Sony posted a PlayStation blog post on October 10 through which it announced that it will be replacing the current PlayStation 5 with a slimmer model. They gave a release window of November and online leaks pointed toward a November 8 release.
However, Twitter/X user @phantompainss got his hands on this new variant early and posted comparison pictures online of this slimmer variant that Sony refuses to call ‘PS5 Slim’.
From the pictures, we can see that the newer model retains the overall design language of the launch PS5 but is considerably smaller in size.
According to Sony, the newer model is 18% lighter than the previous and has reduced volume by at least 30%. The SKU for the digital and disc editions is the same now which will help Sony cut manufacturing costs. The UHD Blu-ray Disc Drive will be detachable on the disk variant. While the disk variant will continue its 500 USD price tag, the digital edition will now cost 450 USD, which is a 50 USD price increase. The Disc Drive will also be now sold separately for 80 USD which customers can buy if they wish to attach one to their digital edition PlayStation 5.
While the new PlayStation 5 will include a horizontal stand out of the box, to stand it vertically, players will have to buy the horizontal stand separately which will cost them 30 USD.
This image also confirmed that the detachable disk drives will require an internet connection at startup to pair with PlayStation 5, which has received controversy online.
The newer model is welcomed, especially the disk variant since it is retaining its 500 USD price tag and is also getting a bump in internal storage from 825GB to 1TB similar to the Digital Edition. However, some fans are sceptical about how the newer variant will be handling thermals.
This slimmer model is part of an across-the-board mid-gen Refresh by PlayStation, as new accessories like Pulse Explore, Pulse Elite and PlayStation Portal are about to be released.
