up to my controller for an hour and a half. We get lots of traffic through the living room, and the PS4 has been pulled off of the shelf, and the controller has been pulled out of my hands a few times. All while hooked up to the recharge cable. It's 2015 my controller should be wireless.

Also as far as the no one sits for 6 hours excuse. In my house multiple people use the PS4. It is not uncommon for it to run more than 6 hours at a time, or for the controllers to not be charged in between gaming sessions. We constantly drain controllers from a full charge to the point where they shut off. Plus our consoles are used by teenagers. Who never seem to remember to plug in the controller when they are done. So inevitably there is controllers that are almost dead, about the time I pick them up and what to game. Which of course means sitting with a charge cable hooked up for an hour and a half while it charges. In comparison our 360 controllers never seem to be dead since the "crappy 1990's technology" AA batteries last almost 30 hours. Our 2013 technology DS4s are lucky to last 6 hours. Even less if you use the headphone jack, or the game uses the speaker in the DS4.

Pretty much agree. Never got mad about this.

i got a charging hub that I put my two controllers and just alternate when one's dead

i aint gotta worry about that shit

6 hours is more than enough

Don't like it, plug it in while u play

Otherwise get over it

I agree. This may be the 163,014 thread on this battery since 2013.

Yeah, longer cable is a cheap solution IF you can't use the cable the PS4 comes with, which if you can use the cable, no money needed for a longer cable. It's a great point I've made in dozens of threads though, a cheap cable is easily available for sure. Personally though, I can just swap out my second controller on the incredibly rare occasions I actually play more than 6 hours, although I've never needed to do that, I have the option to switch to my second DS4 as I did on PS3.

Also, there are ways to increase the battery life beyond 6 hours which include modifying the DS4 Vibration, Dimming the Light bar, turning down the built in Speaker, and setting the controller to turn off after 10 minutes of inactivity. I'm sure you know this, but others here may not.

Come on guys, this thread is over 9 months old. Please don't bump old threads, locked.