Sony has changed the PS5 Slim again, and according to Austin Evans' new video, it did so without giving buyers an easy way to tell. Evans imported a newer unit from Ireland to find out what is different. His title calls it slightly better; in the video, he finds the two consoles nearly identical apart from one practical change. If you are about to buy a PS5 Slim, here is what changed, what didn't, and how much it should matter to you.
What changed: the battery
The visible difference is small but useful. The revised console has a door for the CMOS battery, the small coin cell that keeps the console's clock and settings when it is unplugged. On the earlier Slim, Evans says, replacing that battery means taking almost the whole console apart. The PS5 Pro already had a top access door for it, and this revision brings the same idea to the Slim.
The change continues inside. In his teardown of both consoles, Evans finds that the battery's soldered pad on the motherboard has been replaced with a two-pin cable connector that runs to the new hatch. He also notes a difference in how much liquid metal is used on the processor.
What didn't change: power and performance
The rest is close to identical. Evans measured power draw on both consoles running Astro's Playroom and got the same figure, about 237 watts each. On the scales, the two consoles are within a few grams of each other, a rounding error in your hands.
He admits that is a slight letdown. Before testing, he says, it would have been disappointing if moving the battery were the only change, and apart from the liquid metal, that is mostly what he found. There is no sign in his testing of better efficiency or performance.
Why it is hard to know which one you are buying
This is the real story for buyers. Sony did not announce the change. Evans' video description says it was made without changing the model number, though the codes printed on the two boxes he shows, CFI-2115 and CFI-2116, differ by a single digit that few shoppers would notice. He also opens a Wolverine edition PS5 Slim to see which layout it has, because the packaging alone does not make it obvious. He argues that Sony should give hardware revisions distinct model numbers so people know which version they are getting.
He has a point. Earlier PS5 revisions, he notes at the start, have sometimes made the console better and sometimes worse. A buyer who cares about a revision deserves to be able to find it.
Should you hunt for the new one?
Probably not. Evans calls the revision a positive quality-of-life update, and that is the right scale for it. A replaceable battery matters if you keep consoles for many years or repair your own hardware. It makes no difference to how games run. If you find one at the same price, take it; if you already own a Slim, nothing here is a reason to upgrade.
What viewers said
Viewers were amused more than impressed. The most-liked comment joked that the video could have been a YouTube Short, and others teased Evans for buying yet another PS5 to take apart. More practically, a popular comment suggested the battery change may be down to European Union rules pushing manufacturers toward batteries that users can replace, and others said the original PS5 should have been built this way from the start.
From the creators
Watch the video
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