Might Sony go with a two-SKU strategy next-gen (like Microsoft did with Series S)?

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Pemalite said:

I think Microsoft's approach is to build a "series" of consoles with regular hardware updates.

The Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X released on TSMC's "7nm" process.
We are pushing 5nm in the GPU space now and TSMC's 3nm is starting to pick up traction.

Microsoft and Sony also pushed out clockrates a little harder which tends to have a corresponding increase to power consumption... A more balanced chip would likely remove much of that.

I think in a year or two, a PRO console is more than justifiable... Even with technology of today we can already expect a 50% performance improvement on most aspects.

As for the architecture/compatibility issue...

Microsoft went from Graphics Core Next 1.0 to Graphics Core Next 4.0 with the Xbox One > One X and never broke backwards compatibility... And they were chalk-and-cheese in terms of core design.
Sony and Microsoft also went from GCN to RDNA 2 which is a larger leap than RDNA 2 to RDNA 3 and never broke backwards compatability.

Microsoft and Sony are employing monolithic OS's, drivers and kernels that smooth over discrepancies in hardware which makes it all a non-issue... Their focus is to be able to move everything forwards with new hardware.

I agree with Microsoft's naming convention suggesting a series of consoles with updates.  The question is at what cadence, and whether they designed to be "pro" consoles of what came before, or a new generation each time (or perhaps whether they'll even alternate between those extremes).  The span in between, and what past console iterations that developers are required to support, will tell the tale.

As for pro consoles being justified, it's a question of two things IMO: is there a market for it (as there was for 4K-focused mid-gen refreshes last-gen), and can it be done economically.  Those 5 and 3 nm processes you speak of, Microsoft has signalled that they'll reduce heat and size, but not reduce cost as those processes are expected to cost enough more that the increase in yields will at best compensate.  Time will tell if Microsoft is proven correct, but at this point they're not anticipating big cost reductions in Series X|S and PS5.  That makes a "pro" console that can be offered at a cost that drives market acceptance hard to come up with, if that prediction holds true.

As for those upgrades not breaking backwards compatibility, that was done in part through emulation of elements of past platforms.  Even Xbox One on Xbox Series has an emulation layer, from what I understand.  So Microsoft either needs a fully backwards compatible architecture, or a big enough power bump each time to emulate as necessary.