Sony PlayStation 5: The Evolution Story

With Sony releasing a slimmer version of the PlayStation 5, many people are quite excited. However, others are understandably wondering what this newer and slimmer version of Sony’s current-gen console brings to the table when compared to the older and fatter PS5. Here’s everything you need to know about their differences.

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Sony Is Launching a New (Slimmer) PS5

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In October 2023,Sony announced that it was re-releasing the PS5 with a new look. The redesigned version of the console features a smaller design, earning it the unofficial title of the “PS5 Slim,” and has the option to attach a disk drive to it.

The new PS5 will be available sometime in November (in time for the holiday season) in select retail stores and ondirect.playstation.com . Rollout will start in the U.S., with a global launch expected in the months to follow. The disc version of the “PS5 Slim” will retail at $499.99, while the digital version will set you back $449.99.

Old PS5 Models vs. New PS5 Models: The Differences

With this new PS5 version, Sony has worked on some improvements that go beyond aesthetics. If you already own a PS5, you might be wondering if the differences are worth upgrading, or, if you haven’t got one yet, purchase it now. Let’s take a look at them in a little more detail.

Old PS5 vs. New PS5: Size and Weight

A major change to the PS5’s design is the size. The launch PS5’s dimensions were 390mm x 260mm x 104mm (height, width, depth) for the disc edition, while the digital edition had dimensions of 390mm x 260mm x 92mm. The smaller PS5s have dimensions of 358mm x 216mm x 96mm and 358mm x 216mm x 80mm for the disc and digital editions, respectively.

If you’re having trouble imagining what that looks like, we entered the sizes of all the PS5 models, old and new, intoCompareSizes.com . Looking at the results, while smaller than the original, the newer PS5 models will still take up some space.

Sony has also reduced the weight of the disc edition from 9.9 pounds to 7.05 pounds. The weight of the digital edition has gone down to 5.73 pounds from 8.6 pounds (of course, it will weigh a little more if you attach the disk drive).

Old PS5 vs. New PS5: Attachable Disk Drive

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One of the other big changes is that the digital version of the new PS5 has an attachable Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive. The attachment will cost you $79.99, and it’s incompatible with the old digital version. However, it’s nice to know that the option exists should you decide to use disks later on​​​​.

Old PS5 vs. New PS5: Specs

Many of the core specs between the old and new PS5 models have remained largely the same. For example, both consoles have an x86-64-AMD Ryzen Zen 2 CPU with a clock speed of 3.5 GHz (variable frequency). They also use an AMD Radeon RDNA 2 GPU, but while the old PS5’s GPU supports hardware-level Ray Tracing, the new model’s GPU supports Ray Tracing Acceleration to make calculations faster.

There’s also a very small increase in teraflops, which is a measurement of a device’s raw computing power. The old model has 10.28 teraflops, while the new one has 10.3 (a 0.02 difference).

While the RAM for both versions remains the same (16GB of GDDR6 RAM), the slimmer model has more internal storage space. The total size of the old PS5’s SSD is 825 GB, which goes down to 667.2 GB once you factor in the OS. The “PS5 Slim,” on the other hand, has 1TB of internal space, which comes down to 842.2 GB because of the OS.

So that means you’ll have over 200GB of extra internal storage space on the new PS5. You can always upgrade it byadding an M.2 SSD to the PS5 with more storage space if that’s still not enough.

Old PS5 vs. New PS5: Price

The price of the old disc version of the PS5 is $499.99, and the new version will cost the same. The price for the old digital edition is $399.99, while the new one costs $449.99, marking a price increase. Furthermore, once you factor in the price of the disc drive, the digital edition gets even more expensive.

Old PS5 vs. New PS5: Stand

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The newer PS5 models come with a horizontal stand, which is not compatible with the old models. You can also purchase a horizontal stand separately, which will cost $29.99. The good thing about the new horizontal stand is that it will be compatible with all PS5 models.

The New PS5 Model Is Exciting

While the new, slimmer PS5 doesn’t add anything new to the package in terms of performance and features, it has a noticeable size and weight reduction. Furthermore, the attachable disc drive for the digital edition is a nice touch for people who want to start with the cheaper model and then add the option to use disks later on. Not to mention there’s now more storage space for people who could use an extra 100GB or more of internal storage space.

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