The PS4 Slim model has been officially leaked. Like the PS3 Slim and Super Slim models before it, Sony is releasing a smaller, cost-cutting model of their console. Several UK listings for this new model popped up today and took the internet by storm. A few people have managed to purchased these units early and get them first-hand. It’s legit folks.

You may be asking yourself, so what is the big deal? What’s different? Slim models usually cut costs so what has Sony axed? How does this impact the rumored 4K enabled PS4 Neo model? Check out our breakdown of the first PS4 Slim images below to find out details. Several of these images I discovered on the excellent NeoGAF thread on today’s mega-leak, FYI.

No UHD or 4K Playback like Xbox One S

You can see in some of the packaging shots that the system doesn’t mention 4K anything. The side of the console simply likes Blu-Ray as the system’s format, no mention of UHD Blu-Ray. There is no mention of HDMI 2.0 cable on the console’s box either. This means it will not play any 4K content most likely. This differs from Microsoft’s Xbox One S, which is the cheapest way to get a 4K UHD Blu Ray player currently at $299.99.

Perhaps Sony plans to go even cheaper than $300 with this model. They likely want to avoid confusion when they release the 4K equipped PS4 Neo and not have two models that do 4K video but not necessarily 4K enhanced games.

Hard Drive gets moved

When images of this model began surfacing earlier today, fans immediately noticed it was missing the hard drive bay that is present on the top left side of the original PS4. New pictures have come out that show what looks like a pull-out hard drive bay, similar to the one on the PS3 super slim. No word on whether its still 2.5-inch laptop hard drives but it’s most likely that it supports the same size the original system did. It would be great if would allow for a bit more room in the HDD space but I wouldn’t hold you breath on that one.

Kinda Smaller?

Don’t get me wrong, the PS4 slim is smaller than the original model. It’s likely using a 14nm or 16nm AMD APU so some size has been shaved off. Comparison photos like the one you can see below this paragraph show that the system isn’t as tall or long as the original model. The Xbox One S didn’t look all that much smaller in some photos to me until I saw it in person and realize it was a great step down in size. I am FAR from an expert but I would guess its at least 15% smaller, more or less.

Still Has Internal PSU

The packaging shot you saw above that showed that the system came with a standard 1.4 HDMI cable? It also shows the power cable. Unless Sony’s marketing department is trying to be deceptive, they didn’t include a power brick in that image. This likely means the power supply is still internal. That was expected but Sony did release the PS2 slim (initially before a re-model years later) with an external power supply.

Comes with 500GB hard drive

You can still upgrade your hard drive, which is a relatively easy process but the packaging says the system comes with 500GBs of storage. This isn’t a huge surprise considering everything about this slim model screams budget. 500GB may be enough for casual gamers but a lot of users will want to upgrade the internal drive. Ideally Sony would add external hard drive support in their 4.00 system firmware but,…well I’m done waiting on that one.

Physical Power and Eject Buttons

In the image below you can see the power and eject buttons. No word on whether the LED light has been cut. It looks like there may be LED lights just behind the power and eject buttons so perhaps its a simpler, smaller LED like the PS3 slim models. I’m fine with this personally as I never really liked the fussy, touch sensitive buttons of the original model. Physical buttons were added to the CUH-1200 model that released last year.

No Optical Out

One big change is no optical out port for audio. It’s HDMI only folks!

When will the PS4 slim release? We’ll find out September 7th at the Playstation Meeting. I’m guessing it will sell for $299 or less, since it only has 500GB of storage and no 4K, UHD playback. $249 would be great if this is a budget model but I’m not sure Sony wants to be that aggressive with pricing. They are on top of the console market right now so maybe they don’t feel like the NEED to do that.

Of course there are no photos of the PS4 Neo model. That likely means it isn’t coming out at the same time as this slim. If the slim is out in the UK now on the streets it is likely going to be sold very soon. I wouldn’t even be shocked if Sony spills the beans on it before the PS Meeting on Sept 7th since this has been leaked.

Maybe Neo doesn’t come out until November. I would imagine they’d stagger the release dates of all their new hardware. PS4 slim in September, PS VR in October and PS4 Neo for 4K enthusiasts in November. We’ll find out soon enough!