Sony’s new Eco Mode may not be for PS6 handheld after all

TL;DR: Digital Foundry doubts that PS5’s Eco Mode is meant to prepare for a rumored <a href="https://comicvibe.com/two-playstation-console-exclusives-shutting-down-in-24-hours/” title=”Two PlayStation Console Exclusives Shutting Down in 24 Hours”>PlayStation handheld. Experts still expect Sony is making a native handheld capable of running PS4 and some PS5 titles, but say Eco Mode primarily addresses EU power rules and likely isn’t the handheld’s design test.
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Digital Foundry thinks that Sony’s new Eco Mode isn’t necessarily being used in the new PlayStation handheld.

Reports indicate that Sony is working on a new dedicated PlayStation handheld that can play PS4 and PS5 games. Unlike the PS Portal, this new handheld will natively run games right on the machine itself, and the PS5’s new Eco Mode is believed to be a kind of compatibility testing ground to ensure console games can run on the lower-powered handheld.

But Digital Foundry has cast doubt on that theory. The tech experts still believe Sony is making a new PlayStation handheld, but they’re not so sure Eco Mode is involved.

• Read more: New PS5 SDK update may hint at portable PS6 handheld, PlayStation Smart Delivery option reportedly discovered
• Read more: PS5’s new power saver mode could pave way to PlayStation handheld
• Read more: Opinion: Sony could make a native PS4 handheld to carry multi-gen legacy into the future

“The extent to which there’s going to be massive efficiency gainsStation 5-level experience? I’m not sure. There’s been lots of discussions about the handheld configuration kind of like being trialed with the PlayStation 5’s Eco Mode,” Digital Foundry’s Richard Leadbetter said in a recent episode of DF Direct

“Ourn’t be confused with one another.”

DF’s John Linneman goes on to say that Eco Mode was a way for Sony to meet EU power regulations and wasn’t designed specifically to test out the handheld.

“The Eco Mode, as I understand it, was more of like an EU-friendly move. It was originally Media Mode, or something like that. It was not specifically architected for this. It may have some utility with it, possibly, but I don’t think that was the point originally.”

What evidence in the article links PS5 Eco Mode to the rumored PlayStation handheld?

The article says some reports believe Eco Mode could be a compatibility testing ground to ensure PS5 games run on a lower-powered handheld. Digital Foundry experts counter that view, saying theirthings” and that Eco Mode was mainly an EU-friendly power regulation move rather than something architected to test a handheld, though it “may have some utility” for it.
Question #2

How did Digital Foundry describe the original purpose of Eco Mode according to the article?

Digital Foundry said Eco Mode was originally an EU-friendly move to meet European power regulations, not something specifically architected to test or support a handheld. They noted it may have some utility for a handheld, but that was not its original purpose.
Question #3

What level of PS4 and PS5 game compatibility does the article say the rumored handheld is expected to offer?

Does the article state Sony has officially announced or confirmed the new PlayStation handheld?

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Sony has yet to announce or confirm plans for a new PlayStation handheld. Last year, I predicted that this new handheld could natively target full PS4 game compatibility in a bid to keep that generation alive and bring content libraries forward into a new form factor. While specifics haven’t been ironed out, this new PlayStation portable is believed to have enough power to play PS4 at high performance, and, to a lesser extent, PS5 games as well.