A new Sony PlayStation handheld machine using AMD technology is in the early stages of development and will also be compatible with PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 games. The Japanese company is apparently planning to re-enter the handheld market with new hardware, Moore's Law Dead reports in a new YouTube video.
The console will feature a custom AMDAPU and is currently in the advanced design stage, meaning it's at least two years away and has yet to be cleared for release.
The specifications of this new PlayStation handheld have not yet been confirmed, but it is speculated that it will likely use 18 CUs to maintain compatibility with all PlayStation 4 games on the PlayStation Store. In addition, the game console will also be compatible with PlayStation 5 games, but developers must patch the games to make them run properly on the handheld console. Due to the PlayStation 5's variable clock speed, the new system's GPU may run at 1.8GHz or lower.
The development process for the new PlayStation handheld console may only take two years, but if approved, it may take longer to see its release as the console is likely to be part of the PlayStation 6 family.
While a new PlayStation handheld may sound unlikely, the market has changed a lot since the days of the PlayStation Vita. The Nintendo Switch, SteamDeck, and all other similar systems are proof that there's a demand for similar devices, so it's no surprise that Sony would come up with a system that's much better than the Vita.