When the PlayStation 5 and Xbox One launch next fall, they’ll be the most powerful consoles ever, and likely among the fastest computers out there. It’s all thanks to three components that both Sony and Microsoft have already discussed, including the AMD-made CPU and GPU chips as well as fast new SSDs. While both companies detailed the massive performance boosts the PS5 and Xbox Scarlett will provide, they haven’t been as forthcoming when it comes to a key component, one that will be of huge importance to buyers next year. Thankfully, that component seems to have leaked already from an unexpected source.
Sony has been pretty clear about the PS5’s solid-state drive in recent interviews and even showed off the kind of performance expected from a PlayStation console running an SSD. Waiting for games to load will be an annoyance of the past, Sony teased, without revealing two crucial details about the SSD that will be included in the PS5. How much storage will it have, and what type of SSD are we going to get?
Many have speculated that Sony will make a custom SSD that would further improve speeds while simultaneously hindering upgrades. And then there was the whole Sony cartridge patent rollercoaster that suggested Sony might have found a clever way to offer SSD upgrades down the line. That turned out to be a storage solution made for a different console, unfortunately.
Microsoft has been even more silent on the matter, but Project Scarlett will likely match the PS5 when it comes to SSD performance.
This brings us to the slide below, which was apparently featured in a Samsung presentation in Tokyo. The image comes from the “well-informed Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad,” according to TechTastic.
From the looks of it, it’s Samsung that’s making SSDs for the next-gen consoles, and we’re looking at NVMe SSDs that will significantly reduce boot times and game launch times. The slide doesn’t tell us exactly how fast these systems will be compared to HDDs and SATA SSDs, but they should provide massive performance gains, according to the graphs used on the slide.
Looks like PS5 and other next gen consoles could be using Samsung SSD's for fast game loading according to a presentation from Samsung in Tokyo today. https://t.co/vZMGkiDGhf pic.twitter.com/ItDsYqWOEG
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) November 25, 2019
We’re looking at a presentation about the “SSD era in game console 2020,” which is a clear hint these products are intended to be used in next year’s PS5 and Xbox Scarlett. Moreover, what appears to be a PlayStation console and a new Dualshock controller are shown in the image, although that’s probably just a placeholder.
We still have no idea what kind of speeds to expect from the PS5’s SSD or how much storage the cheapest unit will get. A leaker said a few days ago that the PS5 will come with 2TB of storage onboard, which sounds too good to be true.
