Xbox One X from Microsoft could have accelerated Sony’s plans to bring the PS5, its next game console, to market. Early rumours suggest that the company will continue to rely on AMD hardware, which has performed so well in the current generation and would ensure backward compatibility with PS4.
PS5 will have Navi features and a Zen-based processor
The first data on the specifications of the PS5 comes from SemiAccurate, who points out that the new console would have a processor based on the Zen architecture, which would be a huge leap forward from the Jaguar cores of the PS4. It also points out that the GPU would be halfway between Vega and Navi, which is not surprising, since the PS4 GPU is based on Polaris, but includes Vega features like Rapid Packed Math, which has worked so well in Horizon Zero Dawn.
The PS5 would also include silicon-level features with virtual reality in mind, suggesting the arrival of a new PSVR device with better technical features than the current one, mainly a screen with a higher refresh rate.
Finally, it is mentioned that the first development kits for the PS5 are already available, although it seems very unlikely that the new console will arrive this year 2018. The PS5 hardware will be manufactured using a process at 7 nm, so it seems very clear that its arrival on the market will not be possible until next year. The development kits currently available would not use the actual hardware we will find in the new console.
Sony pointed out that the PS4 Pro was a mid-generation release, which came three years after the original PS4. The end of 2019 marks the third anniversary of the arrival of PS4 Pro, so it would be the perfect time to bring a new platform to market.