Sony’s 4K-equipped monster, the PS4 Pro, has established itself as the primary Extremely HD console available on the market, however in case you’re not able to improve to a brand new tv simply but then the unique PS4 continues to be a superb machine, particularly now that it has been shrunk down into a brand new slimline kind issue. 

It is meant because the finances choice, so there are a few compromises. You naturally will not get any type of 4K output, and you will have to do with out an optical audio output. 

However in case you’re keen to place up with these limitations you may discover the PS4 slim to be an exceptionally succesful machine. 

In spite of everything it is smaller, it runs quieter, it is extra energy environment friendly and – in case you reside in Europe or Asia – it is out there in Glacier White, however is it value upgrading to? Furthermore, in case you’re trying to purchase the console for the primary time, is that this the one to go for? 

It would be a neater resolution if Microsoft’s Xbox One S hadn’t considerably raised the bar by packing a 4K Blu-ray participant into the Xbox One, in addition to including 4K upscaling and HDR performance to its video games. 

In the meantime, additional complicating the choice, the 4K PS4 Pro has simply launched, bringing improved efficiency to the PS4 ecosystem. The slim PS4, in the meantime,  works kind of identically to the present console.

The slim retails at £259 / $299 / AU$599.99 for the 500GB mannequin, with a 1TB mannequin anticipated additional alongside down the road.

The PS4 Slim may need entered the fray as Sony’s finances PlayStation providing, however that does not imply it is scrimping on its specs. In all key areas it matches the unique PlayStation four console, and at many factors outperforms it too.

It is also a much smaller console, shrinking the machine down by virtually a 3rd in quantity, knocking 16% off the unique’s weight and providing notable enhancements in each energy draw and noise output.

• Wish to know the way the console stacks up in opposition to the PS4 Professional? Try our information to the PS4 Pro vs PS4

The very best PS4 video games are among the many most interesting out there on any platform in the intervening time, with showstoppers like Uncharted four and Bloodborne the envy of PC and Xbox One avid gamers alike. They’re going to all be appropriate with the brand new PS4 Slim, as will each recreation going ahead – Sony made it explicitly clear that each recreation for the PS4 Professional will work right here, too.

On high of the video games themselves, the PS Plus community providing is nearly as good a deal because it’s ever been, permitting you to partake in aggressive or cooperative on-line multiplayer play and providing up a choice of three free video games on a month-to-month foundation too.

By way of competitors, the PS4 Slim actually solely has two rivals – the Nintendo Switch and the Xbox One S. Certain, Nintendo has created one thing profoundly distinctive with the brand new Nintendo Swap, nevertheless it’s in opposition to the Xbox One S the place the PS4 has its hardest combat. 

Solely a tad dearer, the Xbox One S seems nice, has a effective choice of its personal video games, and comes packing a killer 4K Blu-ray participant in-built, making it a much more rounded media participant than the PS4 Slim. 

All that stated, it is Sony who’s offered 70 million PS4s in the intervening time. So clearly it is doing one thing proper with its new console.

Does that imply it is best to be part of the PlayStation Nation too? Learn on to seek out out.

Design

It could be laborious to recollect now, seeing how a lot pleasure avid gamers have gotten out of the unique PS4, however its off-kilter form was met with some raised eyebrows when it was first revealed three and a half years in the past.

2016’s slim PS4 more-or-less retains the core visible identification of the primary PlayStation four, however shrinks every thing down right into a extra dinky parallelogram package deal, with newly-rounded edges.

Whereas the unique PlayStation four measured 27.5 x 30 x 5.three cm, the PS4 Slim is simply 26.5 x 26.5 x three.eight cm. That is roughly a 3rd smaller than what the unique measured up as, and its weight is comparably lighter, too.

Whereas the primary PS4 had a end that blended shiny plastics with matte ones, the PS4 Slim goes with a easy matte black end throughout. It additionally drops the top-mounted coloured gentle bar indicator – exhibiting sleep, wake and off statuses – in favor of small illuminated dots over the ability button. These are tougher to see, so watch out to test them rigorously earlier than unplugging the console from the wall, or danger corrupting your information.

