snakebyte TWIN:CHARGE 5 Review

The dawn of a new generation of consoles usually brings about a sudden realisation when you open the boxes to your new peripherals – oh, damn, that cable or charging unit I’ve been using for the past seven years doesn’t work anymore! Whatever will I do…

For PlayStation 5 owners out there with Sony’s brand spanking new DualSense controllers, snakebyte has the solution: the TWIN:CHARGE 5, allowing two controllers to sit atop its PS5-esque design, complete with fins matching the console itself. It comes with these side panels in white or black, so to match the console as closely as possible I would recommend the white. However, the black will probably blend into an entertainment unit a little more easily.

In the box is the unit itself along with a 1 metre USB type-C cable. It is a USB type-A end though, so you can use one of the rear type-A ports on the PS5 to keep the cabling a little more discreet. On the front of the unit there are two lights to indicate the charging progress of each controller – more on that later though. The rubber grip on the bottom of the charging block is also excellent at keeping it in place on flat surfaces; I tried shoving it and without quite a bit of force, it did not move. Simply placing and taking the controllers off won’t move it around annoyingly.

Which is a good thing, because one of the things I noticed instantly – and I believe Andrew had the same issue with the Series X charging station – the controllers can be a little finicky to get in. There are grooves for the controllers to sit on so they can charge through the COM-port at the bottom next to the headphone jack, however, to get the connection absolutely perfect can take a bit of jiggling. I just hope I don’t mark the plastic on the controllers in the process.

If you are charging two controllers simultaneously, charging time will obviously be longer than plugging each one singularly into the console, or simply sticking one on the unit. Sony says each controller takes roughly three hours for a complete charge, so when you have two attached, you will be looking at around six hours for both to complete – providing the source is 5V 1.5A anyway. I tried with a 5V 1A Apple USB iPhone charger, which does still work, but only appears to charge one controller at a time.

To be honest, I’m not sure why this charging station really needs the LEDs on the front at all. I left both controllers attached overnight to charge, and when leaving, I noticed one LED was blue and the other was orange, but both DualSense controllers were lighting up yellow to indicate they were filling up. And that’s the thing; the controllers already have a way of letting you know that they are charging, so these buggy LEDs should just go.

In all though, if you just want a neat and tidy charging station to match your brand new PS5, the snakebyte TWIN:CHARGE 5 will do the job admirably. There are some shortcomings there, but to be honest they are nit-picks; they go in, they charge, you play. Done.