PS5 Slim vs PS5: what’s new in Sony’s updated version of the console?

Pre-orders are now live for Sony’s new PS5 Slim console, which launches in the UK this week. It’s a business move roughly as surprising as EA releasing a new football game next year, or an Ex on the Beach contestant bumping into their ex on a beach, since there’s been a slim version of every PlayStation since the PS1 days. This model upholds that fine tradition.

While previous slim versions looked radically different to their parent hardware though, the PS5 Slim is what you might politely call a ‘subtle refresh.’

Does that mean there’s not much difference to the 2020 PS5, then?

Yes and no. The overall reduction in size is about 30 per cent, says Sony in a blog post. That’s true of both the disc and digital (no optical disc drive) versions of the console. Here’s how the dimensions compare between the original 2020 PS5 and the new PS5 Slim:

Original PS5 (disc version): 104mm (height) x 390mm (width) x 260mm (depth)

PS5 Slim (disc version): 96mm x 358mm x 216mm

Original PS5 (digital version): 92mm x 390mm x 260mm

PS5 Slim (digital version): 80mm x 358mm x 216mm

30 per cent isn’t to be sniffed at, particularly in a living room where consoles are already fighting for space with always-listening-but-not-in-a-sinister-way virtual assistants, soundbars and trendy succulents.

The thing is, the original model was absolutely vast. When you push it backwards on your TV stand it starts beeping. So while Sony’s designers have found significant reductions in the new model, it feels like we’re meeting them more than halfway to call it a PS5 ‘Slim’. It’s still, for example, much bigger than an Xbox Series X.

Fair enough. Is it cheaper now?

Well, it’s a consumer product in the year 2023, so take a guess.

Oh. Has it gone up?

It’s stayed the same. That’s a minor miracle itself, in an era when your weekly shop costs more when you run it through the self-service checkout than when you put it in the basket. Appreciate the little wins, and all that.

Well, it’s sort of stayed the same. The disc edition costs £479.99 and the digital edition is £389.99. That’s exactly in line with Sony’s current MSRPs for the original PS5 models.

However, the Martin Lewis acolytes reading this will remember that Sony increased those MSRPs after launch - originally it was £449 for the disc version and £359 for the digital version.

What’s this about a detachable disc drive now?

That’s right. If you buy a digital version of the console, you’re no longer fully committed to life without discs because there’s an optional detachable disc drive available now.

This disc drive pairs with consoles via an online ‘handshake’, and that’s raised some concern among players about the functionality of the drive - what if the connection drops out? What if you’ve taken your console up to a remote Scottish island without internet in a bid to polish off your pile of shame?

However as Eurogamer reports, the online connection is only required to register it with the paired console or update it, and after that it can be used offline. You don’t even need a PSN login.

Great! So why not just buy a digital edition and an optional disc drive?

Because the drive costs £100.

Oh. Have the specs changed?

Yes, Sony’s upped the capacity of both Slim consoles to a nice round 1TB. Previously you got 825GB out of the box, with the option to install an additional SSD if you wanted more storage, so that’s a handy upgrade on the spec sheet.

Elsewhere though, the numbers and componentry remain the same. These Slim models aren’t equivalent to the PS4 Pro, which increased in computational power compared to its predecessor and could thus run games at higher resolutions draped in more digital finery.

There’s plenty of anticipation for a PS5 Pro model, but Sony hasn’t made any official announcements on the subject.

And pre-orders are live now, you say?

Correct again. They’re on sale from Wednesday 29 November in the UK and available to pre-order now via Sony’s official store, PlayStation Direct.