It's a curious decision by Sony to choose the same day that Apple announced the new iPhone 7 to present the next phase of its PlayStation 4 console, but since they are such different products, I guess the Japanese giant got away with it. On one hand, we have the brand-new PlayStation 4 Slim, more compact and efficient than the original model, and on the other, what brings us here is the PlayStation 4 Pro, which incorporates a graphics chip from the AMD Polaris family. Is that enough for native 4K? Well…
Two new consoles
In my previous article about the Xbox One S, I said we shouldn't expect news from Sony until October. Obviously, the public relations department and CEO Andrew House had other plans, and I'm glad to be wrong when that happens. After all, we want more communication from companies like Sony, not the opposite. Let's make room for not one, but two new consoles in the PlayStation family. First, the PlayStation 4 Slim, a revision of the original PlayStation 4 that reduces its volume by 30 percent, and its power consumption by 28 percent. With an official price of $300 and general availability from September 15, everyone who waited to buy a PS4 might want to sink their claws into the Slim version. However, Sony also announced the PlayStation 4 Pro, previously known as Neo.
The Pro and the 4K debate
The new console is something like a "high-end version" of the PlayStation 4, incorporating a more powerful processor (though deep down it's still an eight-core AMD Jaguar), and a graphics chip based on the new Polaris family. This chip is supposed to double the performance of the one in the original PS4, and even at low resolutions, the user should expect superior visual quality, as it supports HDR (this will come to previous models via a firmware update). Now, the big question: Does the PlayStation 4 Pro play games in native 4K? Um… Yes and no. Basically, the PS4 Pro offers developers two optimized rendering modes. The so-called "resolution mode" allows values to be set above 1080p, while "quality mode" dynamically alters the resolution depending on the performance seen in the game. Some titles won't have major problems reaching 4K, such as The Elder Scrolls Online, but others might do so at a lower framerate, or directly apply upscaling. The demo BioWare published on Mass Effect: Andromeda for the PlayStation 4 Pro was prepared in 4K at 30 FPS:
The most striking (and somewhat disappointing) point about the PlayStation 4 Pro is that it doesn't support Blu-ray UHD playback, something the Xbox One S does offer. Streaming is another story, where the PS4 Pro won't have issues playing 4K, and both Netflix and YouTube are already working to extend the necessary support through their official apps. The price of the PlayStation 4 Pro is $400, and it will hit shelves on November 10, anticipating Black Friday and the holiday season.
