Sony has released a revised digital PS5 model in Europe, with less storage and a new matte finish – but the price hasn’t been reduced.
Earlier this month, reliable insider Billbil-Kun reported the digital-only model of the PS5 would receive a downgrade from 1TB of storage to 825GB. This model went on sale in Europe this month – and crucially costs the same (€499) despite less storage.
Now, a new unboxing video on YouTube from Austin Evans confirms the storage downgrade, as well as the use of cheaper parts, based on a new console purchased from Germany.
Both the black central casing of the console and the white outer sleeves now come in a matte finish rather than a glossy finish – no more fingerprints!
The newer console is also 100g lighter than the previous slim version – and 1.3kg lighter than the launch model.
As for the SSD, the actual amount of usable storage on the newer model is 667.2GB (compared with 848.0GB of usable space on the previous model). That’s a 27 percent reduction and not a huge amount of space, especially considering this is a digital-only model
Inside, the fan is lighter, plus the motherboard design has been refined and is thinner.
While Evans notes the internal engineering is excellent in maintaining the same power and performance, ultimately the reduced SSD makes this iteration of the console considerably worse.
For Sony, it’s presumably cheaper to make. But that saving has not been passed on to the consumer, considering all PS5 consoles cost more now than ever.
Earlier this year, Sony raised the price of the digital edition in the UK and mainland Europe from £390/€450 to £430/€500. And this was the second price increase, as it originally cost £359.99/€399.99 at launch, meaning the digital edition is €100 more than five years ago.
More recently, the price of all versions of the console went up in the US as the company continues to “navigate a challenging economic environment”. It’s unclear yet if the revised version of the console with storage reduction will be available in the US as in Europe.
