A recent technical analysis by Digital Foundry on the new power saver mode for the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Pro has sparked intriguing discussions about what a future PS6 portable could look like. The findings suggest that the power-saving configurations introduced by Sony might serve as a foundational prototype for how a potential handheld system could handle performance, thermal constraints, and battery efficiency without entirely sacrificing the visual and gameplay quality associated with the PlayStation brand.
The power saver mode, recently rolled out as part of a PS5 firmware update, modifies several internal hardware parameters to achieve lower power consumption. It reduces available CPU threads, halves the GDDR6 memory bandwidth, lowers GPU frequency to a baseline level, and disables demanding features such as PSSR upscaling and VR support. While these changes result in reduced performance, they also mimic the kind of compromises developers would need to implement on truly portable hardware. Currently, only a select group of titles, including Demon’s Souls, Days Gone Remastered, Death Stranding 1 and 2, and Ghost of Yotei, support this new feature through individual patches.
Digital Foundry’s analysis highlights how this new configuration offers a glimpse into dual-performance modes similar to what a PS6 portable might adopt in the future. On existing PlayStation consoles, the power saver profile acts as a separate development target beneath the standard and pro performance tiers. A future handheld, following a similar model, could feature two distinct modes: docked and portable. In docked mode, the device could draw additional power to deliver higher resolutions and smoother frame rates, while portable mode would focus on conserving energy through reduced rendering loads, lower resolutions, and scaled-back visual effects.
The results observed in Demon’s Souls and Days Gone Remastered provide a compelling example of how these modes could function in practice. Demon’s Souls utilizes a straightforward downgrade approach, shifting its 1440p 60 frames per second performance mode to a 1440p 30 mode under the power saver setting. This adjustment preserves visual detail and physics simulation but cuts frame rate to align with reduced system resources. On a hypothetical PS6 portable, a similar design could mean that docked mode maintains stable frame rates and visual clarity, while handheld play would run at 30 frames per second to prevent thermal issues and extend battery life.
Meanwhile, Days Gone Remastered demonstrates a more adaptive strategy, dynamically adjusting horizontal resolution, draw distances, and ambient occlusion to stabilize performance. Under a docked setup, this approach could scale visuals up to 4K or 1440p, while portable play would lower resolution and effects to maintain steady frame pacing. Such dynamic rendering systems, paired with variable refresh rate displays, could help smooth performance dips and minimize perceptual stutter during portable use.
The analysis also identifies three primary factors limiting portable performance: reduced CPU cores or threads that constrain complex AI and world simulation, decreased memory bandwidth that enforces lower texture and resolution quality, and diminished GPU frequency that affects shading and particle rendering. Together, these limitations explain why intense combat scenarios or dense environments often exhibit noticeable frame drops.
Although there is no official confirmation of a PS6 portable, Sony’s new power saver mode seems to be more than just a firmware update; it may hint at the potential architecture of a PS6 portable. As Digital Foundry points out, the dual-profile approach could be crucial in defining how future PlayStation hardware balances high-end console fidelity with the needs of handheld portability.
