PS5 Slim: a look at the new model releasing in November

The PlayStation 5 Slim has finally been announced, continuing Sony’s trend of releasing a thinner hardware revision for each PlayStation generation, dating all the way back to the PS1. The sleeker model looks to significantly reduce the silhouette of the PS5 system while retaining the power of the base model.

The revised console, announced via the official PlayStation Blog, will replace the base PS5 model entirely, and is due to launch sometime in November, so right when the Holiday season comes calling. No concrete date has been announced yet, unfortunately, but we won’t have to wait longer than a month for more news on the PS5 Slim.

Expect the PS5 Slim revision to be just as powerful as the base model, as well as retain the same price point. However, it is much slimmer, has a slightly more appealing design, and provides an option to purchase a detachable Ultra HD Blu-Ray disc drive to the PS5 Digital Edition. Read on, then, to learn everything we know about the PS5 Slim.

PS5 Slim: price and availability

The PS5 Slim is coming in at exactly the original model’s price of $499.99 / £479.99 / AU$799.95, in line with last year’s PS5 price hike. Alternatively, the PS5 Slim Digital Edition will also be available at a cheaper $449.99 / £389.99 / AU$679.95. Again, this is in line with the original Digital Edition’s price point.

Sony will also offer an Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Drive, sold separately, for those who buy the PS5 Slim Digital Edition and would like the option to upgrade to use physical media in the future. The disc drive clocks in at $79.99 / £99.99 / AU$159.95, making it much cheaper to buy in the US than it is in the UK. 

Additionally, owners will also be able to purchase a new vertical stand that’s compatible with PS5 models old and new. This’ll retail for $29.99 / £24.99 / AU$49.95. The new consoles do, however, come bundled with a horizontal stand if you were concerned about scratching it against a surface.

No concrete release date has been announced as of yet, with Sony simply teasing a November release window. We’ll likely learn more in the coming weeks.

Historically, Sony tends to release a Slim version of its consoles three years after launch. This was the case with PS3 and PS4, while the PS2 Slim and PS One took four years and six years to arrive respectively. It’s likely, then, that a PS5 Slim could arrive sometime in 2023 or early 2024.

PS5 Slim: design

According to the official PlayStation Blog, the new PS5 Slim “has been reduced in volume by more than 30%, and weight by 18% and 24% compared to the previous models.” There’s now four cover panels, too, as opposed to just two. The top two feature a more glossy finish, contrasting against the matte finish of the bottom panels.

This subdivision of panels is likely to facilitate the new detachable disc drive design, which appears to still be detachable on the standard PS5 Slim model. You’ll also still be able to insert the best SSDs for PS5, as the updated consoles continue to support M.2 NVMe SSDs.

PS5 Slim: specs

Besides the new size, weight and panels, specs for the PS5 Slim models remains almost exactly the same as the original models. That means the same RDNA 2-based GPU and support for Tempest 3D Audio tech as well as Dolby Atmos. 

One important change to note, though, is that the original’s 825GB of accessible storage has been upgraded to 1TB, meaning extra space has been added to offset the install size of the console’s operating system.

PS5 Slim – FAQs

Get the full PS5 experience with the best PS5 headsets, as well as the best SSDs for PS5 to be able to download a wealth of titles from the PS Plus Game Catalog.