The Sony PS4 has been announced by Sony! At long last we've had our first look at the new console and so far it looks great.
With TechRadar in attendance, Sony revealed some tantilising details about the hardware specs, along with some amazing software features that the new console will have. So here's what we know...
What we do know is that the PS4 is definitely powered by an AMD APU - most probably a Jaguar core. That means the CPU sits on the same die as a GPU element, and so-say offers 2 teraflops of compute power.
If this is indeed the chip we're talking about, the PS4's CPU packs eight cores (yay) but is clocked at a measly 1.6GHz (boooo). The main benefit of a setup like this is that the console will be very power efficient, meaning less draw and quieter operation, i.e. no need for any mahoosive, loud and invasive cooling fans.
The drawback of this CPU - and it's a real biggie - is that it is, frankly, an incredibly mediocre chip in this modern age. It's third-tier tech even by AMD's standards, and thus is absolutely no match for even budget Intel processors. The current batch of eight core Intel Xeon processors are simply in a different universe.
To put this performance gap into perspective, the current AMD Bobcat cores - which is the tech the Jaguar platform is based on - are roughly 1,400 per cent slower than Intel's £250 3770K Ivy Bridge Core i7 chip. Yeah, we know.
Graphics power
However, this AMD APU sits alongside what Sony described as a "highly enhanced PC GPU". From that we can extrapolate that it's likely to be the as-rumoured AMD 7850-grade graphics chip. This is a far more up to date component and promises to offer graphics far in advance of anything we've seen on the PS3 or Xbox 360.
The GPU packs 18 GCN units - that may sound a like a lot of techy mumbo jumbo but what it essentially means is that the GPU packs 18 processing clusters, each packing up to 64 cores. That provides a lot of parallel processing power, and will thus handle the majority of the PS4's grunt work.
Sony announced at the NYC event that the console will use GPU compute features to take advantage of this components raw power - it'll be used for general computation tasks as well as building graphics.
Memory
The PS4 will ship packing 8GB of GDDR5 memory. That's some super-fast stuff right there and should enable lightning fast performance.
Indeed, Sony has revealed that you will be able to power down the PS4 mid-game and then switch it on again in seconds and pick up right where you left off. That's the sort of loading power that this memory enables.
If you want to know how these specs stacks up against what we know so far about hte Xbox 720 (clue: PS4 is more powerful) - check out our comparison of PS4 and Xbox 720 specs.
However, we reckon the PS4 will almost certainly be able to exude some kind of Ultra HD output. It's unlikely to be capable of native 4K gaming, but there will certainly be enough graphics grunt to upscale Full HD content to 4K resolution. And with Sony heavily invested in 4K from a content and hardware perspective, it would be a huge surprise if PS4 failed to join the 4K bandwagon.
This is pretty much what happened with Sony's previous consoles - the PS3 came out in the EU in March - and is backed up by various leaks and rumours. At least you'll have plenty of time to save up if you live outside of Japan or the USA.
There will be similar synergy between "all Sony devices" which means Xperia handsets and tablets, Bravia TVs and BD players.
This is further backed up by a recent report in The Times which states that Sony is aiming for a price of under £300 in the UK. Many people think it'll be more than that though - we'll just have to wait and see.
With TechRadar in attendance, Sony revealed some tantilising details about the hardware specs, along with some amazing software features that the new console will have. So here's what we know...
PS4: Hardware specs
We STILL don't know what the PS4 looks like. But Sony has revealed some fundamental details about the PS4 hardware, while leaving out exact details like specific chip names.What we do know is that the PS4 is definitely powered by an AMD APU - most probably a Jaguar core. That means the CPU sits on the same die as a GPU element, and so-say offers 2 teraflops of compute power.
If this is indeed the chip we're talking about, the PS4's CPU packs eight cores (yay) but is clocked at a measly 1.6GHz (boooo). The main benefit of a setup like this is that the console will be very power efficient, meaning less draw and quieter operation, i.e. no need for any mahoosive, loud and invasive cooling fans.
The drawback of this CPU - and it's a real biggie - is that it is, frankly, an incredibly mediocre chip in this modern age. It's third-tier tech even by AMD's standards, and thus is absolutely no match for even budget Intel processors. The current batch of eight core Intel Xeon processors are simply in a different universe.
