For months now, there have been many rumors and leaks about a new PlayStation handheld device. Even though Sony hasn’t officially confirmed anything yet, all signs suggest that they are working on a new handheld console. Sony has been silent, but they’ve also shown interest in what their competitors are doing. In April, they even sent out surveys to players asking for opinions on the Nintendo Switch 2.
This shows that Sony is paying close attention to the handheld market and might be preparing something of their own. And now, a new rumor has appeared, giving us more information about what this new device might offer. This would be Sony’s first standalone handheld since the PS Vita. Its most recent PlayStation Portal is designed for Remote Play, not standalone gaming.
This comes directly from a well-known leaker named KeplerL2. The details were shared on the NeoGAF forum, where the leaker claimed the upcoming PlayStation handheld will feature 16GB of DDR5X RAM. That’s quite powerful, considering the base PS5 comes with 16GB of DDR4 RAM. The new handheld would also have a third of the PS5’s memory bandwidth, 4MB of L2 cache, and 16MB of MALL cache. The device is expected to be powered by an AMD chip, which is no surprise since AMD also powers the PS5 and PS5 Pro.
PlayStation handheld might offer PSSR
But the most exciting part of this leak is that the new PlayStation handheld might include AI upscaling technology, possibly the PSSR (PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution). For those wondering, this technology helps improve image quality by making the visuals sharper and more detailed, and it works exactly like AMD’s FSR or Nvidia’s popular DLSS upscaling technology used in PC gaming.
If PSSR makes its way to the handheld, it could help deliver high-quality graphics even on less powerful hardware, which is very important for a portable device. KeplerL2 says it could be the “only AMD handheld with AI upscaling anytime soon,” though we should note that this surely means a console handheld specifically, considering AMD-powered PC handhelds already have access to FSR upscaling and frame generation.
Sony’s PSSR technology is still new and currently only available on the PS5 Pro. However, AMD has been working closely with Sony to develop AI-powered technologies. Earlier this year, AMD confirmed that FSR 4, their latest upscaling technology, is being developed with help from Sony. They also announced a multi-year partnership focused on using AI to improve gaming experiences across both PCs and consoles. With AMD’s experience and Sony’s goals, it’s very possible that PSSR could be fully optimized for the handheld as well.
Based on what we know so far, the rumored PlayStation handheld is shaping up to be a powerful device, capable of delivering a solid gaming experience, similar to other high-end handhelds like the Steam Deck and ASUS ROG Ally. Or, it could be even better than them. Microsoft also recently announced the Xbox ROG Ally and Xbox ROG Ally X, while the Lenovo Legion Go 2 is expected to launch in September this year. So, there’s plenty for handheld gamers to look forward to.
