In Brief:
- Leaker Moore’s Law is Dead estimates Sony is preparing three PS6 models: a PS6 Lite, a PS6 Handheld and a full PS6, with prices ranging from $350 to $1,000 including tariffs.
- The PS6 Lite and PS6 Handheld would share AMD’s 3nm Canis APU, while the full PS6 runs on the more powerful Orion chip.
- All models may ship without a disc drive by default, with an optional external unit sold separately. Sony has not confirmed any of this.
Sony may be planning its widest hardware lineup ever for the next PlayStation generation. Estimates from leaker Moore’s Law is Dead (MLID) point to three separate PS6 devices spanning a price range of $350 to $1,000, with tariffs already factored in.
The three SKUs, according to MLID: a PS6 Lite at $350 to $550, a PS6 Handheld at $500 to $700 and the full PS6 at $700 to $1,000. None of this has been officially confirmed by Sony.
Two chips, three products
The strategy hinges on component reuse. Both the PS6 Lite and PS6 Handheld are expected to run on AMD’s 3nm Canis APU, while the full PS6 gets the more powerful Orion semicustom chip. Sharing the Canis silicon across two products lets Sony spread chip inventory more efficiently and control manufacturing costs.
The PS6 Handheld is estimated to outperform both the Xbox Series S and Nintendo Switch 2, while still falling below the current PS5 in raw power. PlayStation architect Mark Cerny has previously confirmed that Sony’s new technologies can significantly reduce power consumption, which would be essential for a viable handheld form factor.
Project Amethyst and silicon-level features
Sony and AMD are collaborating through Project Amethyst, a multi-year partnership to embed AI upscaling technologies (FSR and PSSR) directly at the silicon level. Confirmed hardware features include Neural Arrays, which link GPU compute units for peak performance; Radiance Cores for on-chip ray tracing; and Universal Compression for system-wide data handling.
Disc drives likely optional
All three PS6 models may launch without an optical drive as standard, with a separate disc drive available for purchase. This would cut per-unit costs and likely reduce the retail sticker price. For the full PS6 with the Orion APU, Sony is reportedly considering versions both with and without a built-in drive.If the estimates hold, the PS6 Lite would land in the roughly 350 to 450 euro range in Europe, putting an entry-level next-gen PlayStation within reach of a broad audience. The handheld would open a product category Sony hasn’t seriously competed in since the PS Vita.Sony has made no official announcements regarding PS6 hardware, pricing or release timing.
