PS5 Pro: everything we know so far about Sony’s super-powerful console upgrade

The super-powerful PS5 Pro console is now official. And, although we don’t yet have all the info, we’re updating this feature with as much info as possible as soon as we can.

It took three years for the PlayStation 4 to get a new version, meaning an upgraded version of the PlayStation 5 is a little tardy to join the latest console generation.

Sony launched Playstation Portal, a PS5-dependent gaming handheld, in November 2023. A PS5 Slim also joined the ranks in 2023, although that model was a shrink only. There’s no new capability aside from 1TB of storage. So it’s high time for a PS5 Pro.

What we know so far about PS5 Pro

• It’s available on 7 November for a huge $699.99/£699.99/799.99 Euros. Sorry if you were thinking it would be anything like the same price!
• Preorders will begin on 26 September 2024.
• The GPU boasts rendering speeds of up to 45% faster than PS5.
• The custom-designed CPU (codename: Viola) has 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory.
• AI upscaling is also present, called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR). Like Nvidia’s DLSS upscaling tech it uses machine learning technology to provide super sharp image clarity by adding detail.
• There is even more powerful ray tracing of 2-3x that provides “more dynamic reflection and refraction of light… This allows the rays to be cast at double, and at times triple, the speeds of the current PS5 console,” says Sony
• Gone are the two rendering modes from the standard PS5. Fidelity Mode (30fps) and Performance Mode (6030fps). In the launch presentation PS5 lead Mark Cerny said Performance Mode was being used around 75% of the time. On PS5 Pro, the modes will be combined with better graphics as well as better performance.
• Sony says the “user interface and network services” will remain the same as on other PS5 models.
• PS5 Pro used around 200W of power and runs fairly cool thanks to work from AMD and a more efficient manufacturing process for its Viola silicon, manufactured by TSMC.
• The vertical stand is sold separately, just like on PS5 Slim (unbelievable, really)
• It’s the same height as the original PS5, so it is bigger than the PS5 Slim although the width is the same size as the slim model (which Sony infuriatingly refers to as the ‘current PS5 model’ rather than PS5 Slim).
• You will be able to change the covers on the console when they become available.
• It’s a digital console but just like PS5 Slim you can add on an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive should you wish. This drive is the same as is currently available, there’s not a new one.
• PS5 Pro Game Boost means more than 8,500 backwards-compatible PS4 games are playable on PS5 Pro. Sony says that the feature “may stabilize or improve the performance of supported PS4 and PS5 games”. The resolution can also be improved (called Enhanced Image Quality for PS4 games).
• The console will support Wi-Fi 7 and VRR and 8K gaming are also supported.
• As you’d expect, PS5 is compatible with current PS5 accessories including PlayStation VR2, PlayStation Portal, DualSense Edge, Access controller, Pulse Elite and Pulse Explore.
• Games specifically developed with PS5 Pro in mind will have a label: ‘PS5 Pro Enhanced’. Sony has lasted some of these games: Alan Wake 2, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Demon’s Souls, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Gran Turismo 7, Hogwarts Legacy, Horizon Forbidden West, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, The Crew Motorfest, The First Descendant and The Last of Us Part II Remastered.
• As well as the 2TB SSD the initial model will include a DualSense wireless controller and a copy of Astro’s Playroom pre-installed.

PlayStation 5 Pro price and release date

Here’s the reveal trailer for the new console:

Play

Here’s some pics of the console that we grabbed from Sony’s Technical Presentation on the new console below a trailer for the console itself. Sony Interactive Entertainment head says the console is its “most advanced and innovative console hardware to date.”

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Re-watch the PS5 Pro reveal

The PlayStation 5 Technical Presentation where the PS5 Pro was revealed was hosted by Mark Cerny. Cerny is a long-time Sony exec and he’s now at the helm of PlayStation development, which naturally includes the creation of the PS5 Slim and next-gen PS6. Cerny certainly has some experience when it comes to brainstorming PlayStations – he was lead designer of both the PS4 and PS5. Here’s the video, it’s only nine minutes long.

Play

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PS5 Pro spec analysis – what we know (and what we don’t)

According to RedGamingTech, the PS5 Pro features an eight core Zen 2 CPU, clock speeds upwards of 4GHz, a RDNA 3 GPU that runs up to 2.8GHz, and 16GB of 18,000 MT/s GDDR6 memory at a bandwidth of 587 GB/s. That’s all somewhat complex, but this would suggest the Pro will be twice as powerful as the base console – that tallies with Sony’s info about the console that we’ve outlined above. We don’t yet know if the graphics is RDNA 3 or RDNA 4 based – there is currently disagreement about that online. The original PS5 and PS5 Slim use AMD’s RDNA 2 from 2020. Increasing the number of compute units will have a dramatic effect on the PS5 Pro’s ability to push polygons and render visual effects.

Some leaks have suggested that that the PS5 Pro will have a system memory of 576 GB/s (18GT/s). That’s a 28% increase over the 448 GB/s (14 GT/s) standard PS5. The CPU between both PS5s remain unchanged, but the Pro has something called a ‘High CPU Frequency Mode” which increases the CPU to 3.85GHz. That’s a 10% boost over the standard console. There’s no mention of this in Sony’s official announcement.

The current PS5’s internal chipset is said to be rather large. A die shrink from the original 7nm processors to the new 3nm fabrication tech has probably happened. After all, it’s the latest manufacturing process being touted by TSMCm, the company that actually makes the AMD-designed chips. It’s the same manufacturing process as the new iPhone 16‘s A18 and A18 Pro chips.

The PS5’s current eight-core CPU is based on AMD’s Zen 2 architecture from 2019. Although not confirmed by Sony, the PS5 Pro appears to have moved to Zen 4. As we know, these chips will run cooler. That hasn’t had an impact on the console size, but could impact the noise it makes.

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Although not confirmed by Sony, the PlayStation Link tech should be built into the console. Currently, anyone wanting to listen through their Pulse Explore or Pule Elite wireless earbuds and headset must plug a dongle into their console, which isn’t very 2024. It’s not even USB-C! The PlayStation Portal handheld has this functionality built-in, so there’s no reason Sony couldn’t incorporate it into a redesigned, more powerful PS5.

• Read: The best PS5 games to play today