“PS4 Slim” is marginally thinner with rounded corners
According to pictures that appeared in an online auction and have now been removed, Sony is preparing to release a slimmer refresh of its current PlayStation 4 hardware which could likely be named the “PS4 Slim.” The device appears to have rounded corners, yet still looks very much like a VHS cassette player pulled from the 1980s no matter which way you look at it.
Image source: GumTree.com
Image source: GumTree.com
The idea of Sony releasing several console revisions isn’t new. The company did a similar stunt back in September 2009 when it introduced the PS3 Slim, a thinner and lighter version of the original PlayStation 3 from 2006. The company then followed this up with the release of a “PS3 Super Slim” variation in late 2012, with additional reductions to the form factor and overall console size. The difference this time, however, is that the company may be preparing to release a slim refresh alongside the mid-generation, 4K-capable upgrade scheduled for release on September 7th.
According to a report from the Wall Street Journal, the company may do exactly that. The paper says Sony cut production of the current first-gen PS4 console ahead of Microsoft's Xbox One S refresh console launch on August 2nd, suggesting a newer slim revision could be arriving soon to replace Sony's original PS4.
While we have no evidence that Sony will ever release a “PS4 Super Slim” down the road, there are at least some hints now that the company has a “PS4 Slim” in the works. Aside from rounded corners, the console’s vertical height now appears slightly thinner than its first-generation predecessor. The auctioned unit also appears to be a European model with a 500GB hard drive. More pictures pulled from the listing can be found at The Verge.
Image source: NeoGAF Forums
Image source: NeoGAF Forums
On Sunday, several more pictures surfaced on NeoGAF showing the slimmed-down unit sitting on top of an original PS4 for comparison purposes.
Of course, hardware specifications of the newly discovered slim model are unknown at this point, but we can probably guess that it will not include an Ultra HD Blu-ray drive or 4K output support, as these features will be reserved for the 4K-capable “PlayStation Neo” set to be announced early next month.
