Is PlayStation 5 getting a redesign?
Rumours of a new console circulate
PlayStation 5 has only been out in the wild for six months and already leaked documents suggest Sony is lining up a console redesign for as early as next year. But it’s not what you think it is. As we dig into the details we’d temper expectations of Sony dropping the iconic vented look just yet.
The ‘redesign’ being mooted is more akin to a forced refresh of the console’s internal gubbins than a wholesale reboot of what is, after all, a best-selling console. As Covid-19 rips through the world and cryptocurrencies dominate headlines and speculators’ wallets, there’s a shortage of semiconductors causing havoc with manufacturers of all kinds, and it could impact Sony.
The reworked PS5 could actually have more power, courtesy of a new custom AMD silicon. Online site DigiTimes, citing sources, claims production on the new PS5 variant could begin in 2022. And with an AMD chip featuring a 6nm process (as opposed to the current model’s 7nm), it could be a lot more powerful. It’s all a bit technical, but it essentially means this rumoured PS5 could deliver an 18% increase in transistor density, meaning that the SoC (the chip) would use a smaller area for the same computing resources. In real terms it really means Sony makes the console for less and developers see no power loss.
SLIM LINE
What this ultimately reveals, however, is that Sony is clearly already looking at ways to reduce expense and renew its console line. This will almost certainly point to a PS5 Pro a couple of years from now if the company follows its success on PS4.
In fact, PS4 is where the real fun could be had. We’ve yet to see a PS4 Slim or indeed a PS4 Pro Slim, for example, and that would really be the big news. We remember the heady days of the PSOne, so a PSFour could go like gangbusters.