(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); PS4 Neo: Release date, price, specs and other rumours surrounding Sony's first 4K PlayStation

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Sony is heavily rumoured to be You must login or register to view this content. that has been nicknamed "PlayStation 4 Neo" by industry experts.

Rather than a brand new gaming machine, it is expected to be an improved version of the You must login or register to view this content. with upgraded components.

Part of the reason for a new version could be to make it better equipped to handle PlayStation VR - You must login or register to view this content. .

It is also heavily tipped to be capable of playing games with a 4K resolution leading some to dub it "PlayStation 4K".

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Although no firm details have been obtained (and Sony unsurprisingly isn't commenting) there are lots of whispers that we've collected up here. We'll update this article as new information comes out so remember to check back.

Release Date

Console releases tend to aim for the lucrative Christmas market and the latest rumours suggest this is no exception.

Sony's PlayStation VR is scheduled to go on sale in October and it would make sense for the company to announce the PS4 Neo on September 7 - as the latest reports suggest.

What's going to be key is how quickly Sony can get the PS4 Neo into stores. Just because it's being announced in September, doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to buy it right away.

console name

Despite the different names being used to describe the next PlayStation, a recent report from You must login or register to view this content. seems to confirm that Neo is Sony's in-house codename for the device.

Sources speaking to the website have hinted that the Neo will predominantly feature an upgraded CPU, GPU and RAM.

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"The Neo will feature a higher clock speed than the original PS4, an improved GPU, and higher bandwidth on the memory," the website states.

"The documents we've received note that the HDD in the NEO is the same as that in the original PlayStation 4, but it's not clear if that means in terms of capacity or connection speed."

The report goes on to state that games will be capable of running on both the new and You must login or register to view this content. . However, those that run on the latest hardware will benefit from an improved frame rate and higher visual fidelity.

Perhaps the best way of thinking about it is to look at "remastered" versions of games that made the jump from PlayStation 3 to PlayStation 4. It won't be as gigantic a leap but there will be noticeable improvements.

Our bet for the final console name? PlayStation 4K sounds good to us.

Specs

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As with previous console refreshes, Sony may opt to shrink the outward casing somewhat, but it will be inside where the real changes are.

An You must login or register to view this content. on the new PlayStation suggests the internal CPU may well take advantage of improvements in chip architecture to increase power and efficiency.

The bulk of the changes are expected to be made to the system's graphical processing unit (GPU).

"The 7970's Tahiti processor is the obvious example, offering up a 60 per cent increase in compute power," says Eurogamer.

"This could be combined with an overclock, faster RAM - and possibly more of it (though we suspect that cost issues may be a concern here)."

The key for Sony is to keep the cost to consumers down and continue to make it easy for developers to build for the platform.

price

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Sony is sitting pretty when it comes to You must login or register to view this content. . The Japanese company made the PS4 more affordable when it launched compared to its chief rival, the Xbox One.

It also You must login or register to view this content. with the announcement that PlayStation VR would only cost £349.

Current You must login or register to view this content. which is a good place to start for the improved version.

According to the Giant Bomb article, the NEO will start at $399 - which roughly translates to £277. Of course, that will depend on whether Sony continues the current hard disk options of 500MB or 1TB.

As ever, none of these reports can be completely relied upon but they give a good indication of what might be coming down the gaming pipeline.

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