Leaked document reveals specifications of PlayStation 4 Neo

Slides have appeared online detailing the PlayStation 4.5 Neo. The presentation consists of 42 pages and describes the entire course of the arrival of the console, from development to prototype release.

It is not possible to say with certainty how old the document is, whether it is genuine and whether all specifications are correct. Importantly, the document calls the Neo a “high-end version” of the PlayStation 4 and that the Neo and the original PS4 must coexist within the same ecosystem. This means they share the same applications, the same online community, and the same software and user experience. Also, all titles released by October 2016 must support both systems.

The difference with the PS4 and Neo is that Neo focuses on use in combination with UHD televisions with 4k display. For HDTV owners, the console should deliver higher frame rates and other better graphics performance. There will also be specific, unnamed features for the Neo. Among other things, consideration is being given to enabling recording in 1080p.

Developers of older titles can decide whether to make patches that allow for higher frame rates and resolutions, but are not obligated to do so; older games should run smoothly on Neo just like newer games should run smoothly on the ‘older’ PS4. Sony says that games can run in a Base Mode and a Neo Mode.

The CPU of the AMD apu of the Neo would be built around 8 Jaguar cores, just like that of the PS4, but clocked higher. The GPU will contain 36 compute units at 911MHz, but it is not known how this doubling was achieved. AMD’s new Polaris 10-gpu has 36 compute units, but since it concerns custom apus, Sony and AMD could also have chosen other solutions to achieve more stream processors.

The document still talks about prototypes that should be available from mid-April to early May 2016. Its successors are planned for the end of June to the end of July. From sdk 3.50 Neo is included in the development process, the so-called 3.50 + Neo submission patch. The patch will be released at the same time as System Software 3.70. This should take place in the month of July 2016.

All prototypes and other targets have an ‘end of life’ in the spring of 2017. It is not clear from the presentation when a consumer version will go into production.

PS4 PS4.5 NEO