Source Moore's Law is Dead recently revealed the specifications of Sony's next-generation PlayStation 6, suggesting some features could even surpass the base PS5. The handheld will be equipped with an APU codenamed Canis, built using TSMC's 3nm process and boasting a chip area of 135 square millimeters. The CPU comprises four Zen 6c high-performance cores and two Zen 6 low-power cores, the latter dedicated to system operations and non-gaming tasks, and equipped with a 4MB L3 cache. The GPU utilizes 16 RDNA5 compute units, clocked at 1.20GHz in handheld mode and boosting to 1.65GHz when docked. Memory supports 192-bit LPDDR5X-8533 with a maximum capacity of 48GB. Developers generally believe that AI-powered games require 24-36GB of RAM.
In terms of performance, the PS6 handheld's rasterization performance in docked mode is approximately 0.55-0.75 times that of the PS5, while ray tracing performance reaches 1.3-2.6 times, approaching the peak performance of the PS5 Pro. Thanks to the RDNA 5 compute unit, which boasts a 40%-50% increase in speed and 60% in bandwidth compared to its predecessor, combined with AMD FSR 4 technology, the optimized gaming experience rivals that of the PS5 and significantly surpasses the Xbox ROG Ally X. Features include backward compatibility with PS4/PS5 games, MicroSD and M.2 expansion slots, a touchscreen, and haptic feedback, further enhancing its practicality in portable scenarios.
In terms of price, thanks to improved 3nm process yields, Sony may price the console in the $399-$499 range, potentially even achieving profitability at $399. If all goes according to plan, the PS6 handheld will enter mass production and release in 2027. This strategy not only continues Sony's innovation in the handheld market but also directly addresses the competitive challenges of next-generation portable gaming devices through performance breakthroughs and price advantages.
