I prefer they follow this gen's model. Make the launch as simple as possible with just one model. Then, 3 years later you can launch a Pro version that can be priced the same as the launch model was, basically just doubling up on the GPU. If they do it at launch it will be really expensive and not be the 1/3 step the Pro was, instead being more like a 1/6th to next gen. You also can't implement some features from the newer GPUs coming out 3-4 years from now.

I'm not against it. But usually I rarely buy any consoles at launch so doesn't really affect me for the time being.

I'm going to say that this is nothing new. Multiple models have been offered since the PS3 days. I will also say that for those of you who think this means there won't be a mid-gen upgrade, don't count on it. If Sony can get early adopters and the first 20 million customers or so to double down for slightly enhanced tweaks they certainly will.

With this logic, maybe they should just release the PS5 and PS6 at the same time. The point of a mid-gen upgrade is because a console becomes less powerful relative to current tech as time goes on. The PS4 Pro would not have been reasonable at the time the PS4 launched.

It would be a huge mistake IMO. It makes some sense logically to offer a more powerful system for those who want it, but the problem is it will instantly be labeled as the better system and it will be like the PS3 price issue all over again (although this time without all the other hindrances like Cell being hard to develop for).

If the console makers are going to do the whole Pro model, do it mid-gen or 3 years down the road where the hardware in the PC market evolves enough to offer better performance on the GPU side, at a price to manufacture similar to the original manufacturing cost of the original model at launch.

The Pro consoles are going to be less necessary since the current consoles were CPU bound, but the leap in GPU performance allowed for performance mode. The new consoles will have CPUs that don't limit fps and therefore the Pro consoles will only benefit from higher resolutions in most games, and maybe mid/high in 3rd party games vs. high/ultra for the Pro consoles.

Even the strongest consoles are weak, why gimp it further with a weaker model. That aside, I do not believe Sony will release two together, at most you will get a Pro model later down the line.

Agreed hate dealing with having to sell my console online or god help craigslist. Just let me buy pro from the start and not have to worry about it anymore.

Consoles have semi traditionally been a single spec through the generation, but there are plenty of examples of that not being the case as well. More recently, having multiple sku's has become the norm. With PS Vita you had the Wifi and 3G model, 3DS had the base and New 3DS, with PS4 we had the Base and Pro, XBO had Base, S, and X, and now Switch has the Base and the Lite (and likely more to come).

Industries change over time. Look at the iPhone as a recent example. It started off as a single spec device, then they slowly launched more and more options. Now we have 3 iPhones launching simultaneously. This has only happened over a 12 year period. Consoles been playing with multiple offerings for almsot a decade now, going back to DS. Consumers are a lot smarter than people want to give them credit for. They can tell what iPhone or Galaxy model is right for them by watching YouTube or looking at model in the store, or just good old fashion research online. These people will be perfectly capable of discoverying what PS5 is right for them. 

TV's don't have publicized generations, but there is a lot more to the cycle than yearly updates. If you watch TV's closely, most manufactures have a good 3 - 5 year life cycle where it is mostly iteration on the same thing. With so many competitors each gen is not as clear cut as in consoles, but they actually follow a very similar pattern to consoles. The sheer volume of TV's a range could be simulated with the consoles as well. The Base PS5 could come with a 1TB SSD for $499.99, 2TB for $599.99, and 4TB for $699.99, while the PS5 Pro comes with 2TB for $999.99, 4TB for $1,099.99, or 8TB for $1,299.99.  

I'm only going off the idea that they are launching a Base and a Pro, and will keep it simple at launch, but their is no reason they couldn't do the multiple SSD sizes, especially if the SSD is non user changable. My overall proposal doesn't stop at just 2 options though. I do believe that as the generation progresses, and 5nm and 3nm fabrication becomes available that new high end models should be offered while the low end models take advanatage of the shrink to drop in price. 

At a simple level of 3 SKU's by 2023, I would look at something like PS5 Base $399.99 (Dynamic Resolution and Frame Rates upto 4K/60), PS5 Pro $699.99 (4K/60 in every title), PS5 Platinum $999.99 (Dynamic Resolution and Frame Rates upto 8K/120). Then moving to 2026 and 3nm, you would have the Base PS5 at $299.99, Pro at $499.99, Platinum at $699.99, and PS5 FE (Final Edition) $999.99 (Native 8K/60 or 4K/120 on most titles). That would give a good amount of options depending on what supporting tech the consumer has. Someone with a 4K TV should never even be considering a Platinum or Final Edition, and someone with an 8K TV should have no interest in a Base or Pro model. If an 8K TV guy doesn't care about 8K gaming though, and a Pro with 4K/60 will do the trick, then they can grab that PS5 Pro for $499.99 in 2026 to go with their new 8K TV. Then you have the kid getting the old family 1080p Family Room TV while the Family room gets a new $400 4K Model, and that kid can look forward to a $299.99 PS5 Base model for their birthday or christmas.

I don't know what to say about the lack of vision for a market of people wanting a $999.99 Ethusiast level gaming console. I guess it might sound crazy right now, but who thought there would be a market for a $999.99 Phone 10 years ago, or who thinks there is a market for a $3,000 Walkman right now? There are billions of people out there. It only takes a few million to make a successful high profit margin, enthusiast level product. Tie it in with something that already has the OS, Software, and R&D covered, and it is no more than free money from those willing to pay.

With the US China tariffs, now may be a useful time to try this regardless. I can't remember if I read PS is contemplating, or is in talks to move American PS5 production to another country where it won't have to deal with tariffs, but if PS5 was going to be $499, and now has to be considerably more, they could very well make that model the $599 version. While they may have to add some value on top of the tariffs to get it to $600, that's probably better than leaving it as is and charging say $549-$579.
Then they could also sell a stripped down version for $399, which would basically be another upgrade over the PS4 Pro, but with a much stronger CPU, along with a stronger GPU, equivalent to XB1X's, if not better. This in a way would make sense, because then the PS line up would better match the XB line up in terms of performance, even if there is a lower end, XB1X ish level mid tier Scarlett model coming.
PS has proven they can far outsell XB at higher pricing, even though PS4 is more capable than XB1S, so a base PS5 should easily be able to compete with similar pricing to XB1X, while having similar specs. Even if the base PS5 was slightly more capable, but $50 more, assuming XB1X/low end Scarlett was $349 by then, it shouldn't be much of a problem for PS.
This also should allow for PS5 'Pro', or whatever they call it, to be 'most powerful console ever created', considering it's unlikely that the typical/high end Scarlett will be more than $499, even if MS has to downgrade it somewhat to get it there.

While I'd guess less successful, maybe instead of $399, the stripped down version is $499 and isn't all that much different than the $599 version, like storage level differences as per usual, which could be used to try and upsell consumers, considering $499 is basically expected anyway. Was PS3 pricing just 14 years too early?

There's plenty of possibilities if they decide to go with two models. I think some could definitely work, but the marketing and messaging will be key to success if attempted.

Either this, or the base model would only be around PS4 Pro in performance (although with much better CPU performance).

Also, I'd say HDD or SSD, no hybrid SSD. An Hybrid SSD would be almost as fast as an SSD if set up correctly (especially if the SSD were to be connected by SATA), but could have much more storage space for the same price.