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PS Portal (white) | $199.99 at Best Buy
PS Portal (Black) | $199.99 at Best Buy
Leaks surrounding Sony's upcoming PlayStation "Cannis" handheld just surfaced, and it'll apparently beat the upcoming Asus ROG Xbox Ally X. That's not entirely surprising since the portable will arrive much later and feature a newer AMD chipset, but I am hyped about other features that will help it take the Nintendo Switch 2 head-on.
The fresh wave of PlayStation handheld info comes courtesy of tech YouTuber Moore's Law is Dead, and it arrives alongside word that the PS6 could be cheaper and faster than the PS5 Pro. The best gaming handheld contender is seemingly scheduled to land alongside the next-gen system, but it looks like it can be used as a home console hybrid.
According to MLID's leak breakdown, the PlayStation handheld will use a "Monolithic" AMD chipset. That effectively means it'll use an "all-in-one" APU that incorporates CPU and GPU elements rather than having separate chips, and the approach is pretty similar to the Switch 2.
MLID says the PS6 handheld "should beat the Xbox Ally X in performance, but it doesn't come off as a "powerhouse." That could be due to the fact that it'll only have 15W TBP requirements, which feels low considering Microsoft and Asus' portable PC uses 30W in turbo mode. Running at a lower wattage could give the device a big advantage in battery life and efficiency, something that'd help it also combat the Switch 2.
Leaks point towards project "Cannis" featuring an AMD chip with four Zen 6c cores, 12-28 RDNA 5 Compute Units that run up to 2GHz, and support for GDDR7 memory. Yes, the CPU count here is less than the Ryzen Z2 Extreme chip that'll live within the ROG Xbox Ally X, but they'll be a generation ahead. Plus, that GPU core range means it could end up being outright beefier than Asus' choice of APU.
As for how the handheld compares to a full-fat Sony console, it's allegedly half as powerful as the PS5, but ray tracing performance is likely better. I actually think this is a good thing, as it demonstrates that the company isn't trying to make yet another massive Steam Deck OLED rival, and is instead working on what could be a PS Vita successor.
In fact, Cannis could end up being my dream PS Vita successor, and I really have Nintendo to thank. MLID says the handheld should boast USB-C charging and video output abilities, which will make it the first portable that can connect to an external display since the PSP.
This is an idea Sony used to be allergic to back in the 2010s, so much so that it released an entirely separate screenless device, the PS Vita TV, rather than just adding HDMI out to its existing handheld. If the new PlayStation handheld does opt for full hybrid docking capabilities, we'll no doubt end up with a device that is only slightly larger than traditional portable consoles, but can offer up a proper at-home experience.
That idea is backed up by the fact that the PS5 is getting a "low power" mode that effectively halves the console's performance. While the feature is supposed to cater to players looking to use less energy, it could be Sony's way of testing what the handheld experience will look like. Keep in mind AI upscaling like PSSR will also play a role here, so we could be looking at a portable that can pull off the same 4K 60fps tricks as the Switch 2.
As GamesRadar's in-house handheld nerd, I'm pretty hyped about all this portable PS6 news. However, you'll want to take all the leaks with a grain of salt since the info comes from a 2023 presentation. The insider insights also say it won't land until the same time as the home console, which looks to be around 2028.
A lot could change between now and the PS6's arrival, and competitors like Microsoft, Xbox, and Valve could release hardware that derails Sony's plans. That said, it's entirely likely that even if it does shift gears a little, the premise of Project Cannis will remain the same, and I'm holding onto hope it'll be called the PS Vita 2.
I just hope we don't end up with another PlayStation Portal cloud console.
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