Sony Enhances Gaming Experience with PlayStation 5 Pro: 8K, Wi-Fi 7, Super-Smooth Ray Tracing

Sony has officially launched the PlayStation 5 Pro, a powerful upgrade to its current-generation console. With a stronger GPU, superior ray tracing, and a host of new features, the PS5 Pro promises to deliver an even better gaming experience. However, the $699.99 price tag might make some people think twice.

The PS5 Pro focuses on enhancing GPU performance, ray tracing, and AI-powered image processing technology.

After months of rumors, Sony has officially introduced the PlayStation 5 (PS5) Pro. The announcement was made during a special 9-minute event on PlayStation’s YouTube channel.

The design of the PS5 Pro aligns with previous leaks. Essentially, the PS5 Pro looks similar to the standard PS5 but features three black stripes.

Sony has placed a strong emphasis on upgrading the graphics performance of the PS5 Pro. The company states that the GPU on the PS5 Pro has 67% more Compute Units than the current PS5 and 28% faster memory. As a result, the PS5 Pro’s rendering speed is 45% faster than the PS5 in some games, providing a smoother experience.

The ray tracing capability of the PS5 Pro has been significantly enhanced, offering better reflections and light refraction effects. The ray tracing speed of the PS5 Pro is double, or even triple, that of the current PS5.

The PS5 Pro also includes Sony’s new PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR), which is essentially an upscaling technique similar to NVIDIA’s DLSS or AMD’s FSR, improving frame rates and image quality for PlayStation games.

The PS5 Pro supports Wi-Fi 7 connectivity, VRR, and 8K resolution. Games will need to be updated to take advantage of some of the PS5 Pro’s features, and Sony says developers are preparing free software updates for existing titles. Sony is also including a "Game Boost" option for the PS5 Pro, which will apply to over 8,500 PS4 games that are backward compatible with the PS5 Pro. This feature can stabilize or improve the performance of supported PS4 and PS5 games.

The PS5 Pro comes with a 2TB SSD, a DualSense controller, and a pre-installed copy of *Astro’s Playroom*. By default, the PS5 Pro is an "all-digital" console, meaning it doesn’t come with a Blu-ray drive. Users will need to purchase the drive separately if needed.

As for pricing, the PS5 Pro will retail for $699.99. This is a $200 increase over the disc version of the standard PS5, making the PS5 Pro Sony’s most expensive console to date. Keep in mind that the price doesn’t include the Blu-ray drive, which will cost an additional $80 as an optional accessory.

Users can pre-order the PS5 Pro in select countries and regions starting on September 26. The console will officially go on sale on November 7.