- 0-20%: Unlikely – Lacks credible sources
- 21-40%: Questionable – Some concerns remain
- 41-60%: Plausible – Reasonable evidence
- 61-80%: Probable – Strong evidence
- 81-100%: Highly Likely – Multiple reliable sources
Following the release of the original Nintendo Switch and the Steam Deck, handheld gaming devices have become all the rage, and every manufacturer seems interested in having a device available on the market. As Nintendo doubled down with the Nintendo Switch 2, Sony is reportedly re-entering the portable gaming device market it has abandoned since the days of the PlayStation Vita, and it seems like the Japanese company is serious about delivering a proper portable experience with the PlayStation 6 handheld, as the Canis APU will be produced on the power-efficient N3P node.
“I saw that the PlayStation 6 portable APU, the one that is codenamed Canis, seems to be using the N3P node,” said Moore’s Law Is Dead host Tom in a new video focused on a leak regarding what could be the Steam Deck 2. “This is something I’ve kind of alluded to before – I don’t think that’s that new of information – but most of the leaks I’ve done about the PlayStation 6 portable and then the home console just say TSMC 3-nanometer because I’ve seen one or the other and I wasn’t completely sure if they would go with N3C or N3P for which variants.”
“A doc that I just got access to fairly recently did list both Gainesboro (the rumored Steam Deck 2 APU) and the PlayStation 6 portable APU, Canis, as using N3P, and then the home consoles, PS6 and Helix, which will use Magnus, as using N3C. Now, N3C is the more mass-manufacturable, cheaper variant of 3-nanometer that’s not as efficient, so that makes a lot of sense,” the leaker continued.
While the PlayStation 6 handheld APU Canis using the 3nm N3P node may not mean much for the average user, this information tells us something important about Sony‘s approach for the handheld. The N3P node is more expensive than the N3C node (though not by much, since the portable APU is smaller, which somewhat evens it out), so the company was willing to go the extra mile to achieve better power efficiency, which is crucial for a handheld. With some exceptions, most modern handheld gaming devices are large, bulky, and not very portable due to cooling requirements.
“I don’t think they would do that if they were just going to let this thing, you know, shoot out 30 watts or something in handheld mode. I think if they’re going with N3P and also what I’ve already leaked of, like, the conservative clock speeds, Sony does want the PlayStation 6 portable to be portable compared to probably a lot of devices we have now that are very heavy and bulky,” the leaker continued.
With each new leak, the PlayStation 6 handheld becomes an even more interesting device, poised to be the perfect companion to the home PlayStation 6 console. The only real obstacle to the system’s success, however, remains its price, and as a$600 price seems to be ruled out due to AI datacenter demand eating up LPDDR memory, there’s a high chance the device will be priced higher than many expect.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack.
After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi “Suda51” Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA’s president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3.
When he’s not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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