A new PS5 model is lighter than the launch console, official product manual shows
Revised Digital Edition hardware emerges in Japan
Sony appears to be rolling out its first revision of the PlayStation 5 hardware.
A new version of the PS5 Digital Edition console detailed in an official Japanese product manual shows that the updated hardware model (CFI-1100B) weighs 3.6kg, which is 300g less than the launch version (CFI-1000B).
The revised hardware also appears to include a different screw used to attach the console’s stand, as shown in the comparison images below (via Resetera).
The new PS5 model has already been listed on the websites of some Japanese retailers, who will reportedly be offering the updated hardware as part of their next lottery sales.
Updated PS5 hardware was first spotted in May, when it emerged that Sony had registered a new wireless communication module it was seemingly applying to the console.
While PS5 launch hardware uses a CFI-1XXX model numbering scheme, the product listed in Sony documentation uploaded to a Peruvian government communications website also used the new CFI-11XX scheme.
During an investor call in April, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said the company was considering various solutions to help it cope with the global shortage of hardware components, including potentially altering product designs or sourcing secondary suppliers.
“As I said earlier, we’re aiming for more sales volume than the PS4 [during year 2]. But can we drastically increase the supply? No, that’s not likely,” he said.
“The shortage of semiconductors is one factor, but there are other factors that will impact on the production volume. So, at present, we’d like to aim at [beating] second year sales of 14.8 million, which was the second year of PS4.”
Asked specifically about the shortage of semiconductors, which is affecting all consumer electronics industries from smartphones to automobiles, Totoki suggested Sony had means with which it could manage.
“For example, we could find maybe a secondary resource, or by changing the design we could cope,” the exec said.
Sony is reportedly planning to start production on a PS5 hardware redesign featuring a “new semi-customised” 6nm CPU from AMD in 2022.
The company claimed in May that the standard PS5 model would break even beginning in June 2021. “And from then on, we project that it will gradually become increasingly profitable,” PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said during an investor relations event.