Chip shortages, scalpers, and COVID-19 have made getting a PS5 a pain, and the consoles still aren’t easy to find. So, many are wondering if they should just wait until a PS5 Slim or PS5 Pro hits the market. This speculation has been further fueled by rumors that a PS5 Pro is already in development. We’ll take a look at whether you should wait for a new PS5 model to come out below.
Is a PS5 Slim or PS5 Pro coming out?
There’s no confirmation that any new models of PS5 are coming out. Any information concerning a PS5 Slim or PS5 Pro has been supposition, so you may be waiting a lifetime for them to come out.
At a recent TCL conference in Poland, a slide appeared labeled “Gen 9.5” listing a PS5 Pro release date for 2023 or 2024. This led many to think that TCL must have accidentally leaked the existence of a new PS5 model, but that’s not necessarily the case. Instead, it’s more likely that this was a placeholder based on Sony and Microsoft’s last-gen console release schedule.
It’s possible that Sony might release a PS5 Pro, but does it need to? The PS4 came out right before 4K started entering the market, which left the company in an awkward position by the time 2016 rolled around. At that point, it could either wait for four more years for the PS5 to introduce 4K compatibility or release a revision of the PS4.
However, 8K is seeing much slower uptake than 4K, and the PS5 is HDMI 2.1 compatible, so it could technically output games at a higher resolution if required. So, Sony may not see the need to design a PS5 Pro.
On the flip side, there will almost certainly be a PS5 Slim, as every PlayStation console got a smaller version at some point in its lifetime. As time goes on, Sony will likely refine the system’s construction to be lower-cost and smaller, which would be great because the base model is a big ol’ chonker.
