[Software] PS5 unboxing and preview: design, controller and playing Astro's Playroom

[Agent47]

 

 

After seeing it in photos and videos for months, we’ve finally had a chance to try out the PS5 – we’ve had extensive time playing with the new DualSense Controller and built-in game Astro’s Playroom, and we can tell you what you can expect when you open the box.

We’re able, for the first time, to talk about what it’s like to play games on the console – actually, make that game, singular, as we’ve only been able to try Astro’s Playroom. Nonetheless, it’s given us a good feel for how the console will play games. 

It’s too soon to discuss what the console is truly capable of, and what it’s like to navigate around the PS5’s interface, but we can finally talk about the console itself, its design, and – most importantly – our first impressions of Sony’s next-generation gaming hardware.

Welcome to the future of console gaming – this is our first look at the PS5.

The PS5’s box is fairly inconspicuous. There aren’t any screenshots of next-gen games or cool, cutting-edge visuals, but it does do its job of providing key information: for example, it reaffirms that we’re getting 825GB of storage space on the console itself instead of a full 1TB, and the PS5 box talks about the 3D Audio technology in passing detail. 

While the Xbox Series X’s exterior packaging touts its Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos support, the PS5 only hits you with three key numbers on the front: 4K/120 and 8K, followed by the acronym HDR. Those details prove that it’s a powerful console, certainly, but otherwise specs-related info is mostly minimal – the back of the box mentions the console’s SSD and custom CPU.

Inside the box you get the console, a wireless controller, the base, an HDMI cable that’s almost certainly HDMI 2.1-compliant (it’s actually the same one that shipped with the PS4 Pro), plus the power cord, a USB-C-to-USB-A cable to charge the DualSense controller, and the user manual / warranty info.

You’ll also, technically, get one game inside the box – that’s Astro’s Playroom, which, as mentioned, comes pre-installed on every PlayStation 5 console. 
If gaming consoles had weight classes, the PS5 would be in the heavyweight division: we measured it at around 38.8 x 8 x 26cm or 15¼ x 3 x 10¼ inches (H x W x D) – though the curved surfaces make getting an exact measurement kind of difficult – and weighed it at nearly 10 pounds (4.5kg or around 9.92 pounds). 

Because of its size and weight, you’ll need to put it on a sturdy base (included with the console) that can both bear the weight of the console and has enough space for the PS5. The disc tray makes the PS5 a little thicker on one side towards the base of the console – though if you're buying the PS5 Digital Edition, your console won't have a disc tray at all and will be even on both sides.

While it’s on the larger side, the PS5 still looks pretty sleek with its curved edges, bicolor design and eye-catching LEDs that run along the inside lip of the console. The all-white shell encloses a reflective black center that looks, to some of the TechRadar team, like a reverse Oreo cookie.

In terms of ports, the front has USB-A and USB-C ports, while the back sports two USB-A ports, an HDMI 2.1, Ethernet and a power port. There are no proprietary ports on the console, but that actually feels like a good thing this time around. It’s almost identical to what you’d find on the Xbox Series X, but the X also has a slot for expandable storage that the PS5 doesn’t have. Sony says it’s possible to upgrade the internal storage with an NVME SSD, but we’re hopeful the PS5 will get external SSD options, too.

Our least favorite part of the PS5’s design so far is that the stand can be fairly tricky to figure out at first. Yes, it can go on either the bottom or the side of the console, but finding exactly where the console is supposed to sit on the base is a bit unclear. 

We’re also not super-keen on the vents on all sides of the console, but the benefit to this is that the PS5 is a fairly quiet console, and keeps surprisingly cool. 

We haven’t been able to put it through a rigorous gameplay test quite yet – we’ll likely need Spider-Man: Miles Morales or the Demon’s Souls remake for that – but so far the system has run whisper-quiet and hasn’t generated too much heat.