Why the PlayStation 5 Pro at $649 Feels Like the Smartest Holiday Grab This Year

Sony’s PlayStation 5 Pro is being released into a market that is quickly losing its appetite for spending money. Tariffs and supply chain concerns are now forcing electronics prices to surge, with increases of 30% on cellphones and 69% on video game consoles and laptops, according to industry sources. In the midst of all price hike craziness, seeing the PS5 Pro for $648.99, down from $749.99, is a nice sight, especially when everything else in the store is increasing.

The PS5 Pro’s sheer power sets it apart from the original. Game developers can take advantage of a graphics processor with 67% more compute units than the base model, resulting in a 45% overall speed increase. Games like Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 swing across New York, with reflections bouncing off puddles and buildings that look like they’re genuinely moving and breathing under street lights. Ray tracing, the technology that makes shadows and glows appear nearly indistinguishable from real life, is silky smooth and never drops a frame, drawing you further into the scene.

Sony included a 2TB solid state drive, giving you nearly 1.9TB of free space right out of the box – three times more than the basic PS5. These days, games like Horizon Forbidden West may quickly consume hundreds of terabytes of storage space, so not having to worry about expansion is a tremendous relief. With Wi-Fi 7, which is as fast as it gets, all of your large downloads will be finished in no time.

Every PS5 game runs on the PS5 Pro, but what truly sets it apart are the titles that are specifically designed for the upgrade. There are now well over 100 titles with the “PS5 Pro Enhanced” designation, which simply means you get high frame rates and ultra sharp details that the original PS5 couldn’t match. Titles like as Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart move through dimensions at a consistent 60 frames per second in 4k, with colors bursting brighter and motions looking highly precise. Even old favorites like The Last of Us Part II benefit from a slight improvement in clarity, making the frantic chases through overgrown ruins all the more impactful. Sony’s own upscaling engine also does an excellent job of sharpening up every game without blurring the edges, allowing you to see your characters swaying organically and water rippling just so.