Sony unveiled its two new models of the PlayStation 4 on Wednesday, Sept. 7. The industry’s worst-kept secret of a mid-generation improved console, codenamed PS4 Neo, was confirmed as the PlayStation 4 Pro.
This is not the PlayStation 5, but instead an upgraded version of the PS4. The PS4 Pro includes upgrades such as high-dynamic-range imaging (HDR), 4K capabilities, video games included and optimizations for the new PlayStation Virtual Reality headset.
The PS4 Pro has an 8-core AMD Jaguar 2.1GHz CPU, as opposed to the 1.6GHz in the current model. GPU gets an upgrade from the current 18 Radeon compute cores at 800MHz to the 36 Polaris compute cores at 911MHz, while RAM will remain the same.
Sony also confirmed the PS4 Pro will not have 4K Blu-Ray capability. All Pro consoles will ship with a 1 TB hard drive.
Along with the PS4 Pro, Sony also announced a PS4 slim, which will have hardware nearly identical to the standard PS4. According to Sony CEO Andrew House, this move “reduced volume by 30 percent, weight by 16 percent and power consumption by 28 percent.”
Sony announced that all current PS4 consoles will receive a software update to enable HDR.
The slim will go on sale Sept. 15 for $299, and the Pro hits stores Nov. 10 priced at $399. This gives PlayStation a huge head start on Microsoft’s rumored Xbox mid-generation upgrade, Project Scorpio.
Though the PS4 Pro is an improvement over the current PS4, don’t rush too quickly to pick one up. Video games will still be released on all PS4 consoles. However, developers will be able to utilize the improved computing power on the Pro.
More important is your TV or desktop screen. While the 4K capabilities will make games and videos look a little better on your standard 1080p screen, these upgrades will not be worthwhile unless you have a 4K screen.
If you plan to buy the PlayStation VR headset, then you should consider buying the Pro to take advantage of the optimizations and increased computing power. The $400 price tag is not worth the upgrade unless you just want to stay ahead of the curve.
Your current console will be fine until the PlayStation 5 comes out. If you are in the market for a new PS4, then the slim model is a good value buy.