Sony has unveiled the PlayStation 5 Pro, its next-generation gaming console, which will follow up the PlayStation 5, which was launched four years ago, in November 2020. The new PlayStation 5 Pro (PS5 Pro) also brings a set of improvements over the PS5, including improved GPU performance. Here’s everything new the PS5 Pro has to offer.
PlayStation 5 Pro: Price, Availability
The PS5 Pro console will be available at a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) of $699.99 USD (approx Rs 58,000), £699.99 GBP, €799.99 EUR, and ¥119,980 JPY (includes tax). Every PS5 Pro purchase will include a 2TB SSD, a DualSense wireless controller, and a copy of Astro’s Playroom pre-installed. PS5 Pro is a disc-less console, with the option to purchase the currently available Disc Drive for PS5 separately.
PS5 Pro will launch on November 7, 2024, and will be available at participating retailers and directly from PlayStation at direct.playstation.com. Preorders will begin on September 26, 2024. On October 10, 2024, pre-orders will be available at all other participating retailers where direct.playstation.com is unavailable.
There’s no word on the console’s availability in India, but the PS5 Pro is expected to debut in the country in the upcoming months.
PlayStation 5 Pro Vs PlayStation 5
With PS5 Pro, Sony has upgraded to a GPU with 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 console and 28% faster memory. Overall, this enables up to 45% faster rendering for gameplay, making the experience much smoother, according to the brand.
Next, PS5 Pro supports even more powerful ray tracing capabilities that provide 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.
PS5 Pro also supports PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-driven upscaling technology that uses machine learning-based methods to provide “super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail.” Furthermore, according to the brand, PS5 Pro provides gamers with enhanced graphics at high frame rates.
Overall, the PS5 Pro gets notable performance upgrades, including improvements in graphics and frame rates and better ray tracing than the current-gen PS5. There’s also a design change: The plates on either side of the console have three stripes running horizontally, while the rest of the design is retained from the PS5 Slim.
The console’s height is the same as the original PS5, and its width is the same as the current PS5 Slim model to accommodate higher performance specs. Moreover, as stated above, it comes in a sole digital option, unlike the PS5, which had another variant with a built-in disc drive. In the case of the PS5 Pro, buyers can purchase the same disc drive as the PS5 Slim separately if they don’t want to play games via the digital route.
Other enhancements include PS5 Pro Game Boost, which can apply to over 8,500 backwards compatible PS4 games playable on PS5 Pro. This feature may stabilize or improve the performance of supported PS4 and PS5 games. Enhanced Image Quality for PS4 games is also available to improve the Resolution on select PS4 games. PS5 Pro will also launch with the latest wireless technology, Wi-Fi 7, in territories supporting this standard. VRR and 8K gaming are also supported.
Then, several games will be patched with free software updates so that gamers can take advantage of PS5 Pro’s features. These games can be identified with a PS5 Pro Enhanced label within their title. These games will include the likes of Alan Wake 2, Assassin’s Creed: Shadows, Demon’s Souls, Dragon’s Dogma 2, Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth, Gran Turismo 7, and more.
The PS5 Pro is compatible with the PS5 accessories currently available, including PlayStation VR2, PlayStation Portal, DualSense Edge, Access controller, Pulse Elite, and Pulse Explore. The user interface and network services will also remain the same as on the PS5.