Beebom StaffWith the PS5 inventory shortage finally sorted out, and the console being readily available for purchase, many people have already started wondering if the PS5 Pro will be a thing. After all, the PS4 received a bigger and better successor in the PS4 Pro three years after its launch. Though the PS5 Pro rumors and leaks are few and far between right now, every gamer is wondering about the development around Sony’s next-gen console. So today, we have compiled an article to round up everything we know about the PS5 Pro right now. We also discuss the rumored Ps5 Slim in brief in the later half of the section, so read till the end to get the full picture.
PS5 Pro: Everything We Know So Far (2023)
In this article, we have compiled all of the information about the rumored and yet-to-exist PlayStation 5 Pro. Do keep in mind that most of the details available here come from leaks and rumors, so take them with a pinch of salt. We have also included a dedicated section talking about the PS5 Slim. That said, let’s dive right in!
PS5 Pro Development
While news of the PS5 Pro’s existence is nothing set in the ground, there have been numerous instances where companies have revealed its existence, presumably accidentally. The existence of a possible PS5 Pro was first confirmed in May 2022 during a TCL showcase. Sharing a link for a Polish leak was originally shared by Insider Gaming’s Tom Henderson. The tweet included two images from a conference by TCL Technologies, where it not only allegedly leaked the hardware for the rumored PS5 upgrade, but also leaked the existence of an upgrade to the Xbox Series X/S.
Of course, as noted by many users, this could have been speculation or forecast on the company’s part. However, this was the first mention of the PS5 Pro ever spotted in the wild. The rumor mill has since been brewing with not many new details on the horizon. Though, another Twitter user called @Onion00048 recently pointed out that Sony’s Mark Cerny filed a patent to optimize their ray-tracing techniques. This further prompts to the console get its long-due update.
Moreover, as per Insider Gaming’s latest report, sources confirm that PS5 is due for a mid-life-cycle upgrade, and Sony is already working towards a late 2024 tentative launch date. We discuss more details about the speculated release date in the next section.
PS5 Pro Release Date (Rumored)
Right off the bat, let us make it clear that nothing is set in stone for the release of the PS5 Pro. However, the rumor mill suggests that the PlayStation 5 Pro could launch in 2024. As previously mentioned, citing sources aware of the development, Insider Gaming reports that the PS5 Pro will launch sometime in late 2024. In the last generation cycle, Sony launched the PlayStation 4 Pro on November, 2016. This was three years after the original launch of PlayStation 4 in November 2013.
With Sony’s past track record and PS4 receiving the Pro upgrade, next year’s holiday release may very well be true. However, we need to remember that only this year (more than two years after its launch) did Sony finally manage to fix its distribution woes, with PlayStation 5 shortage slowly fizzing out.
Moreover, in a recent YouTube video, Henderson talked extensively about the PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim, where he speculates that a new PS5 model with a detachable disk drive will launch later in 2023. Post that, the Pro model should likely hit the shelves in 2024, which is in line with the timeframe that took the PlayStation 4 Pro to launch after the original console.
PS5 Pro Design Upgrade
It’s difficult to speculate the design upgrade that the PS5 Pro will bring over Sony’s latest-gen console. The PS5 itself is a mammoth console that, though it stands out from the pack, takes a lot of space in your gaming setup. And if we go by PS4 and PS4 Pro standards, we can only expect the PS5 Pro model to be beefier than its predecessor.
If the specification and feature upgrades we discuss in the next section become a reality, we can definitely expect the PS5 Pro to be bigger in size. However, if Sony is aware of the user feedback on the PS5, the company knows they have been requesting a smaller console. So, the PS5 Pro could preserve the same bulky design (with aesthetic upgrades) and cram the latest components within. We will update this section once we receive any official design leaks, so stay tuned for more information.
PS5 Pro Specifications and Leaks
The next thing a lot of people wonder about is the specifications of the PS5 Pro. There was quite a noticeable performance leap between the original PS4 and the PS4 Pro when it launched back in 2016. In the case of PS5, however, the base console in itself supports next-gen features like ray-tracing, higher resolution gaming (4K @ 120Hz), and more. You will find a list of best PS5 games attached here.
What the PS5 Pro could include is a better Radeon GPU to deliver better frame rates while utilizing ray-tracing and supporting up to 8K gaming, at last. If you scroll back up, you will see that TCL also claimed the same during their presentation. Sony’s next-gen console might include the upcoming RX 7700XT graphics card based on the RDNA 3 architecture, enabling true 8K @ 60Hz gaming. However, again, we suggest you take this leak with a pinch of salt and wait for more concrete information.
