Sony today unveiled the PlayStation 5 Pro and the updated console gets a sizeable graphics upgrade. But it’ll come at a $200 premium over the disc-based PS5.
The PlayStation 5 Pro, which launches Nov. 7 for $699.99, is designed to render games up to 45% faster than the standard PS5. “Simply put it’s the most powerful console we have ever built and a worthy addition to the PS5 family,” says PlayStation Lead Architect Mark Cerny.
(Credit: Sony)
Sony says game developers want more graphics performance from the console, which originally launched in November 2020. Plus, about three-quarters of PS5 owners run the console in “performance mode,” which focuses on increasing frame rates. That means those gamers are skipping the console’s “fidelity mode,” which prioritizes graphics quality at the expense of lower frame rates, resulting in a choppier gameplay experience.
To give customers the best of both worlds, Sony set out to create an upgraded PS5 that could consistently pump out 60fps while retaining high graphics quality. The resulting PlayStation 5 Pro features a larger GPU with 67% more compute units and 28% faster RAM.
(Credit: Sony)
The Pro console has also been upgraded to support faster ray tracing, enabling the system to render realistic lighting and shadow effects in games at “double or even triple the speeds” of the original PS5, Cerny says.
The Pro console also has its own custom hardware to power a new AI super sampling tech, called PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, which can further boost frame rates. Cerny didn’t go into details, but Sony’s implementation appears to work by lowering the game’s resolution to increase the FPS, and then upscaling the images by using AI models to improve graphical details.
(Credit: Sony)
Sony’s presentation showed the PS5 Pro running a variety of games, including The Last of Us Part II, and comparing the performance to the regular PS5.
“It has huge amounts of detail and targets a super smooth 60 frames per second,” Cerny says. “Let’s compare this to the fidelity mode in the PS5, which is only running at 30 frames per second and is therefore much choppier.”
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(Credit: Sony)
“Other enhancements include PS5 Pro Game Boost, which can apply to more than 8,500 backward compatible PS4 games playable on PS5 Pro,” the company added in a blog post. “This feature may stabilize or improve the performance of supported PS4 and PS5 games.”
However, there is one important feature the PS5 Pro will lack: a built-in Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive. Instead, users will need to buy it separately for $80 and install it themselves.
(Credit: Sony)
Although the console promises to offer a significant performance uplift, the big question is whether the PS5 Pro will appeal to existing customers who already own the older, regular PS5. If so, Sony plans on kicking off preorders for the PS5 Pro on Sept. 26.
(Credit: Sony)
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About Michael Kan
Senior Reporter
