PS5 Slim vs PS5: what are the differences?

“PS5 Slim vs. PS5” is a showdown gamers want to see as they wonder how Sony’s new, slimmer console differs from the original variant.

For years, many have complained about the PS5’s bulky and bulky body – and Sony has finally fixed that problem with the new PS5 Slim.

Sony announced the new slim PS5 model on Wednesday, following a decades-old tradition of every PlayStation console getting a smaller counterpart halfway through its generation. As you can probably tell, it’s supposed to be smaller than the original 2020 model, but that’s not all.

Here are all the differences between the new PS5 Slim and its predecessor.

Note: While we look at the differences between PS5 and PS5 Slim, keep in mind that Sony is reportedly working on a new console called PS5 Pro. It should hit stores later this year.

PS5 Slim versus PS5: price

For whatever reason, Sony chose to not lower the prices of new PS5 models. The PS5 Slim with disc drive still costs $499, while the PS5 Slim without disc drive costs, maddeningly, $449 – a $50 increase over the original digital-only console.

• PS5 Slim (no disc drive) – $449

• PS5 Slim (with disc drive) – $499

• Original PS5 (no disc drive) – $399

• Original PS5 (disc drive) – $499

With that in mind, yes, the digital-only PS5 Slim saves money compared to one with a disc drive, but not compared to the digital-only model launched three years ago.

The new price also means that purchasing a digital model before purchasing the additional disc player would cost more than just grabbing the version with a built-in player. I don’t really have a good explanation for any of this.

My only advice is this: if you want a PS5 that only costs $399, you better get one now. Once existing stock of the two original models is exhausted, the new slim models will replace them on store shelves.

PS5 Slim versus PS5: size

Obviously, size is what many players are most concerned about here, so let’s cut to the chase. Looking at the dimensions given by Sony, you can see that the new PS5 is indeed smaller than the original:

In other words, according to Sony announcement blog post, this represents a reduction of approximately 30 percent of the total volume. That’s certainly an improvement, but there’s important context missing from these raw numbers. The edge performed a numerical size comparison and found that the two new models are still significantly larger than the Xbox series X.

In other words, this “thin” console is still quite big.

For a visual comparison, check out this awesome PS5 Slim vs Regular Reddit post.

PS5 Slim vs PS5: power and storage

Another important aspect to take away from the new PS5 models is that they have the exact same internal capabilities as the originals. This isn’t a PS4 versus PS4 Pro situation. Games will run exactly the same across the entire PS5 console lineup.

PS5 Slim
Credit: Sony

A small internal bonus that owners of the new PS5s benefit from, however, comes in the form of expanded storage. For some reason, the original PS5 only had 825GB of onboard storage, with the option to expand via external SSDs. The new ones have 1TB of built-in space, so you can install a few extra games depending on their size.

PS5 Slim versus PS5: disc drive

Just like when the PS5 launched in late 2020, there are two PS5 Slim models. One of them has a built-in disc player and the other is digital only.

PS5 Slim
Credit: Sony

Well, sort of, anyway. There is an optional removable disk drive that you can purchase for $79.99. It was actually a rumor over a year ago, but PS5 models were expected to launch next year – not 2023.

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