PlayStation 5 | Pro Spec Analysis

[Moonface]

I don't know how much weight there is to this given Microsoft may have just made this claim for the sake of it with no genuine evidence, but a legal document from the current FTC hearing over their pursuit to acquire Activision contains an allegation from Microsoft that Sony is sitting on a PS5 Slim that's expected to release later this year at the same price rate as the PS5 Digital Console:



I'm hoping that means the Slim would have a disc drive, since usually Slim models release at a lower price point than the fatter model before it. Although, it doesn't ultimately matter to me either way since I already have a PS5 and I'm not going to just swap it for a Slim.

[Eric]

I also own a PS5 and not keen to buy any new hardware anytime soon. I honestly don't know how I feel about a console refresh from either Xbox or Playstation considering neither publisher has released very many games exclusive to the current gen, if any at all. There hasn't been a game that truly pushes the limits of the hardware so what would we really be upgrading to?

[Moonface]

I also own a PS5 and not keen to buy any new hardware anytime soon. I honestly don't know how I feel about a console refresh from either Xbox or Playstation considering neither publisher has released very many games exclusive to the current gen, if any at all. There hasn't been a game that truly pushes the limits of the hardware so what would we really be upgrading to?

Well a slim model wouldn't be a hardware upgrade, it would just be the same as any other slim version of a PlayStation where it's the same thing but in a smaller design. A hardware upgrade would be called something else like how there was the PS4 Pro, which was different to the PS4 Slim.

[Eric]

I consider anything that reduces the PS5 in size and keeps the disc drive an upgrade My point is that neither Xbox nor Playstation deserve my hardware money until they start releasing games that can push what we already have, regardless of sidegrade or upgrade.

[Moonface]

Ah, I get ya now. To be fair though, if there were games you felt were pushing or starting to push the limits of the console(s) would you consider upgrading to a slim or pro model down the line or still just stick with your base PS5/XSX?

[Eric]

Yeah absolutely. I've done it before with the PS4 to PS4 Pro when both RDR2 and Spiderman released in 2018 and gave my old one to my brother. If there's a lineup of games of this caliber coming out, I want the best experience It has to be a game that really seems to push the limits of what the console can do though. I wouldn't drop $500 on a Redfall for example, even though it's technically a 'current gen' exclusive.

As far as slim models go...well, I've 'upgraded' to slim models before and sometimes they give better performance and fix many of the existing console quirks that are annoying enough to get a replacement for. (i.e. Xbox 360 black console vs prevalent RROD white model). This generation I think Sony and Microsoft did a good job with hardware design and I haven't seen many, if any, problems at all. Even though the PS5 is ugly as sin for example, I don't think that's a compelling enough reason for me to get a slim at this time.

What about you?

[Moonface]

I personally wouldn't get a PS5 Slim unless my current PS5 were to die on me and need replacing. That's the only reason I ended up getting a PS3 Slim and a PS2 Slim, but I never got a PS4 Slim because my regular PS4 has never had a problem. The same approach applies to Pro models too; had my PS4 died I would have probably grabbed a Pro, and if my Switch were to die I'd grab an OLED.

[Dragon Lord]

I don't see the point of a PS5 Slim. The size of the console isn't really that much of an issue at all, especially if you set it up vertically. If Sony is going to do any more versions of the PS5, I'd rather see a PS5 Pro that has massively enhanced performance compared to the base PS5.

But I'm okay just seeing them let the PS5 run its course without multiple versions of it coming out, and focusing solely on making the PS6 the best it can possibly be when its ready to release in the next 6-8 years.

[Dragon Lord]

Changing the subject from the PS5 Slim Rumors... I have, unfortunately, finally encountered the dreaded stick drift. It's on the original white DualSense that came with the PS5. It's been my PC controller for a while now, and I noticed a few weeks ago while playing Aether Gazer on emulator that my character would run to the right at times. Though I wasn't 100% sure because I thought maybe it was just the controller having issues being used with the emulator. However, I used it while playing Genshin on my PC yesterday and had the same problem there, 100% confirming that it is stick drift.

Much sadge. Now I have to figure out which of my other controllers (the Blue, Black and Purple ones) will be unfortunately doomed to be my PC-only controller, with the other two being my PS5 controllers. Though of course once I eventually get a DualSense Edge, I imagine I'm going to make that my full-time PS5 controller, which will free up the three colored ones to be used on PC I guess, haha.

[Mr EliteL]

On a PS5 Slim/Pro model I doubt I'll change to any of those, I'm pleased enough with my current one anyway.

