Hands up if you’re using PS5’s Power Saver mode? We’re not seeing many raised palms.
Sony implemented this feature in a recent firmware update, linking it to its carbon neutral goals. And as we’ve seen from various implementations, enabling it does reduce power consumption considerably, at the expense of some visual quality.
But there’s been a persistent rumour that the feature is being used behind-the-scenes as a “Trojan horse” for its upcoming PS6 handheld, and hardware snoop Moore’s Law Is Dead has once again leaned into that.
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In a new video, he claims to have seen fresh developer documentation which confirms his hypothesis.
One tidbit which he recreated in order to avoid legal intervention shows an example of how the console’s cores should be used in Power Saver mode.
While we’ll leave the complicated technical explanation to MLID, he effectively explains that Sony’s solution matches the leaked specs of the purported portable platform. In other words, Power Saver mode may have the added advantage of saving electricity, but it also appears to scale suspiciously to the manufacturer’s upcoming mobile device.
We’re working with multiple rumours here which does diminish the validity of this story a little bit; while we trust MLID’s sources, both the tech specs being reported and the dev documentation cited here are materials we’ve been unable to corroborate. So keep that in mind.
MLID later goes on to provide further proof in the form of an email from a supposed Sony developer, who reveals a new initiative the platform holder is working on named PlayGo.
This is pitched as a type of alternative to Microsoft’s Smart Delivery, which works by distributing textures and assets based on the console you’re playing on. So, for example, if you’re playing on the PS5 Pro, you’ll receive higher resolution assets than someone on a base PS5.
But what’s of particular note here is that the system also supports PS5’s Power Saver, meaning developers will also have the ability to scale assets to that. As there’s no obvious power saving advantage to this, MLID surmises yet again that this is all just a Trojan horse for the company’s handheld.
To be fair, this does all seem pretty logical to us. As we mentioned at the start of this article, we can’t imagine anyone is using Power Saver mode to reduce actual electricity, so given the amount of resources Sony appears to be putting behind it, there must be an ulterior motive here.
But there are a lot of assumptions and connections between different rumours being made in this video, so that’s worth keeping in mind.
At this point, we do think some kind of handheld device that shares its library with the PS6 is a lock, and now we’re just waiting for official confirmation – and crucially, details on how much it’ll all cost.