Rumor: PlayStation 5’s New Low Energy Mode to Reduce Performance and Hint at Upcoming Handheld System
Now, here’s a weird little tease from Sony — a hint that something handheld might be on the way.
The PlayStation 5 SDK is about to get a fresh update, and it includes a new low energy mode. Why does this matter? Because it’s not just a tweak for efficiency; it’s jazzing up speculation about a potential handheld device. Moore’s Law is Dead reports that Sony’s giving developers some documentation and a new system flag for a low power mode on both the PlayStation 5 and the PS5 Pro. This new mode isn’t just a minor tweak — it’s a third performance profile, sitting alongside the existing base and Trinity modes for the Pro. It comes with a hefty list of limitations, designed to cut back on power draw while still keeping most of the big features intact.
Limitations include capping systems at eight threads, dialing down 3D Audio to 75%, slashing GPU core clocks by about 10-20%, and cutting GDDR6 memory bandwidth in half. They also restrict systems to 36 compute units and drop PSSR and VR support. The idea? Knock power consumption down by 20-30%, without totally gutting the console’s core capabilities or breaking compatibility. Strangely enough, the documentation also nudges developers to prioritize VRR support, which hints at a focus on smooth visuals — maybe for a handheld?
But here’s the kicker: reducing power consumption probably isn’t *the* main goal. Moore’s Law is Dead suggests that this new flag might be less about saving energy and more about prepping for a handheld — a device that we’ve all been hearing rumors about for a while now. And an AMD leaker named Kepler L2 seems to agree. He points out that this profile probably mimics what a handheld APU’s performance would look like, especially since memory bandwidth — a weak spot of that chip — is being specifically limited here.
Oh this is 100% an emulated performance profile for the Handheld, since the biggest weakness of that APU is memory bandwidth and this profile is reducing PS5 bandwidth in half as you said.
Right now, the new low energy mode isn’t mandatory for devs. But the timing — along with the history of similar features — suggests Sony’s laying some groundwork. Remember how Trinity Mode was introduced about a year before the PS5 Pro launched, and then made mandatory a few months later? If trend holds, we might see something similar happening soon. Rumors have been swirling that Sony plans to launch the PS6 along with a handheld console, which kinda makes sense as they edge closer to that next-gen release. It’s almost like they’re quietly testing the waters for a new kind of portable PlayStation — and this energy-saving profile could be the first step in that direction.