Going from a cord used for charging to this charging station has been revolutionary!
It's not as convenient as it could be simply because you cannot charge and use the controller at the same time like you can with a charging cable. If you have 2 controllers though, that shouldn't be an issue at all! I leave one controller on the charging station at all times (there's an intermediate 'setting' on the dock which lets you set the controller within the docking cradle, but not set it far enough down to initiate charging) while I use the other controller. With the amount of life that one controller gives, I can fully charge the other controller a few times over and just switch them out when the one I'm using gets low!
It's a basic thin, plastic base which feels cheap-ish, but that's negligible to the amount of use you get out of it! It prevents you from having to plug your wireless controller in to charge. It gets rid of the unsightly/annoying cord draped over your lap. It looks sleek while also being useful!
How-to: Set your Ps4 controller into one of the cradles. Push the controller down into the cradle until you hear/feel a solid 'click'. If you do it right, the controller's light bar will start pulsing a dim yellow/orange to let you know it's charging. When charging is complete, the light bar will no longer pulse.
To release: Push down on the controller again and you will hear/feel another click and will be able to lift the controller out of the station.
Pros:
Controller light bar will pulse a gentle yellow/orange while charging to let you know it's working
Can hold a controller without having to charge it (see above notes)
Looks good next to the Ps4!
Charges your controller within an hour or two and lets you get back to gaming quick!
There's a slight divot in each cradle that has an indication as to where the 'PS' button will go to make lining up easy
Has a notch on the bottom for the cord so it sits evenly on the table
Cons:
Relatively cheap material
Doesn't have an extra 'hook' for headphone storage
They work well. I bought these because I didn't want to leave the ps4 on Rest mode just to charge the controllers. Unlike the ps3, the ps4 controllers batteries last considerably less.There aren't any led light on the unit, that isn't a must-have for me because the DS4 blink when they are charging ,and stop when fully charged(just like when being charged from the console.). You can charge two controllers simultaneously(or just one ).They come with an AC adapter , so you can charge them pretty much away from the PS4. Once you press the DS4 down on the base, it locks down.To release, you do the same thing.Any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
This dual charging station is fantastic. The station is small in size, so it takes up very little table/counter space and the power cord gets tucked away underneath + to the side, so the cord being in your way is a non issue (assuming you use common sense to place it). Placing your controller into the charging station is very straightforward - simply place your controller(s) in their slot (which takes no effort), and gently push down. Once your controller is pushed down, the charging begins and the light on your controller will turn yellow, which provides a nice visual queue to know that your controller is indeed charging (some other chargers are not so obvious). When the controller is done charging, the light will turn off, so it is easy to see when your charge is complete. To release the controller out of the charging station, simply push down on your controller once more, which will pop the controller out of its locked charging position, allowing it to be picked up and moved. Simple as you like.
I've owned and consistently used this charging station for 3+ years, and have yet to run into any problems with it. This charging station is everything I want in a charger. In addition to charging my controllers with ease, it provides a compact, safe storing area for my controllers as well. Even if your controllers are fully charged, you can keep the controllers locked in their charging position, and the charging light will remain off (it will flash once to show it is locked in place, but will not stay on if the battery is full). When both controllers are docked in the charging station, the controllers are placed back to back with each other and are each facing outward rather than upward, so it actually takes up less space than resting two controllers next to each other (loosely), while also locking them in place so you won't need to worry about accidentally knocking loose controllers off your table, or wherever you are storing them.
There are only two things I can think of as potential negatives. Number one, the charger does make a slight high-pitched noise while charging. For me, it is quiet enough to not bother me while sleeping, and my charger is placed on a bedside table directly next to my pillow. If you are an extremely sensitive to noise while trying to sleep and absolutely need to charge the controller at night, you may want to place the charger away from your bed, or perhaps experiment with placing a towel or some type of thick cloth over it to reduce the noise. Number two is regarding the light, and again this relates to sleep. If you are somebody who can't stand a little bit of light in your room at night, this light may bother you a bit if you are charging your controller while trying to sleep. But again, simply place a cloth over your charging station to block the light, and that problem will be solved.
My overall opinion: This is a perfect charging station, and a must-own for all PS4 owners.
I had a Nyko drop-in charging cradle for my Xbox 360 controllers for a couple of years and always loved the convenience of being able to leave the controllers in the cradle when not in use and have them available with a full charge at any time. Alas, the relatively short battery life compared to rechargable AAs eventually made me give up a little convenience for the much longer battery life.
I never saw any need for something of this nature with my PS3 controllers, as their 30-hours on a charge battery life made charging the battery a once a week at most affair. The 4-hour charge of the Dualshock 4 is a different story. An easy to use daily charging solution was needed. For awhile I used a 4-port USB hub located on the table next to my seating area, but the frequent use of the micro-USB port worried me when it came to the frequent charging required of this generation of controller.