To put this performance gap into perspective, the current AMD Bobcat cores - which is the tech the Jaguar platform is based on - are roughly 1,400 per cent slower than Intel's £250 3770K Ivy Bridge Core i7 chip. Yeah, we know.
Graphics power
However, this AMD APU sits alongside what Sony described as a "highly enhanced PC GPU". From that we can extrapolate that it's likely to be the as-rumoured AMD 7850-grade graphics chip. This is a far more up to date component and promises to offer graphics far in advance of anything we've seen on the PS3 or Xbox 360.
The GPU packs 18 GCN units - that may sound a like a lot of techy mumbo jumbo but what it essentially means is that the GPU packs 18 processing clusters, each packing up to 64 cores. That provides a lot of parallel processing power, and will thus handle the majority of the PS4's grunt work.
Sony announced at the NYC event that the console will use GPU compute features to take advantage of this components raw power - it'll be used for general computation tasks as well as building graphics.
Memory
The PS4 will ship packing 8GB of GDDR5 memory. That's some super-fast stuff right there and should enable lightning fast performance.
Indeed, Sony has revealed that you will be able to power down the PS4 mid-game and then switch it on again in seconds and pick up right where you left off. That's the sort of loading power that this memory enables.
If you want to know how these specs stacks up against what we know so far about hte Xbox 720 (clue: PS4 is more powerful) - check out our comparison of PS4 and Xbox 720 specs.
Will the PS4 be 4K capable?
This we don't know yet - it hasn't been mentioned by Sony at the event!However, we reckon the PS4 will almost certainly be able to exude some kind of Ultra HD output. It's unlikely to be capable of native 4K gaming, but there will certainly be enough graphics grunt to upscale Full HD content to 4K resolution. And with Sony heavily invested in 4K from a content and hardware perspective, it would be a huge surprise if PS4 failed to join the 4K bandwagon.
Backwards compatibility
The PS4 will definitely not offer native support for PS3 games. However, there will at some point be a service on the Sony Entertainment Network that offers server-side emulation and streaming of games from PS One classics right through to PS3 Platinum Editions.PS4 controller: DualShock 4
The PS4 controller comes in the form of the DualShock 4 pad. Very much a classic design, the DualShock 4 nevertheless offers upgraded vibrations, enhanced motion sensors and a Vita-like touchpad on the front.PS4 release date
The PS4 release date is "Holiday 2013". That's the only detail Sony revealed at the launch and it's unclear which territories it applies to. Certainly the US, almost certainly Japan. We have a feeling the UK and Europe may have to wait a little longer, maybe even until early 2014.This is pretty much what happened with Sony's previous consoles - the PS3 came out in the EU in March - and is backed up by various leaks and rumours. At least you'll have plenty of time to save up if you live outside of Japan or the USA.
PlayStation Move
Sony has confirmed that PlayStation Move will play a big part in the PS4 ecosystem. However, it has not yet been revealed whether the PS4 will launch alongside a new PS Eye camera and new Move controllers or whether the peripherals are staying the same with all the enhancements made console-side.Synergy with PlayStation Vita
Sony has revealed that the PS4 will launch with the ability to stream games directly to your PS Vita. In exactly the same way as the Wii U allows you to switch off your TV and continue playing on the tablet controller, the PS4 will wirelessly send your games to the Vita.There will be similar synergy between "all Sony devices" which means Xperia handsets and tablets, Bravia TVs and BD players.
PS4 Instant On
The PS4 will be one nippy device if Sony is to be believed. It will have an instant on/off feature allowing your to shut down during a game and then boot up from scratch in seconds and resume where you left off. The days of waiting 60 seconds as your console loads up are about to end...PS4 price: how much will it cost?
No pricing details were revealed at the event, so all we've got to go on are various rumours from a collection of sources but it looks currently as though Sony has a price point of around $400 in mind for the US launch. That translates to around £255 so you could extrapolate that to around £299.This is further backed up by a recent report in The Times which states that Sony is aiming for a price of under £300 in the UK. Many people think it'll be more than that though - we'll just have to wait and see.
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