Currently, the PS5 is based on AMD’s Zen 2 architecture, utilizing an 8-core processor and 16GB of RAM. This allows the console to deliver true 4K @ 120Hz gaming with ray tracing. In the two-plus years since its launch, AMD has made great strides in the CPU segment. So, you can expect the PS5 Pro to utilize the latest AMD Zen4 CPU architecture, which will bring better performance and enhanced efficiency. Further, a report from last year suggested that the PS5 Pro will offer double the performance of the PS5.
Sony should also consider upgrading the internal SSD to provide more usable storage space to gamers. The PlayStation 5 has an 825GB SSD with only 667GB of usable space. We expect the company to take this feedback into account and equip the PS5 Pro with at least 1TB SSD, offering more usable storage space to gamers. To install new games (most of them over 100GB in size), users have had to install or upgrade the SSD on their PS5 right now.
The CPU and GPU upgrades, coupled with 8K TVs becoming cheaper and mainstream in the next couple of years, could make the PS5 Pro an attractive investment for gamers.
PS5 Pro Pricing (Speculated)
The same story as above continues in the pricing segment as well. There is not much information to go by at the moment, but we can make an educated guess about the PlayStation 5 Pro pricing.
Looking at the previous-gen console pricing, the PS4 Pro released at the same price as the original PS4, i.e. at $399 in the US. The company also launched the PS4 Slim, an updated PS4 console with a smaller form factor, for $299 at the same time. Sony could follow the same strategy this time around as well.
That means the PS5 Pro will replace the current-gen PS5 and launch at the same price of $499 in the market in 2024. We could also see the PS5 get a compact version, which we discuss in the next section. This is mere speculation at this point, though. Given the hardware upgrade and performance improvements the console might bring, we could see Sony bump up the price and release the PS5 Pro at $599, a $100 increase over the existing console. It won’t be surprising at all. However, Sony needs to be aggressive while competing with Xbox. Plus, you can expect the original PS5 to finally receive a price cut, as it hardly received discounts post-launch.
PS5 Slim: Smaller Console In the Works?
Another possibility of platform revisions could be the release of the PS5 Slim. During PS4’s life-cycle, Sony discontinued the original PS4 and released a compact variant with similar performance, calling it PS4 Slim. Launched in November 2016 alongside the PS4 Pro, the slimmer variant shrunk the size of the console without compromising on its performance.
The same is expected from the PS5 too. Seeing that Sony has finally figured out its manufacturing woes and slowly ramped up production, already launching a couple of variant of the PS5. The slimmer PS5 console can launch to replace the current-gen PS5 in the market.
Recently, multiple news outlets and Twitter users also spotted a PS5 Slim listing on an Australian retailer’s site, seemingly confirming a slim variant. This was later debunked, as many noticed that the page existed in 2021. This page was originally made for the PS4 Slim, and the site updated it to PS5. While it certainly buries the doubts for a slim variant, who knows, we might get news later this year.
Apart from the Slim, there are rumors of the PS5 getting a detachable drive variant. As per Tom Henderson in a recent YouTube video, this variant will have a detachable disk drive, allowing users to save some space or use the console like the digital-only variant. It is scheduled to replace the current model by the end of 2023 and will start hitting the shelves in September 2023. We should get more news about the new models in June when most of the gaming companies announce their ongoing projects.
PS5 Pro: Frequently Asked Questions
The rumors currently suggest that Sony has started the development of the PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim, and we could see more leaks in the coming weeks. There is no concrete information on what upgrades these two consoles will bring, but late 2024 is the expected release date right now.
Though the PS5 Pro, if it exists, is likely to offer you better hardware and performance overall. However, its launch is still far away, the rumors hinting at a late 2024 release date. So, if you are eager to buy a gaming console right now, we suggest you go for the PS5 instead of waiting for the Pro upgrade. You are missing out on some amazing games like GOW Ragnarok, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Horizon Forbidden West, and many more.
The PS5 natively supports gaming at 4K@60Hz resolution, with some games even achieving up to 120FPS (frames per second). The latest rumors suggest that PS5 Pro’s hardware upgrades will deliver double the performance of the original PS5 console. So, you can expect the PS5 Pro to support true 4K gaming at 60FPS with ray tracing enabled, along with 8K gaming for select games.
What to Expect from PS5 Pro and PS5 Slim
Of course, only time will tell whether we will get a more powerful variant of the PS5 anytime soon or not. For now, we can only speculate what Sony might have in store for gamers with the PS5 Pro and the rumored Slim variant. In line with rumors, we expect the PS5 Pro to bring notable performance upgrades – both on the CPU and GPU front – along with support for high-res 8K gaming. That said, what are your expectations from the PS5 Pro? Do you think you will buy the PS5 Pro whenever it launches? Let us know in the comments below.
