Sony PlayStation 5

THE PLAYSTATION 5, in case you've been living under a rock this past year, is Sony’s latest games console. It launched in the UK on November 19 2020, in two versions: a ‘Digital Edition’ without a disc drive, and a standard version with a disc drive. Given that the disc drive plays 4K Blu-rays as well as game discs, guess which one I went for…

- John Archer

1. The console packs an 825GB SSD drive offering super-fast read times

AV INFO

PRODUCT: 4K HFR-capable games console

POSITION: Disc-playing version is Sony's flagship; there's also a 'digital-only' model

PEERS: Xbox Series X

TIME ON TEST: 14 months

REVIEWER: John Archer

LONG-TERM TEST

The digital and disc PS5s launched at £360 and £450 respectively – and that’s still what they cost today. Although many people desperate to own a PS5 may find they have to pay much more.

What’s good about it?

When the PS4 launched, it disappointingly didn’t have the horsepower to keep up graphically with the latest specifications supported by modern TVs. In short, it felt out of date from day one. The PS5, on the other hand, is cutting-edge. In fact, at launch only a handful of screens existed that could take advantage of its most important new feature: 4K resolution gaming at high frame rates.

This 4K 120Hz support really is a glorious thing. Being able to pan around landscapes at 120Hz transforms your immersion in the game and, even better, your performance. You no longer ‘lose’ enemies between frames. Input lag (the time TVs take to render graphical information received at their inputs) basically halves when gaming in 120Hz versus 60Hz, too.