Sony PlayStation 5 Pro (CFI-7021) review

Full review

The PS5 Pro is Sony's top model, aimed at people with a good 4K TV who want the most polished picture a PlayStation can offer. It ships with a 2 TB SSD, which is a sensible amount of room for modern games that often run to well over 100 GB each.

The headline feature is PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution, an AI-based upscaler, together with ray-traced reflections, shadows and global illumination in supported games. Sony says enhanced titles can reach higher and steadier frame rates, and the console works with both 60 Hz and 120 Hz displays. The important caveat from Sony's own wording is that the gains appear in games that have been enhanced for the Pro, so older titles may look much the same as on the standard model.

The design is a trade-off. The Pro is sold as an all-digital console with no disc drive, so if you own a disc library you must buy the optional drive separately. It also needs a compatible router for Wi-Fi 7, and it is bigger and heavier than the slim PS5 at about 3.1 kg. Backward compatibility is strong, with Sony saying over 8,500 PS4 games can be played.

If you play mainly on a mid-range TV, the standard PS5 delivers most of the experience for less. The Pro makes sense when picture quality is the priority.