• Thinner and lighter
• Modular design

The PS5 is my console of choice but I’ve always hated its design. Not only is it too big, but its odd hourglass-like shape makes me want to keep it hidden from sight. I wouldn’t say the PS5 Slim has a more eye-pleasing design since it retains the same basic shape. However, its thinner profile isn’t as visually offensive — and it also makes it easier to tuck behind a TV.

Instead of two separate faceplates like before, the new system has four — two on its bottom and two up top. This separation creates a gap that breaks up its surface. The faceplates and black body are also super glossy, which I quite liked. The new PS5 might be slim but it doesn’t skimp on ports. There’s a pair of USB-C ports on the system’s front, along with a white eject button beside the disc drive. The latter is noteworthy since the PS5 features black power and eject buttons right next to each other — which could be confusing. The back features two USB-A ports and an Ethernet port. I would have preferred if there was at least one USB-A port on the front for my wired peripherals, but this isn’t a major complaint. My review unit didn’t come with a separate vertical stand, so I can’t say much about how it functions. That said, it’s now safer to stand the PS5 vertically since its “bottom” is flatter than on the previous model. Still, it would have been nice if the vertical stand came bundled with the system.

• Easy to remove face plates and SSD

As with the old PS5, you can swap out this system’s SSD. On top of that, you can also remove the disc drive from the standard PS5 Slim. If you own the Digital Edition, there’s a separate attachable $80 disc drive.

Snapping off the faceplate covering the SSD is easier with the PS5 Slim compared to its older counterpart. That’s because you only have to remove one small faceplate instead of a larger one. You’ll need a screwdriver to remove the screws keeping the SSD in place, but overall the process is rather seamless , Removing the optical disc drive is also effortless since it just snaps off with a little bit of force. That’s great, but I don’t know why anyone would want to remove the optical disc drive. The PS5 Slim is marginally lighter without a disc drive. And since the faceplate is shaped to house an optical drive, you’re left with a gaping hole where the drive slot once resided.

• Excellent performance
• Fast load times

Except for a larger 1TB SSD, the PS5 Slim remains largely unchanged from the older model. This console also features 16GB of GDDR6 memory and an AMD Ryzen Zen 2 CPU. And since the internals are the same, that means you’re stuck with Wi-Fi 6 instead of the newer Wi-Fi 6E or Wi-Fi 7 standards.

Games like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 and Street Fighter 6 run great on the PS5 Slim. In my time testing the unit I enjoyed the same blazing-fast performance and load times as on the older console. These titles (like others on PS5) offer performance modes that favor higher frame rates over resolution. This is my preferred way of playing since everything moves and feels buttery smooth.