New PS4 and PS3 Models Revealed by Certification Request Filed by Sony

Giuseppe Nelva May 21, 2014 6:13 AM EST

The PS4 has just been launched a few months ago, but Sony might already be planning to launch a new model of its new console. The manufacturer filed for the registration of two new “Computer Entertainment Systems” with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology of the Republic of Indonesia.

The filing, listed on the official website of the Directorate of General Resources and Equipment of Post and Information Technology, bears the model number CUH-1106A. This seems to indicate an evolution of the console, but not a radical redesign like the passage from the PS3 slim to the super slim, for instance, which is normally indicated by an incremental change of the first number of the code (the slim was launched with the model number CECH-2001A, while the super slim started with CECH-4001A).

Currently the Asian version of the PS4 has the code CUH-1006A. The incremental change of the second digit to CUH-1106A seems to indicate an evolution akin to the passage from the first model of the PS3 slim equipped with a 65nm RSX graphics chip (CECH-2001A) to the second model eqiopped with a 40nm one (CECH-2101A).

The number also seems to exclude a simple evolution in the size of the hard disk, as that would be indicated by the change of the letter at the end of the code (CUH-1006A would become CUH-1006B).

In addition to this Sony also filed for the certification of a second system with the code CECH-4306CH, which seems to be a similar evolution of the PS3 super slim model. This comes just days after the PS3 super slim was discovered to be sold out at many major retailers online, indicating an interruption or at least a slow down in shipments and sparking rumors of a possible new SKU to be announced at E3.

Of course this should be considered a rumor until Sony makes an official announcement, but in this case the numbers normally don’t lie. We’ll have to stand by and see if anything about this will surface at E3 in just a couple weeks, and if the new models will result in any new feature or possible drops in price.