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PS5 Pro: Release date, price, specs and more rumors

As we approach the hard-to-get PS5's one-year anniversary, it's time to turn attention to a possible more powerful new model of the PlayStation 5.

Lori Grunin Senior Editor / Advice
I've been reviewing hardware and software, devising testing methodology and handed out buying advice for what seems like forever; I'm currently absorbed by computers and gaming hardware, but previously spent many years concentrating on cameras. I've also volunteered with a cat rescue for over 15 years doing adoptions, designing marketing materials, managing volunteers and, of course, photographing cats.
Expertise Photography, PCs and laptops, gaming and gaming accessories
Lori Grunin
2 min read
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Almost a year after Sony launched its cutting-edge PS5 console, chances are you're probably still religiously checking Twitter, desperately trying to find one that's not part of a sure-I'll-pay-$500-more bundle. (Or an Xbox Series X. No judgments.) It's never too soon to start thinking about the next console you might not be able to get, though; after all, if there's something as good or better on the horizon, why not give your Twitter trawling a break? Thus arise the nascent rumors about a new PS5 Pro. At the moment, the sole tip-based leak comes from reputable Moore's Law is Dead (MLID), which claims that Sony's working on a new, higher-specced model of the PS5. 

Watch this: PlayStation 5 Pro Leaked: Everything We Know

Read more: Where to find the PS5 in stock

The rest is pure speculation that places its likely arrival between late 2023 and late 2024, priced at $600 to $700 and incorporating the forthcoming 6nm Zen 3 or Zen 4 AMD silicon to drive 8K gameplay. However, the most probable next PS5 is a model with VR (commonly dubbed "PSVR 2") for 2022, which Sony has already previewed new hardware for. Although it would differ from its PS4 strategy, there's no reason Sony might not consider that a "Pro" model and push the internal hardware upgrade to a PS6.

As almost everyone has pointed out, no one is clamoring for 8K. But using the upgraded hardware to drive frame rates beyond 120fps in 4K -- or frankly, to even hit 120fps in 4K, since attaining that seems to be a struggle and only a handful can actually do it now  -- is less glamorous but makes a lot of sense. 

And it's a lot less likely, but I'd really welcome a cheaper "PS5 Slim" along the lines of the Xbox Series S, targeted at newbies and more price-sensitive gamers.

When will the PS5 Pro ship and how much will it cost?

The name "PS5 Pro" comes from the convention Sony used for its upgraded PS4 console, the PS4 Pro, and there seems to be a consensus about that. MLID estimates the 2023-2024 timing based off Sony's release of the PS4 Pro three years after the PS4.

The price of $600-$700 has been bandied about based on assumptions about typical $100 or so price differentials across models. But given how little we know about what will be inside, and not knowing when the current upward pressure on prices caused by shortages will end, it's almost impossible to even guess. So $600 is as good an estimate as any for a slightly higher-end model. 

What will the PS5 Pro's specs be?

No clue, though I wouldn't be surprised if it was boosted to a future generation of AMD's processors; given the estimated time frame, Zen 4 architecture CPUs and RDNA 3-architecture GPUs would make sense.