Sony is reportedly gearing up to announce the PS5 Pro console, a mid-gen refresh of the current PlayStation 5. Reliable PlayStation leaker billbill-kun reports via Dealabs that Sony is indeed going with the name "PS5 Pro" for its updated console, and even published a sketch of its design based on what is claimed to be the final packaging for the system.
Copyright legalities prevented them from publishing the packaging visuals, but they did use them to illustrate what the console will look like. The sketch, which you can view here, appears to show a design that is similar to the existing PS5 Slim. It features a white casing and two USB-C ports with a power button on the front. There are also three black strips running across the middle of the console which are not currently present on the base models. Billbill-kun notes that the PS5 Pro appears slightly thicker than the PS5 Slim.
There are still some unclear details about the PS5 Pro. For example, the image billbill-kun posted was of a PS5 Pro without a disc player. They don't know if there will be an edition with a disc.
The controller also remains the same as the current DualSense controller that comes with the PS5 and PS5 Slim. The DualSense is a fantastic controller in terms of design and features, but the battery is atrocious.
As for when we can expect the PS5 Pro to be announced, it's believed to be "very soon" — possibly as early as the first half of September 2024.
The original PlayStation 5 was launched in November 2020. Part of the ninth generation of video game consoles, it was released alongside Microsoft's Xbox Series X|S consoles but has had a much more successful run.
Although console sales were initially hampered by limited supply following its launch due to a global semiconductor shortage and an increased demand for consoles due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the PS5 has since become one of Sony's best-selling consoles.
The PS5 was sold with two base models: one with an optical disc drive capable of playing Ultra HD Blu-ray discs, and a Digital Edition that lacks the disc drive but is slightly more affordable with the trade-off that you can only buy and play digital games on it. In November 2023, Sony released the PS5 Slim which didn't upgrade any of the core specs, but did come with a bit of extra storage.
As of June 2024, Sony had sold 61.7 million PlayStation 5 consoles. It's currently tracking around the sales pace of the PS4 which sold a total of 117 million units in its lifespan.
Are you ready to upgrade to the PS5 Pro?