If you're struggling to manage the PS5's storage capacity, there's good news.
Bloomberg reports that Sony will enable SSD expansion for the console this summer. Hopefully, this means you won't have to rely on the fast but cramped internal 825GB storage.
The PS5's internal SSD only has 667GB of usable space out of the aforementioned 825GB and will fill up quickly if not careful. Therefore, as more games are released on the PS5, the ability to expand storage will be invaluable to gamers.
The PS5 has been equipped with a spare M.2 expansion slot since day one. As such, there is already space under the faceplate for additional SSDs. The problem is that Sony has not yet enabled this feature, making the additional drive completely useless.
You can connect an external USB drive to the PS5, but you can only play PS4 games. This is especially useful for saving space when playing titles that require more than 100 GB of storage (such as "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare").
Sony has already confirmed that SSD expansion will be part of a future PS5 firmware update, but now we have more details; Bloomberg reports that the PS5's cooling fans will also speed up, not to mention a summer launch.
That makes sense, since PS5 games will only run on SDD, which is as fast or faster than the console's internal drive, and will generate significant heat.
A Sony spokesperson did not comment on the summer rollout when asked by Bloomberg. Instead, they simply confirmed that the PS5 will be able to expand its M.2 storage at some unspecified point in the near future. Still, if Bloomberg's sources are correct, it won't be long before Sony introduces an SSD upgrade process.
Unfortunately, the fact that a release date has been set is only half the story. Sony still needs to announce what types of third-party SSDs will be compatible with the PS5, which companies will develop them, and how much they will cost.
Hopefully, this will not end up like the Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S. Microsoft's game consoles already allow for SSD storage expansion, but only through their own "expansion cards" that cost $220. As far as we know, Seagate is the only company that manufactures these cards, and it is unlikely that several companies will try to undercut each other on price.
From what we have seen, it does not appear that PS5 is adopting its own design or ceding the task of expansion to a single third party. In other words, as time goes on and more PS5 compatible drives hit store shelves, the price should gradually drop.
First, however, the drives must be made available, and it is not yet clear why Sony did not make this feature available from day one. Still, it won't be long now, provided they can find a place to purchase the PS5.
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