PS5 controller could use wireless charging feature patented by Sony

A newly published Sony patent reveals the company is exploring new wireless charging features for DualShock controllers.

Filed in June 2019 and published this month, the World Intellectual Property Organization patent (spotted by SegmentNext) specifically mentions DualShock 4, but the technology could be just as relevant for the PS5 controller, which Sony has confirmed will support USBC for charging.

The patent describes “a wireless charging adapter that can snap onto a computer game controller can be inductively coupled to a charging base to wirelessly recharge a battery in the controller.”

UPDATE 07/04: Sony has officially unveiled PS5‘s DualSense controller, which it calls “a radical departure” from its previous DualShock pads.

ORIGINAL STORY CONTINUES: In continues: “The adapter also can include keys that mirror keys on the controller so that a gamer can remove the adapter with controller from the charging base, keep the adapter on the controller, and use both the controller keys and adapter keys to control a computer game.”

Multiple Sony patents have suggested the PS5 controller could utilise biofeedback to modify game experiences, such as changing difficulty levels based on the sweat secretion and heart rate of the player.

The PlayStation 5 controller will be called DualShock 5 and will be compatible with PlayStation 4, according to information temporarily published on PlayStation France’s website in January.

New images claiming to show a PlayStation 5 controller prototype and dev kit were published in early January.

The images, which purportedly originated from a game publisher employee’s Facebook page, claimed to show the PS5 dev kit—which has been leaked a number of times already—and provide a better look at the chunkier controller design potentially set to ship with the final console.

The designs of development kit consoles typically have no resemblance to their final retail box. However, prototype controllers generally do offer an indication of what the final gamepad will look like.

The controller seen in the images matched a previous PS5 controller patent and a description of the PS5’s prototype pad in a Wired article.

The prototype PS5 controller sent to developers has been described as “an unlabelled matte-black doohickey” that looks very similar to PS4’s DualShock 4, but Sony has confirmed some significant additions.

One major improvement to PS5’s controller is “adaptive triggers,” which Sony says can offer varying levels of resistance to make game mechanics such as shooting a bow and arrow—the tension increasing as you pull the arrow back—feel more realistic.

The PS5 controller also includes haptic feedback, with highly programmable voice-coil actuators located in the left and right grips of the pad.

PlayStation 5 is set to launch during the 2020 holiday season.