I’m not sure Sony was ever trying to keep the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro a secret, but today the consolemaker announced full technical specs, price, and release date for the new models.
The PS4 Slim will arrive first, and it’ll actually be available on store shelves beginning September 15. Priced at $299, the PS4 Slim will include a 500GB Hard Drive and a considerably lighter profile:
The internal architecture of the new PS4 system has been revamped, reducing its volume by more than 30% compared to the previous models and reducing its weight by 25% and 16% compared to the first (CUH-1000 series) and current (CUH-1200 series) models respectively. Also, the new PS4 system is more energy efficient, as the power consumption has been cut by more than 34% and 28% compared to the very first and current models.
But the real star of the show was the PS4 Pro, which will launch on November 10. Priced at $399, the PS4 Pro will deliver an “enhanced experience” with a 1TB Hard Drive, support for High Dynamic Range (HDR) image processing (the PS4 Slim will also include HDR support), and 4K image resolution:
By boosting the performance and capability of the system architecture including the CPU and GPU, PS4 Pro allows games to deliver graphics with far more detail and unprecedented visual precision. Users with 4K TVs will be able to enjoy all PS4 titles in higher quality, such as 4K quality resolution and faster or more stable frame rates. In addition, PS4 Pro supports 4K video playback to deliver 4K streaming video services such as Netflix and YouTube.
The PS4 Pro will upconvert all PS4 games to 1080p, and according to the PlayStation Blog, some high-profile games will be further enhanced for the PS4 Pro including Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Mass Effect: Andromeda, and Days Gone. But Sony was quick to reiterate that they have no plans to release any PS4 Pro-exclusive titles.
However, unlike the Xbox One S, the PS4 Pro won’t include a 4K UHD Drive for playback 4K UHD movies.
But the PS4 Pro is still an impressive package and it’ll be interesting to see if these higher-end mid-generation systems will be embraced by the gaming community.
