Tech giant TCL Technology is claiming that the next versions of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S will arrive at some point in 2023/2024. The current generation of systems launched at the end of 2020, yet the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S faced console shortages at every turn, which are only now starting to abate.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S were released over a year and a half ago, yet there is already speculation regarding the next iterations of the systems. The PS4 and Xbox One both received revisions throughout their run that happened within a few years of the debut of the system. The PS4 and Xbox One launched in 2013, the PS4 Pro launched in 2016, and the Xbox One X launched in 2017. The base versions of the system are still supported to this day, but running a modern game on a PS4 and Xbox One can be a miserable experience compared to their revisions and the current-gen systems.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S drought continues, but the next iterations of the systems might be on their way. According to PPE (as reported by Tom Henderson on Twitter), TCL Technology announced during a conference in Poland that the mid-life revisions for the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S will arrive in 2023 or 2024 and are being referred to as Gen 9.5. They are also referred to as the New Xbox Series X/S and the PS5 Pro, though these are likely just placeholder names used for the purpose of the presentation.
According to TCL, these new consoles will be able to play 2160p and UHD-8k titles at 60-120 fps, with the systems compared to the AMD Radeon RX 7700 XT. It's likely that this statement is speculation on the part of TCL Technology, based on the life cycle of the previous systems. There was no word regarding any other facets of the systems, even though the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S storage sizes have been criticized in the past, and would be high on the list of things for a mid-life iteration to improve upon.
It's unclear if the next versions of the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S would launch in a similar time frame to the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X. Microsoft and Sony still struggling to keep the base versions of the system in stock, and there is still high demand for the systems. The two companies and third-party developers across the industry are only just starting to leave the PS4 and Xbox One behind, and it's likely that they'll still be supported in varying degrees for years to come. There have been PS5 Pro rumors in the past, but nothing has been confirmed, and it's likely that Sony is already working on its next system, but it's probably years away. A late 2024 release might be feasible for the next PlayStation and Xbox systems, but the two companies shouldn't rush new systems out of the door, when interest in their current tech is still so high.
Source: PPE, Tom Henderson/Twitter