With all the past talk/rumors about PS4k and a full 4k PS4 console, as well as PS stating there will be no more PS4 consoles for a "substantial period of time", plus some of the "odd" Pro hardware details, along with "PS5" predictions for 2018, could the PS4k (PS4k Pro, PS4 Pro 4k) still be on the way?
One thing that seems a little bit odd about Pro is the power supply size. Most of the info on the net says the OG PS4's had a 230w-250w PSU, yet only pulled a max of 150w when gaming. PS4 (Slim) has a 165w PSU, yet only pulls a max of 90w when gaming. Pro has a 310w PSU, but only uses a max of 160w when gaming in "4k". Why overbuild the power supply so much so on the Pro, when clearly a smaller power supply would have worked? (Maybe the larger power supply was necessary if they decided to go with the rumored, more powerful version of the Neo instead...?)
Could the PS4k rumors early in 2016 have actually been the next console iteration after the Pro? The more powerful Neo with a 4k BD drive?
I believe PS could potentially make a PS4k based on their existing PS4/Pro platform. (Extreme hardware/tech savvy individuals feel free to explain why this isn't possible if you know its not)
With Pro it uses the same updated 16nm, 4 core X2 Jaguar CPU (@2.1GHz), but adds another entire PS4 GPU, leading to a 18CU X2 Pitcairn (Polaris) GPU (@911MHz). Why couldn't PS just take the Pro APU, shrink it to "12nm" (or smaller in the near future), and add another PS4 Pitcairn GPU again? This way you would end up with an APU consisting of a 4 core X2 Jaguar CPU (@2.3GHz?), and a 18CU X3 Pitcairn (Polaris) GPU (@900MHz?). This should give you around 6Tflops (6.2?) as well and would also fit in the power envelope needed for a 310w power supply. The Pro shell may potentially need to be made slightly larger to accomodate a bigger heatsink and fan, but no big deal really. (4 cores X3 CPU? 12 GB RAM? I dunno, maybe? It's besides the point)
I realize there would be good reasons to just move on to newer, more powerful and efficient chip designs, but PS has made it very very clear that using the same (older) tech and and similar software is their goal going forward to make things as easy for dev's as possible, becuase it's mostly about the games.
The reason I think this may be the route they take is also becuase this "theory" if you wish to call it that, explains many things. Why the clearly oversized power supply in the Pro console? Why the lack of 4k BD drive? Why the specific mention of no more PS4 upgrades for some time? Why the rumor of a full 4k PS4 console not all that long before the Pro announcement? Why the "PS5" 2018 rumor? Why the "thinner PS4" rumor so soon after a recent slim and Pro launch? Why Scorpio will be at least 6 Tflops? Why the Scorpio rumors of 6.2Tflops at launch? Why did PS hold off on showing Pro at E3?
The more I think about it, the more likely I think it is that PS would like to wait for 7nm before moving on to true, next gen hardware. Since that option may not be available until late 2019/2020, why not launch a fully 4k capable PS4 in late 2018 during the holidays? This would give a full 2 year gap between Pro and PS4k, and a potential 2 year gap until PS5. It would also allow PS to better compete with Scorpio on a hardware/marketing front.
From a strategy point of view it also makes a lot of sense. If PS would have launched the more powerful Neo, PS4k, than XB would have just bumped up the specs of Scorpio and PS would have to wait 3-4 years to have another chance at taking the "performance crown" again. This way, by waiting to show Pro, and seeing what XB had planned for Scorpio, PS would be able to launch a slightly "underpowered" Pro now, but affordable, making XB think PS is weak. Then, let Scorpio launch late 2017, and start leaking PS4k rumors early in 2018, and show it at E3, and take back the crown. (If necessary, since Scorpio may not stifle PS4/Pro sales, in which case a 4k BD drive could just be added to Pro, so forget PS4k and just wait until PS5 around 2019/2020)
I think that could be why Scorpio may turn out to be 6.2Tflops or more like the rumors say, and may also have an updated/upgraded CPU (Excavator/Ryzen) because XB probably knows that PS could just add another GPU again and end up around 6Tflops, and XB does not want to go to all the trouble of screaming "the most powerful console ever made" to simply see that crown ripped away just 6 months later.
Maybe I'm on to something, maybe I'm out to left field. What do you think?