I looked at the various cradle types of chargers and found most had a feature that wasn't to my liking. Storing a controller upside down connected to micro-USB port on the top struck me as possibly too stressful on the port, with the port seemingly supporting the entire weight of the controller and had the same frequent insertion and removal of the USB cable as a potential problem. Perhaps this isn't an issue and I'm worrying where it isn't warranted,but the upside down positioning also seemed . . . inelegant.
The Nyko drop in charger appealed due to its familiarity with a product I liked a lot, but the dongle constantly attached to the USB port looked ungainly and caused fear of putting undue stress on the port.
The PowerA port seemed to be what I was looking for. It uses the sturdier port on the bottom of the controller, the spring-loaded design allows for easy alignment without close inspection, the controllers are stored in a more attractive (to me) upright position, and it has the drop-in functionality of my old Nyko without the dongle.
It works just as I hoped. Installation was easy - plug the adapter into the outlet, the micro-USB cord attached to it into the port on the bottom of the cradle, and thread the cord through the channel built into the side for that purpose. The separate components area nice touch. Lose the cord and you can substitute any micro-USB cord to replace it. Lose or damage the cradle and the cord will still function to charge the controller directly.
Use is simple. Drop the controller into the cradle, press straight down until it clicks. The flashing light on the controller itself tells you the charging status (flashing yellow - charging; off - charged), so there is no need for lights on the charger itself.
One last note - the Dual Shock 4 comes with a lithium battery. Unlike older rechargabley nickel cadmium batteries, lithium batteries don't become "conditioned" by frequent charging and don't have a "memory". There's no need to periodically drain them completely to refresh the battery. It's perfectly safe to recharge them after every session and leave them plugged in (cradle down position) all the time, as the controller has a built in voltage regulator that turns off the charger when the battery is full. The spring loaded design is there to ensure that the controllers are aligned properly when seating them, not for storing without connecting to the charging port.
There is no danger to storing your controllers plugged in (cradle down position) all the time, or to "topping off" the charge after a relatively short charging session. You do not have to drain the battery between charges, and shouldn't drain it completely. Lithium Ion Batteries are fundamentally different from the nickel cadmium batteries of some early smartphones, which would be damaged if left in the charger every night. This is not the case with any modern device with an internal battery, almost all of which now use lithium batteries. It can actually be harmful to fully drain them every session and they should be charged as soon as the "low charge" warning comes up rather than waiting for the controller to shut off completely. And to reiterate - there is no harm to charging your Dualshock 4 every day, topping it off, or leaving it plugged in all the time. None of this causes a lithium battery any damage or shortens its lifespan.
There is a misconception regarding frequent charging shortening the lifespan of a battery due to frequent charge cycles. A "charge cycle" isn't every time you charge your battery, it's a full charge from an empty battery, or with some devices, from the point at which you get the "low battery" warning, usually at 15-20%. Thus, draining a battery halfway and recharging it is half a charge cycle.
Store your lithium battery devices on their chargers while you're not using them. It does them no harm, doesn't shorten battery life, and you always have a full charge.
Also note that if you use NIMH rechargably AA batteries, such as with a 360 or Xbox One controller, go ahead and empty those suckers completely between charges. Different technology, different usage.
Let's face it, folks...we know the Playstation 4 is a great console, and the Dualshock 4 is one of the best controllers ever made, but the truth is that battery life on them is absolute garbage. For seamless, long-winded gaming sessions, owning a second controller for your PS4 isn't a luxury like it was on the PS3, but rather is crossing the line into a necessity. That's why you need this charging station.
There are 4 reasons I think this is a very fine product:
1. It charges the Dualshock 4 quickly. I've charged mine from a fully-drained state to full charge in less than 45 minutes. It takes significantly longer to charge if you were to use the standard USB cable.
2. The controller attaches to the charging station not via the micro USB port, but rather through the microphone jack on the bottom of the controller. Micro USB ports are not the most durable, especially when compared to the much tougher mini USB ports of the previous generation of electronics, so not having to wear that important port down through repeated connections is appreciated. Plus, since the controller charges facing up, the Dualshock 4's light bar is clearly visible, making it easy to tell once the charge is complete.
3. It charges two controllers at once.
4. The form factor is just what it needs to be. It's small, durable, and isn't ugly. Not sure what else you could ask for aesthetically from this type of product.
Overall, I highly recommend this product as a way to keep your spare Dualshock 4 quickly and easily charged up for when your main controller runs out of power.
Feature Product
- Charge up to two DualShock 4 controllers simultaneously
- Never worry about running out of battery
- Charges your controllers through an AC adapter
- Officially licensed product
- Matches your PlayStation 4 system and DualShock 4 controllers
Description
Do you hate having extended gaming sessions interrupted by dead controller batteries? Don't think about pausing your gaming to charge a controller-the DualShock 4 Charging Station for PlayStation 4 helps you game longer! With room for up to two DualShock 4 controllers, you can always leave a spare on the charger. The AC adapter providing the juice guarantees that you'll be good to go again in no time.
