Leaked a few months back, PlayStation has officially announced the PS5 slim models, arriving this November for both digital and disc-drive versions.
As detailed on the PS Blog, the new models will begin to roll out this November, phasing out the current PS5 models. Outside of the slightly redesigned casing, the new model will feature both USB-C ports on the front and the USB-B port on the back. The original models had one USB-C and one USB-B on the front, with the other USB-C on the backside. The storage has also been upped a bit, going from 825GB to a full 1TB.
Overall, the volume of the new models has been reduced by 30% and weight by 18% and 24% compared to the previous models. Instead of two panels, the new models have four total, with the top two having a glossy finish and the bottom being matted. The disc drive can be detached from the disc version, with the digital version supporting (sold separately) one too.
The pricing for the new models is as followed:
- U.S.
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 499.99 USD
- PS5 Digital Edition – 449.99 USD
- Europe
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 549.99 EUR
- PS5 Digital Edition – 449.99 EUR
- U.K.
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 479.99 GBP
- PS5 Digital Edition – 389.99 GBP
- Japan
- PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive – 66,980 JPY (includes tax)
- PS5 Digital Edition – 59,980 JPY (includes tax)
The PS5 slim digital’s detachable disc drive will retail for $79.99 USB, while a new console stand that is compatible with all models (including the old ones) will release for 29.99 USD.
Full specifications of the new models can be found below.
PlayStation 5 specifications
| External dimensions(excluding projecting parts) | Approx. 358 × 96 × 216 mm(width × height × depth) |
| Mass | Approx. 3.2 kg |
| CPU | x86-64-AMD Ryzen™ “Zen 2” |
| 8 Cores / 16 Threads | |
| Variable frequency, up to 3.5 GHz | |
| GPU | AMD Radeon™ RDNA 2-based graphics engine |
| Ray Tracing Acceleration | |
| Variable frequency, up to 2.23 GHz (10.3 TFLOPS) | |
| System Memory | GDDR6 16GB |
| 448GB/s Bandwidth | |
| SSD | 1TB |
| 5.5GB/s Read Bandwidth (Raw) | |
| PS5 Game Disc | Ultra HD Blu-ray™, up to 100GB/disc |
| BD/DVD drive | Disc Drive portequipped with Disc Drive |
| Video Out | Support of 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs, VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1) |
| Audio | “Tempest” 3D AudioTech |
| Input/OutputFront of Console | USB Type-C® port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps) |
| USB Type-C® port (Hi-Speed USB) | |
| Input/OutputBack of Console | USB Type-A port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps) x2 |
| Networking | Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)Wi-fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax |
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition Specifications
| External dimensions(excluding projecting parts) | Approx. 358 × 80 × 216 mm(width × height × depth) |
| Mass | Approx. 2.6 kg |
| CPU | x86-64-AMD Ryzen™ “Zen 2” |
| 8 Cores / 16 Threads | |
| Variable frequency, up to 3.5 GHz | |
| GPU | AMD Radeon™ RDNA 2-based graphics engine |
| Ray Tracing Acceleration | |
| Variable frequency, up to 2.23 GHz (10.3 TFLOPS) | |
| System Memory | GDDR6 16GB |
| 448GB/s Bandwidth | |
| SSD | 1TB |
| 5.5GB/s Read Bandwidth (Raw) | |
| PS5 Game Disc | Ultra HD Blu-ray™, up to 100GB/disc |
| BD/DVD drive | Disc Drive port |
| Video Out | Support of 4K 120Hz TVs, 8K TVs, VRR (specified by HDMI ver.2.1) |
| Audio | “Tempest” 3D AudioTech |
| Input/OutputFront of Console | USB Type-C® port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps) |
| USB Type-C® port (Hi-Speed USB) | |
| Input/OutputBack of Console | USB Type-A port (Super-Speed USB 10Gbps) x2 |
| Networking | Ethernet (10BASE-T, 100BASE-TX, 1000BASE-T)Wi-fi: IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax |
Personally, I like the new designs, and the idea of being able to add disc support to the digital model is, while an odd decision, a smart one at that. Digital owners have been locked into buying digital games, and having the option to eventually go physical, though costs more later, will save gamers money in the long run with used game sales.
Hopefully with the release of the PS5 Slim model local retailers will start having the PS5 more readily available in stock. I’d assume a good amount of players will trade in there base model PS5 for the Slim making more available for those who don’t already own one.