PlayStation 27-inch Gaming Monitor with DualSense Charging Hook Review: Exactly as the Name Suggests, and Nothing More

From the moment it hit the scene six years ago, the PlayStation 5 was billed as the 4K console for the new era. Whether or not the console really met that promise is up for debate . The games you played were supposed to run without hindrance at that top-end resolution (though mostly with the help of upscaling), which only helped propel us into the age where 4K TVs are the norm. Sony, surprisingly, decided the best move for its first screen since it pushed the 3D Bravia TV was a 1440p LCD monitor for your desktop.

PlayStation’s “ 27-inch Gaming Monitor with DualSense Charging Hook” is an odd, overly long name for an odd, relatively small screen. What you get for $350 is a fast IPS LCD display with an arm that swings down, allowing players to plant their PS5 controllers in to charge when not in use. Other than the white-and-black aesthetic, the lone PlayStation icons in front and behind, and the ability to hit the necessary 120Hz max refresh rate on PS5, the hook is the monitor’s only nod toward its progenitor. It doesn’t connect with the PS5 to add any mood lighting when you’re gaming. It is—simply put—a gaming screen.

This monitor is built with PS5 gamers in mind, though you should mainly consider it if you want an easy way to charge your controllers.

The 27-inch PlayStation monitor arrives at a transition point for Sony’s headlining gaming brand. After several years spent pushing formerly exclusive titles to PC, Sony has rapidly backpedaled from its PC expansion plans . Despite the halt of its PC ambitions, the company still plans to launch a set of portable desktop speakers on Nov. 12. Combine this monitor with existing accessories like the Pulse Elite headset , and you’d supposedly have a full gaming desk setup for console and computer. With the TV beckoning you back to its couch-based comforts, what place could a PlayStation monitor have in your gaming life?

And yet it’s the hook that matters. The hook will set you free. The hook helps alleviate one of the PS5’s worst pain points: the DualSense controller’s awful battery life. So before you go about knocking this screen, know that this is the one and only reason that PlayStation got me hooked on this monitor.

To get the obvious out of the way, this monitor’s whole schtick is centered around this single gimmick. The hook arm can lock in place facing downward or tuck up behind the screen either to the left or right. If you plan to actually connect your monitor to your PC or PS5, you end up shoving it up to the right, where it won’t be in the way of your HDMI cables.

Each DualSense controller comes with a bottom port that can charge the controller when not in use. Plugging it into the monitor’s hook charges the controller—though not at some blistering, previously unseen rate. Sony sells a $30 DualSense Charging Station with these same pin connections for up to two controllers. However, that’s just another accessory clogging up a desk when it doesn’t need to.

I’ll admit that I found it especially helpful for my personal gamer lifestyle. I constantly forget to charge my DualSense when not in use.