We just finally jumped on the PS4 wagon this Christmas 2016, and have really liked this controller charger so far. It sits perfectly alongside all of the other PS4 equipment and looks great. The pressing action to dock and un-dock is really a slick idea because it ensures that the controller charge ports are lined up perfectly to the charge ports on the dock.
Pros:
- Has alignment pin that slides into the headphone jack on the controller to ensure it is lined up perfectly
- Pressing down on the controller once into position causes the dock to lower, perfectly connecting the controller to the power charger
- Has a cord-management slot in the bottom of it so that the power cord can go out the back and not be seen
- Charges the controllers at least as fast as the PS4 does itself
Cons:
- The unit is a little lightweight, so you have to hold onto it while you're setting the controllers onto it, or else it can slide or tip
Overall, we are very happy so far with this charger dock. It looks great sitting by the PS4, especially with both controllers mounted on it. I'd definitely recommend this to anybody shopping for a controller dock.
I have owned a number of chargers and wires for the PS4 controllers, but this is the only one that I've consistently liked. It's super easy to use... you just put your control on it and push down. Push on it again to "unlock" it from the cradle and it pops right back up (like how a pen works). My kid could do it when she was 4.
It feels light but is definitely sturdy enough to hold up. The only reason I haven't given it 5 stars is that (this being my second time buying one) one of the sides sticks just a bit and my first one eventually stopped working on one side. With some work this one's side pops up just fine, but not as well as it should. Otherwise, again, this is my favorite charging peripheral, and for the price, it pays off in the end.
This is the charging station to get. Period.
Compared to some of the other models out there, and the official Sony charger (as opposed to officially licensed like this one is), this charger works exactly as I expect it to.
The controllers sit upright in the holder, not upside down. The nice thing about this design is that not only is feel natural to place the controller that way, it leaves the light bar on top which gives you indication of the charge status (slow flashing glow indicates charging, no glow indicated charge complete). The controllers plug directly in through the bottom port (the one to the left of the 3.5mm headphone jack on the controller) to charge, so there are no clip on or additional items to plug in. It fits in a solid manner, and there is never any fumbling around to line it up.
Some other notes that aren't apparent from the photo/description, the cradle actually rises and drops. Essentially you place your controller on the cradle and then press it down and it drops into place, seating on the prong to charge. When you want to remove the controller you don't just pull it up (you can, but that is more work than needed). You actually press the controller down like a button and it pops up out of the charging prong and you can easily remove the controller from the cradle. There is a little flex in the base as well (you can see the middle section is raised slightly from the sides in the picture). That flex assists in the springy inserting and removing of the controller.
The only caveat I would give here is that if you use or intend to use a plug in keypad, those typically plug into that bottom port on the controller so this wouldn't work for you unless you remove the keyboard first (which is a pain). In that case, you would probably want one of the versions where you place the controller in upside down. But to be honest, the keypads I have seen just seem so lackluster and cumbersome for the amount of typing I do with the PS4 so that probably isn't an issue for most people.
This is the third one that we've purchased as they do a great job, are very durable, and we can charge two controllers at a time. I like the fact that the charging docks are spring loaded, allowing you to set the controllers in the cradle, pressing down to lock them in place. This is confirmed by hearing an audible clicking sound ensuring you that the controller is safely docked in place and charging. It also automatically stops charging when charge is compete, The only drawback is the units are considerably lighter than your controllers. You'll have to use two hands when docking your charger to keep the unit from sliding around. Depending on where you're going to set your charging unit, this can easily be remedied with a couple of pieces of velcro. There have been rumors going around that these units may overcharge your controllers, thus draining your battery life over time. I've been using these for almost three years, and don't know whether this is an issue or not. To play it safe, I always remove the controller from the charging unit once the controller is charged.
Every since I got a Dual Shock 3 controller charger for my PS3's controllers, I knew this was a must-have accessory for my PS4 controllers!
This had an interesting design instead of the typical "shelf" style ones so I figured I'd give it a try. Some people have had problems with the horizontal "shelf" style chargers because the micro USB port that sticks out to insert into the controller can broken (sometimes internally so it looks fine outside) when inserting controllers carelessly or at a strange angle. This actually happened to me on one of the ports and I'm VERY careful with all my electronic things.
The controllers "click" in vertically and the light bar faces upwards. To remove them, simply push down (spring loaded base that they sit on) and the controller pops free. The PS4 controller is nice since the light bar can indicate charging/charged status as well.
So far so good - it's only been a few weeks of popping controllers in and out, but I can't foresee any difficulties!
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