A few weeks before the end-of-year holidays, Sony is reducing the size and weight of the PS5, its flagship home console, while making small modifications. But without improving its performance and without affecting its price.
Mocked at its launch because of its imposing dimensions, the PlayStation 5 will very soon undergo a significant slimming treatment. Yesterday, through a press release, Sony announced the marketing of a model that is less imposing and less heavy than the current console. The new PS5 thus sees its volume reduced by 30% and its weight by 18% to 24% depending on the model (with or without optical drive). Less thick, the new PS5 is also shorter, which should delight all players who don’t have a lot of space in their TV cabinet.
However, it takes the marked design of the original version… with a few modifications: the console now has four detachable front panels, with a glossy coating for the two panels of the upper part. The USB-A port on the front also disappears to make way for a second socket in USB Type-C format. However, the two USB-A ports on the back have been retained.
There is no small profit: Sony will no longer deliver the plastic base which allowed the console to be placed vertically and stabilized horizontally. To do this, you will need to purchase a new accessory, sold separately (29.99 euros). A small plastic cleat was still added in order to seat the console correctly flat.
If you have already fallen for the PS5, there is no need to go back to checkout: this new version offers the same architecture and the same performance as the version inaugurated at the end of 2020. If we omit the second USB-C socket on the front, the only technical evolution lies in a slightly improved storage capacity, which goes from 825 GB to 1 TB.
New PS5: a detachable optical drive appears
The real change is elsewhere: although two versions of the console remain in the catalog (one with Blu-Ray reader and a so-called Digital edition, without reader), the two products are now strictly identical, except for one accessory: the optical reader is now a detachable module, present from the outset in the most expensive version, but which can be acquired later by customers who opt for the Digital version. Sony will market this player independently, at a price of 120 euros.
It’s smart: by only manufacturing one modular PS5, Sony can reduce its manufacturing costs. Less heavy and smaller, this PS5 Slim will also allow you to save on shipping costs. Unfortunately, all this does not translate into a drop in price for consumers: the new PS5 will still be offered at 550 euros for the version with optical drive, and at 450 euros for the Digital version. It will be available from November and will be the only model available once all stocks of “classic” PS5s have been used up… Before the probable arrival of a more powerful version in the coming years. But this is another story !