High-End Specs of Leaked PlayStation 6 Handheld Suggest Foothold
New information about the specifications for a possible PlayStation 6 handheld has circulated on the Internet. The information provided by the YouTube channel Moore's Law is Dead, using current documentation as a basis, is said to suggest that this portable system, in the unproven territory, may reach performances exceeding that of its current competitors and, in some instances, the base PlayStation 5.
Leaked Technical Specifications
The source alleged that the handheld was to be fueled by a custom "Canis APU" made out using TSMC 3nm process. The leaked specifications for this APU are:
- CPU: 4x Zen 6c cores targeted at gaming + 2x Zen 6 Low Power cores for OS and non-gaming stuff.
- GPU: 16 Compute Units (CUs) of RDNA5 GPU, clocking somewhere around ~1.20GHz while it was running in handheld mode to ~1.65GHz while docked.
- Memory: 192 bits of LPDDR5X-8533 control for the memory controller with a system supporting up to 48GB of RAM.
Leaked mentioned some extra features like:
- Backward compatibility with PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 4 games.
- Expandable storage via Micro SD slot and M.2 slot.
- Support for haptic feedback.
- Dual microphones and a touchscreen.
Next-Gen Gaming RAM Required
The specifics regarding RAM size for the final hardware in question remain unresolved, although above 16GB under 24GB would be preferred. According to MLiD, the developers posited that anything below such amounts would deem to be insufficient for next-gen gaming that would utilize features from Unreal Engine 5 like Nanite. Reportedly, these developers concur with the idea of seeing a range from 24GB to 36GB RAM being necessary for future titles.
Potential Performances and Pricing
MLiD provided performance estimates based on the leaked specs.
- Rasterization: Expected to be 0.55 to 0.75 times the performance of a base PlayStation 5 when docked.
- Ray Tracing: Estimated to be 1.3 to 2.6 times the performance of a base PlayStation 5, potentially nearing PlayStation 5 Pro levels at its peak.
- Overall Performance: With AMD FSR 4 support, the handheld could run patched games at a performance level similar to the base PS5. It is also expected to outperform the Xbox ROG Ally X, thanks to faster RDNA5 CUs and more memory bandwidth.
The retail price for the handheld is said to be expected to be expressed as a range between $399 and $499. The price makes sense since the yields on the TSMC 3nm node and the RAM are falling. The leak goes on to mention that Sony may even make a little profit at $399, unlike in the past, when the company typically launched its hardware at a loss.
Probable Release Window
PlayStation 6 handheld talks suggest production and release target around 2027, so don't expect anything official for a while.
