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With over 60 million PS5s sold, Sony is so far dominating this generation of game consoles. Four years since the PlayStation 5 debuted, the company has rounded out its gaming lineup with the refined PS5 Slim (both with and without a disc drive) and the more powerful (and expensive) PS5 Pro. At possibly the consoles midlife, up against the Xbox Series S and X, ever-increasingly powerful gaming PCs, and Nintendos Switch, its a good time to reassess what the PS5, in pole position, is doing to hold gamers attention spans and why the PS5 Slim is probably the right way to dive into Sonys rich gaming selection. Hardware Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget The PS5 Slim looks very similar to the original design but its noticeably (thankfully!) smaller. In fact, its 30 percent smaller by volume. Lets be honest, its still big, but the PS5 Slim fits into the shelf in my home entertainment sideboard the original PS5 did not. Sony has kept the weird finned design of the original here, so theres a shared aesthetic across all the PS5 consoles. In the box, there are also two transparent feet to mount the console horizontally. Its a simpler, more subtle way to lift the console than the originals awkward plinth with plastic hooks. The PS5 Slim can stand vertically on its own, but it might be worth getting a vertical stand for peace of mind, which unfortunately means laying down an extra $30. Inside, its largely the same technical specs of the launch console: an AMD Zen 2 CPU, RDNA 2 GPU, 16GB of GDDR6 RAM, and both Wi-Fi 6 and gigabit ethernet. (Technically, the Xbox Series X packs more power and if you want more power, please see the PS5 Pro). The PS5 Slim, however, comes with a 1TB SSD, offering 25 percent more usable storage than the 825GB SSD inside the original PS5. Having said that, at a time when a AAA game install can circle 150GB, wed advise preparing yourself to add further storage, especially if you get the majority of your games through the online store. Fortunately, its easy to install an extra SSD (most of the best options have a preinstalled heatsink) and the prices for bigger storage have tumbled since 2020. If youre a disc-based gamer, the PS5 Slim has both a digital-only ($450) and disc model ($500), but you can upgrade to a disc drive for an $80 premium. (Its the same drive that PS5 Pro users will have to pick up, if youre wondering why its been recently sold out everywhere.) Even if you decide to add the disc drive, its been designed to keep within the smooth lines of the console, if leaving it a little lop-sided. Curiously, Sony demands you connect the console to activate the drive, something to be aware of if youre planning to gift the console and want less stress. Sony also swapped around the port options, shifting to a USB-C duo, instead of a single USB-C port and a USB-A port. Given that the latter maxed out at 480Mbps speeds, its another upgrade. (There are still two USB-A ports available on the back for older accessories.) Beyond any physical changes, since its launch, Sony has fed through some notable technical upgrades to PS5 through software updates. For one, catching up to the Xbox with support for TVs with variable refresh rates, dynamically syncing the (HDMI 2.1) displays refresh rate to the PS5 console's graphical output. This means games should output more smoothly and reduce the chances of screen tearing when your TV and PS5 arent entirely in sync. The PS5 Slim also supports 1440p resolution screens, a middle option between 1080p and 4K. Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget Sony added more features like personalized 3D audio profiles for gamers using headphones and Party Share, where you can transmit gameplay in real time. Theres also Remote Play, available on iOS and Android, as well as the companys standalone streaming device, the PlayStation Portal. When it comes to Remote Play, there havent been any major changes since the PS4 iteration, but it does seem like the service is more stable in recent years. There have been changes to how PlayStations separated out its subscription service. Starting with PlayStation Plus Essentials, $10 a month, this opens up access to online multiplayer, at least two free games each month, discounts, cloud storage and Share Play. PlayStation Plus Extra ($15 per month), adds a bigger library of PS5 and PS4 games for free, while PlayStation Plus Premium ($18 per month) adds cloud streaming functionality, so you can play PS5 games without having to use your PS5. You can also play a collection of PS4 games (and even older games from the OG PlayStation onwards) without having to download the game. Having said that, Xboxs Game Pass offers a bigger selection of games, and often includes first-party Microsoft games available to play on release day. PlayStation, unfortunately, doesnt do the same, and its biggest exclusive releases often only arrive free on PS Plus years later. Which tier is right for you will depend on how much you play, and whether youre regularly trying to game away from wherever your PS5 is. Its worth getting into PS Plus Essentials just for the dripfeed of free games. Since launch, the PS5 has picked up plenty of other small improvements too, like dimmable power indicators for the PS5s glow, and adaptive controller charging which should extend the battery life of your DualSense