The disk drive slot stays front-facing, sitting above small, bodily energy and eject buttons. More moderen revisions of the PS4 additionally featured bodily buttons on the console, nevertheless it’ll be a marked distinction for avid gamers used to the launch version PS4, which favored touch-sensitive controls as a substitute.

Two USB ports sit on the entrance of the console, as was the identical on earlier PS4 fashions. However they’re now spaced a lot additional aside, making them barely simpler to plug into.

Each 500GB and 1TB variations of the PS4 slim can be found. For those who go for the smaller of the 2 you would possibly discover your hard-drive fills up surprisingly rapidly due to the console’s reliance on obligatory recreation installs, however fortunately it is pretty easy to upgrade the internal hard drive or you’ll be able to even set up video games to an external hard drive due to a latest replace. 

Additionally on the again you may discover the ability plug socket (no want for an exterior energy brick right here), a HDMI port, the PlayStation Digital camera’s growth port (a vital a part of the PlayStation VR‘s setup) and an Ethernet community jack socket.

The one casualty of the slimmed-down design is the Optical Out port on the rear. Whereas HDMI will go well with the wants of many avid gamers in the case of carrying audio indicators, the Optical Out port will probably be missed by these hooking up older dwelling cinema receivers, or souped-up gaming headsets.

The slim PS4 has a number of good design touches dotted round its chassis although. The enduring Sq., Triangle, Circle and Cross symbols of the PlayStation model are stamped into the facet of the console (with the Circle appearing as a fixture for these wishing to face the console upright with a base accent). And those self same symbols are discovered caught to the underside of the brand new PS4, appearing as toes to lift the machine off a floor for improved airflow.

All in, it is a nicely thought of design the enhances the present vary, markedly justifying its “Slim” avenue identify.

Setup

Organising the slim PlayStation four may be very straightforward, particularly in case you’re upgrading from the unique PS4, or perhaps a PS3 since you should use the identical cables, eradicating the necessity to stretch behind your TV.

Merely plug within the included HDMI and energy cables and connect with the web to obtain the console’s numerous patches and updates.

Alternatively, you’ll be able to skip Wi-Fi or ethernet altogether and simply pop in a recreation. Not like the Xbox One, you may get to the homescreen with out initially connecting to the online and patching.

When you do connect with the web, you may must let the PS4 replace earlier than you may make purchases from the shop or play on-line.

Media

For the reason that very first PlayStation, Sony’s dwelling consoles have led the cost in the case of media playback assist. The PS One made for an excellent CD participant, the PS2 was many avid gamers’ first DVD participant, and the PS3 their first Blu-ray deck and USB playback machine.

The PS4, whereas not introducing a brand new format of its personal, picked up the baton handed by the PS3, providing wide-ranging streaming service assist, Blu-ray and DVD playback, USB media performance and even banging out the tunes with its personal Spotify participant.

What the PS4 Slim would not do, nonetheless, is provide a solution to the Xbox One S’s 4K Blu-ray participant. It as a substitute sticks with the unique PS4’s commonplace full HD Blu-ray participant. It is nonetheless a powerful deck, however anybody trying to showcase their 4K TVs with the brand new PS4 will probably be upset. It is a characteristic that is set to be notably absent from the PS4 Professional, too.

You may argue that, with 4K TVs a relative luxurious for avid gamers in the intervening time and streaming more and more used to look at media content material, it is not a desperately wanted characteristic, particularly if it retains the general value down. However it should age the console, stopping it from being totally future-proofed. What’s maybe extra annoying is the whole elimination of the optical out audio socket, which might trigger complications for these with older AV tools.

Nonetheless, one improve that’s coming to all the vary of PS4s together with the PS4 Slim is HDR assist. It provides higher element to gentle sources in a picture, and is taken into account the subsequent massive factor in TV tech.

All different streaming companies and apps featured on the PS4 return for the PS4 Slim. They embrace (however will not be restricted to) Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, in addition to BBC iPlayer and TV from Sky within the UK, and HBO Go and Hulu within the US. Sony’s personal film rental platform is obtainable too in case you’re on the lookout for the newest Hollywood releases. YouTube is obtainable, as is Twitch recreation streaming, and a Spotify Join-enabled model of the favored music streaming service, letting you management tunes in your telly from the consolation of your smartphone.