PS5 Pro design indicative of Sony's hardware production efficiencies and profit maximization

If accurate, the PlayStation 5 Pro's leaked design highlights Sony's focus on tight hardware production efficiencies across its console lineup.

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Sony's PlayStation 5 duo has changed a lot since 2020. Specifically, Sony has released a few hardware revisions with one simple goal in mind: To maximize the profit on every PS5 unit sold to consumers and retailers. There's a few ways that Sony has tackled this objective, and based on the rumored design of the new system, the PS5 Pro will continue this trend moving forward.

According to reports from reliable leaker billbil_kun, the PS5 Pro will retain the existing revisionist design of the newer PlayStation 5 slim models. The PS5 Pro's overall shape and design are similar with one exception--the Pro will have extra slits on the side, likely a stylized choice to easily differentiate the base PS5 lineup from the more powerful Pro.

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Stylized mock-up of the PS5 Pro's design. (Credit: Billbil-Kun/Dealabs)

Since the case and chassis design are similar, it's possible that the internals are somewhat similar as well, at least in regards to the overall layout of the system itself. We can't know this for sure, and it's something gleaned from intuition based around what we already know about the revised Slim models.

In 2023, Sony released the PS5 Slim consoles (CFI-20xx) with some clear changes over the launch models introduced in 2020. For one, the PS5 Slim consoles are now modular, meaning gamers can easily add or remove a 4K UHD disc drive.

Essentially, every PS5 Slim is now a digital system by default. This allows Sony to interchangeably produce and ship the systems; no longer do they have to release two variants. While two variants still exist, and gamers can still buy either a disc-based PS5 Slim or a digital-only PS5 Slim, this efficiency gives Sony more freedom in how it allocates and ships stock.

Based on the leaks, it seems likely that this modular design will carry forward to the PS5 Pro. Although the Pro will feature a dramatically more powerful GPU that's capable of belting out higher-end visuals upscaled with new PlayStation Spectral Resolution (PSSR) technology, everything should be housed in a similar chassis to the Slim.

We wouldn't be surprised if the Pro is actually the same size as a Slim, and if it is also compatible with the existing 4K UHD disc drives from the Slim systems.

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The biggest advantage to the new Slim revision is that Sony has significantly reduced the system's weight, which comes into play heavily in regards to profit margins.

Based on our findings, the newer PS5 Slim models are up to 24% lighter than the original models. A lighter console means less freight shipping costs; When shipping hundreds of thousands of kg's worth of consoles across multiple global regions, every kg matters.

The weight reductions were done both internally through an overhauled cooling system--the Slims have a more efficiently-designed heatsink, for example--alongside the PS5 Slim case redesign.

While we don't know exactly what's inside the PS5 Pro, reports also indicate that the newer Pro model will also use a 200W power profile. This is the same maximum power draw as the base PS5 console; the PS5's variable performance is determined by likewise variable power draw which ranges from 160W to 200W.

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Sony's operating profit margins have been slipping in part due to "deteriorations in PS5 profitability," driven in part by international currency fluctuations. This has led to Sony raising the PS5's price in all territories outside of the US, including three price hikes in its home country of Japan.

So if that's the case--if Sony is able to produce a similarly-designed case for the Pro, and focus on maximizing all profit margins for its hardware, why would Sony charge extra for the Pro?

There's a lot we don't know about the console still, and based on the capabilities of the system, there is likely to be new cooling measures put into place to accommodate the upgraded performance; the Pro is rumored to feature an RDNA 3.0 GPU with a boosted 60 DRNA Compute Units (CUs) for a theoretical 33.5 TFLOPs. The new-and-improved GPU is also expected to hit up to 2.35GHz.

The CPU is likewise beefed up to overclock to 3.8GHz, versus the PS5's 3.5GHz.

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PS5 Slim's Oberon Plus 6nm (left) vs the PS5 base model's Oberon 7nm SoC (right). It is unknown what kind of SoC will be used in the PS5 Pro.

All of this extra horsepower may require a more robust cooling system. So while the chassis/case may be similar, alongside the new efficiencies with the interchangeable disc drives, it's possible the Pro is not only heavier but also more costly to make given its more customized and newer silicon design (which may or may not be built on the 6nm Oberon Plus SoC design).

Despite the assumed higher MSRP, and the newer chip features and/or cooling design, we should expect Sony to carry forward all profit-maximizing efficiencies and learnings from its current PS5 revisions forward with the Pro model in whatever way possible, whether it be the Slim case design, the modularity of the system, and potentially even a more exact heat dissipation system.