Sony has overhauled its best-selling PlayStation 5 with a new "Slim Model" design. It launched in the United States in early November, but took a little longer to reach UK store shelves, with the release finally taking place on November 29, 2023.
The new slimmer appearance is available for both standard and digital-only models of the PS5.
In comparison to the previous design, the slimmer PS5 consoles have shrunk in overall volume by 30%. The standard PS5 console, which has an optical drive to play games on disc and Blu-rays, has shed 18% of its weight in comparison to the first-generation design, while the digital-only console has dropped an astonishing 24% from its waistline.
There's no change in price compared to the previous design, although Sony has increased the cost of its PS5 console by £30 since the initial launch in November 2020.
For the same price tag, Sony will increase the amount of storage you'll find under the bonnet of your new console. Both Slim Models of the PS5 feature a 1TB solid-state drive, which is a healthy 175GB increase of internal storage. You can still expand the amount of storage in your PS5 with a simple SSD upgrade with off-the-shelf parts.
While the PS5 console underwent a number of changes, the wireless controller — known as the DualSense — remains identical to when it released back in 2020
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As part of the redesign, Sony made the disc drive detachable from the main body of the console.
So, if you purchase the digital-only version of the PS5 and later decide that you want to play Blu-ray discs, you can now purchase the add-on for £100. That adds flexibility to whichever model of PS5 you decide to buy ..something that was missing with the original design.
The new design replaces the original iteration of the console.
Some retailers are selling any remaining stock of the first-generation PS5 with a hefty £90 discount. That sees the standard model, with an optical disc drive and Blu-Ray player, drop from an RRP of £479.99 down to just £389. There's no doubt, it's an impressive price cut.
But stock levels are running preciously low following the Black Friday sales.
With the Christmas shopping period now in full swing, it's even harder than before to find any remaining stock of the original PS5 design — let alone one with the substantial 18% discount.
In fact, you'll need to act fast to ensure any Sony PS5 is delivered to your address in time for December 25th due to demand and shipping estimates slipping as we get closer to the big day.
Below, we've rounded up the retailers that still have the original PS5 in stock at a discount and a list of everywhere with PS5 Slim consoles available to buy.
At the time of writing, Amazon no longer has any stock of the revised "Slim Model" of the PS5 Digital Edition, while Very is warning about low stock levels for a number of the newly-launched consoles.
For those desperate to guarantee there's a PS5 console under the Christmas tree, it's worth adding to your (digital) shopping basket as soon as possible. With the transition from the old design to the rebooted model, coupled with depleted stock following the Black Friday sales, it could prove tough to get your hands on the best-selling console ahead of December 25th.
