Sony’s PlayStation has always been one of the most favourite gadgets for gamers ever since the first iteration came out in December 1994. The PlayStation is more than just a gaming device for people and its popularity has always been on a rise.
PS4 Pro has been the company’s flagship console since its launch in November 2016 and needs a refresh. Sony has been working on the next generation of the PlayStation, which doesn’t have an official name yet. But looking at the history of the console, the next-generation device could be named PlayStation 5.
The company has not released any specifications of the device, but as with any other much-awaited gadget, there are many assumptions floating around what could be the CPU and GPU powering the device, and other hardware specs.
In an interview to the Wired, Sony PlayStation’s lead architect and console producer, Mike Cerny gave certain hints on what specs could shape the PS5. Here we discuss those and also share some details churned by rumour mills that have a chance of making it to the final console.
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CPU and GPU Specifications
The powerhouse will get its power from a AMD chip. The CPU comes from the third Generation AMD Ryzen line that features eight cores based on the company’s latest 7nm Zen 2 microarchitecture. The GPU is expected to be a custom member of Radeon’s Navi family and will support ray tracing. Ray tracing has already made its way into computer graphics through the Nvidia RTX line-up and will make its way into gaming consoles probably through PS5.
The GPU and CPU are so powerful that they can give any other console a run for its money as per the leaks.
Storage
The PS4 had an HDD in it for storage purposes, but with the surging popularity of faster SSDs, Sony is incorporating an SSD in its next-gen device as per the rumours, and the interview of Cerny also kind of confirms it. This will cut short the boot-up time of games and will provide an amazingly fast read and write speed. Adding an SSD to the console will reduce the time required to render any scene drastically.
Though the exact details of which SSD is being used haven’t been disclosed, the SSD will be specially manufactured for it and is expected to perform at relatively higher speeds.
Video and Audio
The PS5 is rumoured to support 8K display to an extent. The PS4 and PS4 Pro already have HDR and support HDR10+. Taking this to the PS5, we can also expect an upgraded version of HDR as HDR10+ and Dolby Vision.
Sony’s current-gen consoles are limited to 7.1 channel. With the next-gen, if believed, Dolby Atmos and DTS:X could be incorporated in the console. When asked, Cerny promised to deliver an experience like never before in the audio department. You can expect a redesigned 3D audio engine blast your TV speakers or headphones with immersive sound. All one needs is to get a speaker that can unlock the true potential of the Dolby and DTS.
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4K Blu-ray Drive
PS4 didn’t sport a 4K Blu-ray drive but we can expect it in the coming gen of console. Cerny confirmed that the console will have an optical drive but there is no official word on the final specs yet.
PS5 Games
PS5 will also be supporting older versions of games that were meant for the earlier generations of PlayStation. This backward compatibility will bring a lot of flexibility to PlayStation 5. The PS5 will act as an emulator for the previous-gen console games for even the original PlayStation.
Pricing
The PS4 was retailed for £350/$399 when it was launched. The PS5 will cost a bit more at the time on its launch, approximately £499/$549. It is just an assumption and the price will not be declared until its launch.
Release Date
Cerny clearly stated that the PlayStation 5 would not be available before April 2020. Sony has not officially fixed a date for the console launch. It could be May 2020 or June 2020 or even December 2020.
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