PS4 Slim PlayStation 4

Let's get one thing straight: there's going to be a revised PlayStation 4 model eventually. Like the passing of time, it's inevitable that Sony will slim down its super machine in order to encourage early adopters to darn well double dip like puppets. We've already seen some fake photos of what this could look like, but Netflix reckons that the revamp is right around the corner. Chalk this one up as 'unlikely', won't you?

According to a Huffington Post report, Neil Hunt – who's a big wig at the video streaming organisation – apparently said that the Japanese manufacturer has "promised" a hardware revision that will be fully 4K friendly this Fall. However, as far as we're aware, the console in its current guise is already capable of outputting photos and videos in the ultra high-definition resolution – or at least it will be with a firmware update.

Worldwide Studios president Shuhei Yoshida said on the subject a couple of years ago: "The official answer is that the PS4 supports 4K output, but for personal contents, like photos or videos. Not games." This is, of course, because, while it's a beefy piece of hardware, it would need a substantial specifications upgrade to cope with the rendering target. If you consider that titles like Assassin's Creed Unity currently struggle to hit 900p, quadrupling that sounds crazy.

As a consequence, we're not entirely sure what Hunt's getting at, but we're guessing that it's all a big misunderstanding. Netflix has said that it can't "speak definitively" on Sony's plans, but that it does believe that the platform holder will do a "two year" console refresh. This could, we suppose, be as simple as throwing in some extra components to help with 4K playback – something that the consumer may never notice.

When contacted about the matter, the manufacturer simply told Forbes: "Support for high-resolution 4K output for still images and movie content is in consideration, but there are no further details to share at this time." This more or less mimics what Yoshida said in 2013. Obviously, it's in the firm's best interests to push UHD adoption, as it still wants to sell TVs – but if this is a hint at some imminent hardware revision, it's a pretty loose one right now.

[source huffingtonpost.co.uk, via forbes.com, uk.ign.com]