The PlayStation 5 has grown to become the undisputed champion of this current generation of consoles (with the exception of the Nintendo Switch, which is in a league of its own), which has resulted in the creation of the Slim and Pro variants as well.
Sony’s attempt at a handheld device is also notable here, especially with the release of the PlayStation Portal, but it is more of a streaming device and not a proper successor to the PS Vita. However, recent leaks seemingly suggest that Sony might in fact, be aiming to release another PS handheld very soon – one that is capable of running titles natively.
PS5 leak suggests a ‘low power mode’, which could allude to a PS handheld
As per a recent leak from YouTuber ‘Moore’s Law Is Dead’, Sony might be testing an additional function of the PS5 and PS5 Pro consoles. This leak seems to suggest the presence of a sort of ‘low power mode’ for the consoles.
As the name implies, this setting should revert the PS5s to a more power-budget-friendly state, which in simpler terms means that the console should perform with scaled-back resolutions and framerates, while consuming a lot less power.
Apparently, Sony is currently in the process of demonstrating and documenting the usage of this low-power mode across a variety of titles. The mode limits the PS5’s capabilities significantly:
- CPU usage limited to 8 threads
- 3D Audio Processing cut back to 75% power
- The built-in GDDR6 memory is now halved in terms of speed
- CPU and GPU clocks lowered by 20%
- Console is limited to 36 Compute Units for games
- GPU is set to a lower frequency
- PSSR and VR support will be unavailable in this mode
Reportedly, Sony is simply testing the waters with this mode (for now), and it might even turn out to be a mandatory requirement for future titles. While it may not seem obvious at first, this could very easily turn out to be Sony’s attempt at a true PS handheld.
After all, handhelds are low-power machines, so it would make sense that a PS5 would be used to test out hypothetical scenarios that (supposedly) represent the actual raw performance of the rumored handheld.
Assuming Sony does go through with these plans, we could see handheld compatible stickers on future PlayStation games, much like Valve’s own SteamOS compatibility rating system for the Steam Deck.
Keep in mind that the information here is based on unofficial sources. Sony is yet to comment on these leaks or even confirm their existence.
The PlayStation Portal was a disappointment
It should come as no surprise that the PS Portal was a massive setback, and generally speaking, a terrible product. If anything, the PS Portal was a severe letdown for most users, who have wanted a true successor to the PlayStation Portable lineup for years.
The Portal was nothing more than a glorified streaming device, which ran on Android – and could not run any games natively out of the box at all, either via emulation or native ports. To make matters worse, the device lacked over-the-internet streaming capabilities until very recently, which made it feel even more like an expensive paperweight.
Hopefully Sony manages to make a proper handheld this time around, designed from the ground up to run games natively.
This post belongs to FandomWire and first appeared on FandomWire
