New base PlayStation 5 model quietly enters the market with a PS5 Pro feature

Speculation is rife concerning when Sony may be planning to launch the PlayStation 6, but it looks as if it’s far from done with perfecting the PlayStation 5.

That’s because a new chassis has hit the market.

There have been several different variants of the PlayStation 5 over the years, including the base model, the PS5 Digital, PS5 Slim, PS5 Slim Digital, and the PS5 Pro.

Even within those models, though, there have been several variants with each variant known as a chassis.

The original base PlayStation 5, for example, received three chassis variants, tweaking various technical components before the fourth chassis, Chassis D, was introduced in the form of the PS5 Slim.

The average consumer is likely completely oblivious to these changes ever having taken place.

With that in mind, you may not know that the PlayStation 5’s first revision altered its weight.

This time around, it’s Twitter/X user Modyfikator89 who spotted several changes after purchasing the new Marvel’s Wolverine edition of the PlayStation 5 Slim, with the updated build seemingly taking inspiration from the PlayStation 5 Pro.

Every alteration made to Sony’s latest PlayStation model

Modyfikator89 reports that the new model features a “revised cooling system with the PS5 Pro-style liquid-metal interface”.

“Compared with the 2025 Slim revision, which had already received the improved cooling system, Sony has changed things again,” he wrote.

“The area around the APU / die and its protective surface looks different, and the liquid-metal containment appears to be closer to the approach used in the PS5 Pro. The new protection seems to expose less area directly to the liquid metal and should help keep it better controlled around the processor.”

This is great when it comes to thinking about longevity. If you own a base model OG PlayStation 5, it’s actually safer to store your console horizontally than it is vertically, as the liquid coolant has been known to run and cause problems after heavy use.

The updated model also has a refreshed EDM-051 motherboard which reportedly features a new layout and “a replaceable CR2032 battery”, plus Modyfikator89 notes the presence of “a newer, lower-cost and more optimised HDMI retimer implementation”.

As I said, these types of revisions often go unnoticed by consumers – and Sony has historically never attempted to change that.

When a new chassis enters the market, the most we typically get is an updated model number.

Here, though, Modyfikator89 notes that this console still ships with out-of-date documentation that fails to mention the replaceable CR2032 battery.

“One of the most service-friendly changes in this revision is something Sony doesn’t even mention to the customer. New hardware revision. Old manual. Classic silent Sony update,” he noted, but at least now you know.

Admittedly, those of us who already own a PlayStation 5 aren’t likely to experience any of these changes as we’ll likely just hold out for a PS6 now.

For anyone picking up a PS5 in order to play Grand Theft Auto VI though, it’s nice to see Sony learning from existing issues with current models to quietly provide for a better user experience.

If only now it could finally learn from that ongoing backlash to the abolishment of discs.