by optimizing charge time. A quick note to say that the DualSense remains the most comfortable, innovative controller that Sony has ever made but the battery life is pretty appalling. Expect to plug it in pretty regularly. Software Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget The PS5s interface has also evolved since launch, with increased priority given to the customizable Welcome Hub, where you can choose the background, widgets and prioritze the games and features youre using most. Its also worth noting that the UI itself is far snappier and more responsive than it was at launch. While you wont get the back catalogue sharpening of the Pro console, the PS5 Slim will happily play most PS4 games, too. Its a double-edgd sword, however, with both PS4 and PS5 versions of games clogging up PlayStations online store. And the games! It indicates a great problem to have: so many strong titles, both internally and from third-party publishers. God of War Ragnarok, Spider-Man 2, and Astro Bot have all been platform exclusives, while long-running series like Final Fantasy have landed on PS5 first, with other platforms getting the game much later. Then, theres the likes of Elden Ring, Baldurs Gate 3 and anything on PSVR2 not that theres all that much for the headset. Sony is now drip-feeding its games to PC, but it detracted from the consoles exclusive grasp on its flagship games. So far, there have been lengthy multi-year gaps between a game launching on PlayStation consoles and its arrival on PCs. God of War took four years to move from PS4 to PC, while Horizon: Zero Dawn took three years. That could change in the next few years, however. Earlier this year, Sony launched Helldivers 2 on PS5 and Windows at the same time, and Lego Horizon Adventures was released on PS5, Windows and Switch simultaneously last month. Wrap-up Photo by Mat Smith/Engadget The PS5 Slim is the new normal for PlayStation gamers. Its smaller without being small and packs in many small improvements in specs and software-based features. Anyone craving more power (or bragging rights over their Xbox Series X-owning friends) can go for the PS5 Pro, but that demands a $200 premium. For most of us, this is the PlayStation well be playing for however many years it takes for the PlayStation 6 to appear.This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/playstation-5-slim-review-131542271.html?src=rss
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As has been rumored for a while (and in line with Sony's promise to share exclusive titles in a timely fashion) PlayStation's The Last of Us Part 2 Remastered is coming to PC on April 3, 2025, developer Naughty Dog announced. "We're all thrilled to bring The Last of Us Part 2 to the PC audience, including all the great new features we added in the Remastered version for PS5," said game Director Matthew Gallant. The PC version was made with Naughty Dog's development partners Nixxes Software and Iron Galaxy Studios. It will contain the same Remastered features added for PS5, like the No Return roguelike mode, the Lost Levels featuring developer commentary, a Guitar free Play mode and more. At the same time, it'll be "newly optimized and enhanced for PC," with PC-specific features to be revealed closer to launch. The PC release will come less than a year after the Remastered version came to PlayStation 5, following the launch of the original on PS4 in 2020. The release has reportedly been finished for awhile, but may have been delayed to coincide with The Last of Us Part 2 on HBO, which is also scheduled to arrive in the first half of 2025. In reviewing the Remastered version for PS5, Engadget's Nathan Ingraham highlighted the No Return mode and said "there's a lot of bang for your buck here." As before, it offers a thrilling but brutal adventure, with a bond between its broken survivors, Joel and Ellie, at the core. This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/gaming/pc/the-last-of-us-part-ii-remastered-comes-to-pc-on-april-3-2025-130036421.html?src=rss
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At long last, iPhone users have access to Apple's AI image generation tools, Genmoji (for customized emoji) and Image Playground. But based on our testing, these Apple Intelligence features aren't fully baked. In this episode, Devindra and Cherlynn discuss why these AI tools aren't very useful and dive into some of Apple's most egregious image generation fails. Listen below or subscribe on your podcast app of choice. If you've got suggestions or topics you'd like covered on the show, be sure to email us or drop a note in the comments! And be sure to check out our other podcast, Engadget News! Subscribe! iTunes Spotify Pocket Casts Stitcher Google Podcasts Topics iOS 18.2 AI image generation arrives half baked. Genmoji are fun, but weird 1:13 OpenAIs Sora video generation model was finally released 37:17 GM kills its Cruise robotaxi project 45:43 Googles Gemini 2.0 is now available for preview 49:51 Tiktok is running out of options to avoid a ban in the U.S. 57:36 Working on 1:00:04 Pop culture picks 1:02:20 Credits Hosts: Devindra Hardawar and Cherlynn LowProducer: Ben Ellman Music: Dale North and Terrence O'Brien This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/engadget-podcast-apples-genmoji-are-ai-disappointments-123031877.html?src=rss
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