Sony PS5 Slim tipped to utilise TSMC's 5 nm node with production slated for 2023
The PS5 has already been a roaring success for Sony, so it should come as no to surprise that the company plans to release a mid-generation refresh at some stage. For context, Sony claims to have sold over 4.5 million PS5 consoles, and this only accounts for sales up to December 31, 2020. The PS5 has a long way to go before it reaches to sales volumes of previous PlayStation consoles, but it currently ranks as the 21st best-selling home games console. Incidentally, the PS5 has amassed about half the lifetime sales of the Sega Dreamcast and the Saturn.
Sony's latest console runs on 7 nm chipsets, but RedGamingTech claims that the company has 'booked time' with TSMC in 2023 for its 5 nm node. Typically, a node switch implies that a new console is in development, like with the move from 28 nm in the original PS4 to 16 nm with the PS4 Slim and PS4 Pro. RedGamingTech asserts that Sony has assigned TSMC's 5 nm node for a PS5 Slim, although he stresses that this is more of a theory than a leak. The company may be planning to release a PS5 Pro using a 5 nm node, but RedGamingTech believes that Sony would need to increase the console's GPU die size if it were to do so.
Ultimately, a PS5 Slim would probably consume less power than the PS5, along with having a smaller footprint, as its name suggests. However, 2023 may not be the release date of new PS5 models, though. While a 2023 release would mirror the three-year refresh point that Sony undertook with the PS3 and the PS4, there was a four-year gap between the original PS2 and the PS2 Slimline. Similarly, it took Sony six years to release the PS One. Hence, 2023 may be when the PS5 Slim enters mass production, but it could be 2024 before Sony releases the console refresh.
Source(s)
RedGamingTech, LetsGoDigital - Image credit