PS4 Slim: Review

       Sony PS4 Slim: Review
Is slim a good title for this console?


Sony has a long history of streamlining its games consoles so the PS4 Slim's existence was all but assured – we knew it was coming well before Sony's official announcement. As its name implies, the PS4 Slim is simply an aesthetically revised version of the original PS4. It weighs 61g less and takes up considerably less space than its already slender predecessor.

The power light strip running across the top of the console has also disappeared, and the only remaining adornment is the PlayStation logo in the middle of the top panel. Luckily, its textured chassis isn’t nearly as prone to picking up scuffs and smudges as the half-glossy coating on the original.

The PS4 Slim comes with a brand-new Dualshock 4 controller, too. There’s a change of colour here, with light-grey buttons, sticks and triggers replacing the all-black design of the original. There's also a thin translucent line at the top of the touchpad, which lets out a little light from the rear lightbar. It’s near-identical in terms of what it does and how it works, though, and you can pick one up separately for £54.

The unit shouldn’t be as expensive to run over the course of a year, either, thanks to its lower power consumption. It sucked up only 45W while sitting on the home screen, and around 53W with a Blu-ray disc spinning, compared with the PS4’s 71W and 95W respectively. It’s a little more power-hungry than the Xbox One S, but not noticeably so.

It’s a shame Sony hasn’t seen fit to include a dedicated 4K Blu-ray drive in the PS4 Slim (you’ll have to go to the Xbox One S for that), but if that doesn’t bother you – or you don’t have a 4K TV to take advantage of it – then the PS4 Slim is a great choice.

Of course, there’s also the PS4 Pro to consider, but when that costs over £100 more, the PS4 Slim remains a great budget option for those who want something a little more discreet.