Sony is barely able to meet the current demand for the PlayStation 5 and yet, it's already planning to release a new variant.

The report comes by way of The Leak, which describes the new PS5 as a "slim" variant of the current PS5 that will use "die-shrink" treatment to make it less bulky, weigh less, while also consuming less electricity and running cooler. The same source claims that this is all on top of everything that Sony has added to the current PS5 model and the goal is to replace the current PS5 as early as the next holiday season (or Q3 2023, to be more precise).

Tom Henderson claims this is the same PlayStation 5 variant he revealed in September. However, The Leak answered the allegations and claimed their report contains more details.

We were not aware of your report. Neither was our source. And we have more details in ours compared to yours. We would never rehash anything without giving credit.

— Has it Leaked (@hasitleaked) November 7, 2022

Regardless of who got the jump on the leak first, a slimmer version of the PlayStation 5 was always coming. It's somewhat expected, and some users have even gone as far as to take matters into their own hands.

Having said that, the timing of the presumed release of the unannounced PS5 Slim lines up with its predecessor. After Sony released the PS4 in 2013, the console manufacturer came out with the PS4 Slim three years later in 2016 with the PS4 Pro arriving a short while later. This means that a three-year window between the PS5's launch in 2020 and the next year's holiday season is not unprecedented.

Hopefully, a PS5 Slim is followed by a PS5 Pro. The industry estimates that an upgrade for the PS5 and Xbox Series X will come in 2024 if not earlier.

Of course, the more glaring issue is the lack of availability, especially for the PS5. The stock situation might have improved recently, at least in the United States, but the sales figures of the PS5 reveal it's still being outpaced by the PS4. Then again, a slimmer PS5 that performs just as well will make manufacturing and shipping out more units faster, which could help solve the problem.

We'll have to wait and see what else will come of these latest revelations, but we shouldn't expect official news anytime so soon after Sony revealed the PSVR 2's pricing and release date.