In my week of testing, the PlayStation 5 Pro delivered better visuals than the standard PS5, but it doesn’t come cheap.
The PlayStation 5 Pro delivered better graphics and smoother frame rates than the standard PS5 in my testing.
Sean Booker/CNET
The original PlayStation 5 launched in November 2020, kicking off the current generation of gaming consoles. Three years later came 2023’s Slim model, with the same performance but a slight increase in storage. Now, four years after the original PS5 debuted, we get the first real step forward with the PlayStation 5 Pro.
The PS5 Pro, available Nov. 7 for $700 (£700, AU$1,200), enables higher graphical fidelity and improved ray tracing at much higher and smoother frame rates than the original. It’s the most powerful gaming console on the market, but it’s also the most expensive. And that price doesn’t even get you a vertical stand ($30, sold separately). If you want to play physical PS5 games, you’ll need to pick up Sony’s external disc drive (another $80).
At $200 to $300 more than a base PS5, getting the Pro today is sort of like opting for a pricier graphics processor to get better visuals in a desktop PC. But is it worth the expense? To find out, I compared the PS5 Pro directly with its older siblings through a variety of games, including Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered, Spider-Man 2 and Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart. In scene after scene, I saw improved details with no sacrifice in smoothness, a combination that makes the PS5 Pro the highest-performance game console I’ve ever tested. Yes, it’s expensive, but for gamers who want the best experience, it could be worth the price.
PlayStation 5 Pro design is familiar, but with racing stripes
The PS5 Pro takes a lot of design cues from last year’s Slim model, which itself is a smaller console that kept the original PS5’s flared plastic look. It has the same four exterior panel design, but unfortunately the panels are ever-so-slightly different in size. This means that if you bought any of PlayStation’s nice color panels to customize your device, they won’t fit on the new one. It also uses the exact same external disc drive, which clips to the side like with the PS5 Slim consoles.
Unlike the last two PS5 models, there is only one version of the PS5 Pro — the digital-only option. In previous models, you could spend $50 to $100 more for a console that would read physical discs. Now, if you want your new PS5 Pro to have that functionality, you need the $80 disc drive released last year. However, if you have a Slim model and have been using an external drive, that same drive will work in your new machine.
La PlayStation 5 Pro también es un poco más grande, ubicándose entre los modelos original y Slim en dimensiones. Y ahora tiene estas aletas similares a rayas de carreras en el costado entre los paneles de plástico superior e inferior que ventilan un poco el aire. Al igual que la Slim, tiene dos puertos USB-C en la parte frontal y dos puertos USB-A estándar en la parte posterior. También se puede colocar horizontal o verticalmente. Viene con dos pequeños pies de plástico para colocarla en posición horizontal, pero si quieres que quede en posición vertical, tendrás que comprar ese mismo soporte de $30 por separado. Todavía puedes instalar tu propia unidad de estado sólido, pero Sony ha duplicado el almacenamiento interno a 2 terabytes esta vez. Ahora también es compatible con Wi-Fi 7, el estándar más reciente.