According to recent leaks, Sony's upcoming PS6 handheld (codename "Project Canis") will surpass the graphics performance of the Xbox Series S and, thanks to PSSR 3, deliver image quality that even surpasses Nvidia's DLSS 4.5.
The project, codenamed "Project Canis", was developed PS6 handheld The handheld will surpass the stationary Xbox Series S in both classic rasterization and ray tracing performance. While the Xbox Series S has defined the minimum technical standard for current multiplatform titles since 2020, Sony's handheld may mark a significant leap forward in portable hardware. This is based on a highly efficient design from AMD, utilizing RDNA 5 graphics units and Zen 6 cores.
Technical specifications and PSSR 3
According to the well-known leaker KeplerL2 in the NeoGAF forum The system is based on a TSMC 3nm manufacturing process. The leaked specifications are impressive for a handheld design:
- CPU: 4 x Zen 6c cores + 2 x Zen 6 LP (low power) cores
- GPU: 16 RDNA 5 Compute Units (CUs)
- Memory: 24 GB LPDDR5X on a 192-bit interface
- Upscaling: PSSR 3 (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution)
The assessment of image quality is particularly interesting. While Nintendo's Switch 2 relies on a limited version of DLSS (DLSS 2 / DLSS Lite), Sony's PSSR 3 is said to be able to surpass even the results of Nvidia's DLSS 4.5. This would be a first, as Nvidia has been the undisputed market leader in AI-powered upscaling until now.
Powerful handheld instead of low-end entry-level
With 16 RDNA 5 cores, Sony is aiming for performance far exceeding current PC handhelds like the Steam Deck or the ROG Ally X. For comparison, the Xbox Series S has 20 RDNA 2 cores, but these clock significantly lower and are based on an older architecture. The efficiency of RDNA 5 and the dedicated ray tracing accelerators ensure that "Project Canis" has a massive advantage in modern rendering scenarios – especially in lighting calculations.
Strategically, this step makes sense: Given the predicted price jumps for the home console PS6 (discussions reach up to $699), a handheld console for around $399 offers the perfect entry point into the new ecosystem.
For users, this means that current Triple-A titles are no longer only playable in a greatly reduced form (as is often the case on the Switch), but in a quality that exceeds the level of a current home console.
- Improved image sharpness: PSSR 3 could eliminate the typical "blurring" of smaller displays at low internal resolutions.
- Future security: With 24 GB of RAM, Sony addresses one of the biggest bottlenecks in modern game development – video memory.
- Platform synergy: It can be assumed that the handheld will natively support the same games as the PS6 (with corresponding profiles) or at least a seamless cross-play library.
This isn't another PlayStation Portal approach, but a return to truly powerful hardware. If the RDNA 5 and PSSR 3 specs are accurate, Sony will technically outperform the Switch 2 even before its official announcement. Using the Xbox Series S as a benchmark is a smart move: anything that runs on the Series S will look better on this handheld. The real highlight remains PSSR 3 – if Sony actually beats Nvidia in upscaling, the balance of power in the GPU market will fundamentally shift.
Well, that wouldn't be much of an achievement a few years later. After all, the Aloy X is also more powerful than the Switch 2 and Series S.
Oh yeah, if it were real, I'd think it would be cool to finally have a standalone handheld from Sony again.
Great April Fool's joke!