The current generation of consoles is getting its first redesign, with Sony’s new PlayStation 5 “slim” now finally landing after its October announcement. The revised PS5 may not be all that small, but it does feature a unique detachable disc drive, two front-facing USB-C ports (instead of one USB-C and one USB-A), and expanded internal storage of 1TB. The new PS5 Digital Edition starts at $449.99 (notably, that’s $50 more than the original PS5 Digital Edition costs), while the standard PS5 with the removable disc drive included runs the same $499.99 as the prior larger model it’s replacing.
The new PS5 consoles are certainly unique, playing the same games as the original models at the same 4K graphical fidelity and offering users the flexibility to change their minds on the disc drive after the time of purchase. Of course, if you buy the base model and elect to switch over to #disclife, that will cost an additional $79.99 — meaning your “upgraded” PS5 will run a total of $529.98.
If either of these slightly smaller consoles is appealing to you, here’s where you can currently preorder them.
The new standard PlayStation 5 for late 2023 once again costs $499.99 and includes a disc drive that’s now removable. The new PS5 is being offered as a bundle with a free digital game at various retailers, effectively saving you $59.99 to $69.99. You can get the console with Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 (at Best Buy, Walmart, and Target) or Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III (at Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Walmart, Target, or direct from PlayStation).
Aside from the detachable drive, the new “slim” PS5 is 30 percent smaller by volume and 24 percent lighter, according to Sony. Though, the most tangible benefit may be the console’s larger 1TB SSD, which is 175GB more than the non-slim models.
I can’t blame you if you want the slim PS5 Digital Edition based on aesthetic alone because even though Sony’s part-router, part-inverted Oreo is still a bit of a futuristic eyesore, at least the disc-less Digital Edition is the best-looking of them all. Unfortunately, at this time, the Digital Edition isn’t live at retailers just yet — not even directly from Sony. We’ll keep an eye out for when it lands, which could be any time now.