I've had a slight drift issue with my first Red DualSense but doesn't drift constantly or too often enough to trouble me, goes back to normal soon after. I already swap between my Red and White anyway as I let my laptop charge them when the one I use wirelessly for PS5 gets low. I should get a third controller at some point though, possibly fourth. Then again I have a brand new fourth PS4 controller I've never had to use yet though still good to have one spare.

[Moonface]

Thinking on the concept of a slim PS5 again, I just realized that there's no way to make a smaller model and keep the existing changeable face plates on it so a new console design would need yet another set of plates made for it alongside the ones currently made for the physical and digital models (although it's really only one plate that has to be different for those two).
I also would be concerned about the system getting hot if it was smaller; a big reason the thing is so big currently and has the shape it does is for airflow.

As for stick drifting I've not had that happen for my DualSense controllers yet, although one is brand new and the other works but doesn't update anymore so if that did end up with drift I wouldn't see it as a big loss anyway. My PS4 controllers did it and I recall @ShiraNoMai taking them apart to fix it but I don't know if she actually did fix them or not. I only remember the attempt being made because something didn't work right when we put it back together.
Looking at my DualSense right now I actually never noticed it has no visible screws on the casing. I was going to suggest to you @Dragon Lord to try and fix the stick yourself but I have no idea how you even open one of these things. There's probably a way but I get the feeling it'll be more trouble than it's worth.

[ShiraNoMai]

I did fix the issues with them; only problem was in putting it all back, I seem to have still left the touchpad disconnected, so the touchpad is busted on it currently.

I can't say I'd recommend taking apart the controller after watching this video on it. There's some hidden screws underneath the L1/R1 buttons after you pop those off first, and then two on the tips of the bottom of the controller when you pop the black shell off. It's not worth for cleaning cuz even that doesn't get you to the sticks--you gotta remove the whole battery and motherboard first.

Best tips I've seen for it specifically were "dipping a cotton swab in a bit of alcohol and gently cleaning each thumbstick and its housing," and "blowing off dust or any other particles that might be trapped underneath the thumbstick with a dust blower or compressed air. Try moving the thumbstick around in full circles while you blow air into the controller."

[Dragon Lord]

Yeah, it's not really worth trying to pull apart a DualSense controller to fix stick drift that's just going to end up recurring again anyways. I just made my purple DualSense my "dedicated PC" controller, and I still have my blue and black controllers for my PS5 use (and eventually I'll pick up a DualSense Edge just for the hell of it).

Kind of sucks though, because I have like 14 PS4 controllers and never had stick drift with any of them despite constant use of them all. Took two years, but finally got burned by DualSense drift. Hopefully it won't happen with any of my others.

[Moonface]

With how stick drift has become so prominent in the last two gens of consoles, I wish controllers would get made to be easier to take apart and clean if the main cause of drift is dirt in the controllers. The stupid amount of stuff you have to remove to get to the sticks on a DualSense reminds me of how laptops often make it a pain to reach the fans for cleaning for no good reason. I miss when controllers didn't have those issues; I can't say I've ever had any of my PS1, PS2 or PS3 controllers have a problem that would necessitate taking them apart to fix it. They've just always worked.

On a side note, I don't know when it got added but I noticed you can finally upload captures to the PS App via a prompt now, instead of it only being done when you first create the capture. I hated how I had to take captures of captures on my PS5 to be able to have them upload to the PS App again because the original upload had long since expired as they only last for like ten days on the app.

[Moonface]

Not sure how much weight there is to this, but this is apparently a leaked image of the PS5 Slim:

Looks like it is just a bit thinner in the central part and the top part now curves instead of being flat, but I don't get why the side plates have changed to add a "slice" into them unless the plates aren't the exact same size as the current PS5 ones and that slice is a way to try and indicate a difference to avoid confusion for buyers of custom plates?
I also wonder if the recent sale on PS5 consoles ($50 off) is maybe a way to try and shift remaining inventory of those before this model revision gets announced/comes out?

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Oh wow someone put up a video holding the PS5 Slim and this thing looks way way smaller than the current model:

Also looks like the disc drive will still exist and won't be an external add-on like was expected for the Slim model, unless that's a plan for another model somewhere down the line (although that makes no sense to me).
I wonder what they did to the internal stuff to get it that small while not sacrificing any of the space that was necessary to keep the system cool? I always thought a big reason for the PS5 being the size it is was primarily for cooling purposes.