Speculation about a budget PS6 based on handheld hardware is technically untenable. While an affordable entry-level console is considered economically viable from a business perspective, others warn of a "nightmare" for developers. The technical hurdle lies not in the price, but in the incompatibility of mobile chips and 4K home televisions.
Handheld chip on a 4K TV: A physical dead end
The theory that Sony could simply put the APU of the planned PS6 handheld into a stationary case to create a 400+ EUR console, as suggested by industry expert MLID, is unfounded. described, fails due to the architecture.
According to the well-known AMD leaker KeplerL2 The Canis chip is manufactured with special "low-power libraries." This means it is optimized for minimal power consumption and simply cannot achieve high clock speeds, regardless of how effective the cooling system in a desktop case might be.
The main problem lies in the limited scalability:
- Upscaling penalty time: Upscaling a 1080p image (handheld standard) to 4K is a computationally intensive process. While this process takes approximately 2 milliseconds on a handheld device, it would take up to 8 milliseconds on a 4K TV.
- Performance loss: This time is lost to the chip when calculating the actual game logic. Developers would have to invest massive additional effort to achieve the same frame rate on the "Lite" console as in handheld mode.
- Picture quality: A 16x upscaling inevitably leads to artifacts and blurring, which would undermine the PS6's next-gen claim.
The realistic alternative: “Orion” instead of “Canis”
Should Sony nevertheless plan a cheaper hardware variant, it will not be based on handheld technology, but rather on a scaled-down version of the large home console chip (Orion). KeplerL2 outlines a configuration here that could reduce production costs by approximately 80 to 100 US dollars:
- Cut-down graphics chip: 16 WGP (Work Group Processors) instead of full performance.
- Reduced storage: 24 GB of RAM on a 128-bit bus (saves approximately $60 on its own).
- Lower tempo: Approximately 10% less clock speed on the CPU and GPU reduces the demands on the power supply and cooling.
Anyone looking for an affordable entry into the PS6 generation Anyone looking for a home console will likely have to opt for a handheld. The idea of a stationary console priced around €400 and up is unrealistic given rising chip costs and technical limitations. Sony will focus on a premium experience with the PS6 home console, priced at around $700, to make the technological leap to the PS5 clearly noticeable.
Buyers should abandon any hope of a budget-friendly PS6. A system based on handheld hardware would stifle the graphical quality of the entire generation and create unnecessary hurdles for developers. The most affordable way to get a PS6 is likely to be the new handheld – for the full living room experience, the $700 investment remains the more probable benchmark.
The Xbox has shown that this kind of thing is pointless 💯☝️
So far, every console has been a cheap model in terms of hardware 🤣
Correct 😄👍🏽
Let's wait and see if a "LITE" version will be released; these pointless daily news reports about multiple PS6 models and the claims that this and that will be disappointing are quite annoying.
This thing is unnecessary. No, it's actually totally counterproductive.
1080p would be sufficient for me, even on a large screen, since the viewing distance is quite far. But now the problem becomes clear: without extra optimization, neither the hardware nor the other is being used optimally, and we all know how Sony supports their side products (cough, PS VR2). In that case, even an energy-saving mode isn't enough. They haven't put any thought or concept into it; they're just trying to follow a trend. They're constantly producing disappointments. As a PS6 handheld-only owner, can I be sure that all games will run on it? And on the other hand, will I really get the best picture quality as a home console owner of a PS6, for the hefty price of €700-1000? Of course, one could argue that the Allen X is the same and nothing different, but the Allen X is a PC; there's no guarantee that all games will run on it. That's why upgrading or buying new hardware is normal. That's not the case with consoles; every game has to run equally well on a base PS5 for years, and the Pro is an option. And if you factor in 2-3 console generations where both PS5 and Pro are used, the PS system will become quite fragmented. Developers are already complaining that they have to adapt their games. (Which I'm thinking, so what? You want to sell your products, so optimize them!)