November 2024 marks almost four years since Sony released the PlayStation 5 (PS5) console to the world, including across the MENA region. Almost in a similar fashion, they’re now upping the ante akin to the PS4 Pro with the recently-unveiled PlayStation 5 Pro (PS5 Pro) console, a mid-cycle update geared towards a more professional/serious gamer.
Unveiled in early September 2024 via a live-stream tech presentation, I waited until getting word on its Middle East launch, since the dates clearly mentioned US, UK, EU, AU and few other countries.
Seeing the pre-orders now going online by select retailers in the Middle East, I’m comfortable to talk about bit more in-depth about this.
Similar Looks, Subtle Differences
While it still retains many design cues of the revised PS5 slim SKU, the distinct mark for the PS5 Pro comes down to the multiple stripes on the side. That also implies the new four-panel covers should easily be compatible with the new model.
Did I mention it’s launching only as a digital model i.e. no disc? You’ll need to buy the separate Blu-Ray disc drive add-on for it. Want more storage beyond the internal limit? You can still upgrade the storage with an M.2 NVMe SSD.
Building on what made the P55 a success and already reaching a milestone of more than 61M+ units sold worldwide, think of the PS5 Pro as an upgrade flexing a few key muscles.
Adrenaline-Charged Internals
This new model sits alongside the existing PS5, but carries more high-performance and visual fidelity capacity to push it beyond. Think of it like the PS4 Pro with the PS4.
- Upgraded GPU: You know that the custom chipset powering the CPU and GPU is designed by AMD. The PS5 Pro gets a GPU upgrade with 67% more Compute Units paired with 28% faster memory. The technical presentation clrealy stated that they actually challenged AMD to push the boundaries even further. Expect this to be exclusive to the PlayStation.
- Advanced Ray Tracing: They’ve added more powerful ray tracing that provides more dynamic reflection and refraction of light for better visual fidelity and realism.
- AI-Driven Upscaling: You’ve seen NVIDIA’s DLSS and AMD’s FSR. Now you can meet PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution) – PlayStation’s own AI-driven upscaling that uses a machine learning-based technology to render super sharp image clarity by adding an extraordinary amount of detail.
All of the above is meant to provide a better trade-off of the Fidelity and Performance options for PS5 games (30fps when using fidelity and ray-tracing vs 60fps with dynamic resolution scaling and lesser visual detail). However, developers will have to do the heavy work to update existing or incorproate it into future releases to support these new features.
Other areas getting an upgrade include the internal SSD increasing to 2TB (expect PS5 Pro optimized games to be bigger in size) and support for Wi-Fi 7. The Game Boost option (for PS4 games) should also work for existing PS5 games as well.
Buying a PS5 Pro
If you’re looking to buy one, many e-tailers/retailers in the GCC are already running pre-orders for it. See if your country is listed below with respective links.
- Qatar: Store974, Virgin Megastore, Geekay Games, Jarir Bookstore
- UAE: Geekay Games, Virgin Megastore
- Saudi Arabia: Geekay Games
- Kuwait: Geekay Games
- Bahrain: Geekay Games, Jarir Bookstore
While the official launch is taking place on 7th November, many of above have stated that they’ll be shipped a few days after the launch date. I’m sure the recent MENA Hero Project will definitely be adding support for the PS5 Pro as well.
Image Credit: PlayStation Blog
