So, you’ve probably seen the reviews of the PlayStation 5 Pro. I haven’t had my unit long enough yet to cause a complete, critical failure, but I’ve had enough time with the expensive new kit to figure out my initial feelings about it. And it’s pretty simple to summarize: Sony is weird.

There are so many things I love about this console – Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth plays like a dream and almost feels like a brand new game, for example – but then there are some confusing elements in the design decisions that leave me wondering if this whole mid-gen refresh was a last minute decision, rather than a tumultuous affair. a well thought out and executed strategy.

I’ve tried to list my biggest surprises in a list below, and I’ve even put together a little summary of the “early days” of my experience with the console for you at the bottom of the page (skip to that if you are interested). after a TL;DR, basically).

PlayStation’s data transfer solution for console-to-console setups is still atrocious

The last time I experimented with exporting data from one PlayStation console to another was with the PS4 At PS4 Pro. I decided against doing this for the PS4 Pro to the PS5 because, honestly, my experience the first time around was so bad that I opted to just flush my internet connection and download everything “fresh” to my PS5 commercial.

This time, however, I just wanted to get back and play – export my PS5 settings, save data, and existing games, and get started ASAP. No dice. After plugging in both consoles, connecting them via a wired connection to my router, and navigating the strange UI that Sony throws at you to get started, I spent a good 45 minutes figuring out why my base PS5 wouldn’t start transfer data. This seemed to be because my DualSense wasn’t fully up to date (yes, really).

Once this particular difficulty was resolved, I began transferring my files from one machine to another. Any hope I had of using my Pro from day one evaporated instantly as it told me it would take me around 20 hours to move less than 600GB of data. For what? I have a fiber optic internet connection, running over a wired LAN setup, and I know I can get close to 100MB/s when plugged in (80MB/s over WiFi).

I know downloads on the PS Store are chronic – especially compared to how quickly I got, say, Black Ops 6 run on my X Series. But I was stunned to see that it would take the better part of a day to move games like this. I’m surprised it hasn’t improved since the days of the PS4; in fact, I think it could be worse.

There’s no way to know which PS5 Pro games have been enhanced from the library

That’s right, I could be wrong here, but there seems to be no way to immediately identify which games in my library have Pro enhancements. For a console whose only selling point is “your games will work better here”, this is confusing. There are more than 50 games which have benefited from updates, so far: tell me what it is!? Even the Xbox Series X/S has a nice little label on which games in the library are X Enhanced. That’s a very, very low bar.

Now, I work in the industry, so I’ve internalized which games get performance-enhancing patches and when they arrive (because no, they weren’t all made for the PS5 Pro release date – n ‘isn’t it?) it’s true, Gran Turismo 7?) The layman will not be aware of this; I expect people will just want to boot up their console and play, and there’s no way to determine which games have received a bit of tinkering and polishing from your own catalog, which is particularly confusing since many games will works best without needing a patch, but Pro patches are necessary to get the most out of the console’s power.

I had to resort to the Store. Go figure. Navigating the special tabs in the PS Store app tells me which games will be optimized on the new hardware, but there’s no clear, obvious indication of that in your own collection. Myself and three other members of VG247 have been looking for something that helps you identify this, but to no avail. It’s an easy fix, of course, but it’s a very surprising oversight. You may even remember that when the PS5 launched, there was also no way to know which version (native/backward compatibility) you had installed, and it seems Sony didn’t learn that.

Front USB slots are both USB-C, no USB-A

The standard PS5 console – both discless and disc drive – has a USB-C port and a USB-A port on the front. This is handy for headphone adapters, inserting a USB drive to transfer screens, adding USB drives, or charging your devices.

The PS5 Pro only has USB-C on the front. That’s not a bad thing in itself, and the DualSense in the box comes with a USB-C to USB-C cable (rather than the A to C one in the vanilla PS5 box), but it’s worth it. think about whether you don’t like having to fart behind the device to insert a USB stick.

Oh, and just to make things a little more confusing, one of the C ports supports the slower HighSpeed ​​standard (rather than SuperSpeed ​​10GB/S). So, ditching USB-A just seems… ill-advised?

It works better with PS Portal than with base PS5

This one is more anecdotal since I didn’t have time to do any tests. But you saw above how good my internet connection is (thanks London). Previously, using the PS portal in my office – right above the router and where the PS5 is plugged in – it was a breeze. Sometimes it would be flawless, sometimes it would happen horribly, sometimes the connection would be completely broken. No idea why; I did everything in the Sony FAQ to fix it, but the portal was finicky at best.

Last night I had about two hours of solid Ancient Ring play from the portal without any buffering, quality loss, lag or tearing. What? Is this due to the Pro’s use of Wi-Fi 7? It probably doesn’t matter in my case, since the Pro is hardwired. I’m not complaining! I will I’ll use my portal a lot more now if that’s the advantage.

It still doesn’t automatically detect a wired connection

By the way, don’t expect the PS5 Pro know when there is an Ethernet cable stuck in its rear end. Another frankly confusing piece of product design is that the Pro – like the Vanilla 5 before it – can’t automatically detect when it’s running on a wired connection. If you switch from WiFi to wired (which I do, because I need my PS5 in my office a lot), you have to manually go in and hit that switch yourself. Keep this in mind if you’re wondering why download speeds are more dismal than usual.

The vertical stand is not as high-end a kit as expected for £25

Small complaint, but hey, it’s worth saying. It’s a meme at this point that everything on the PS5 Pro “is sold separately”, but given that the machine is already 265% more expensive than a PS5 Slim, consumers have a right to be a little miffed about the fact that they have to pay more simply use the console as directed by the manufacturer. After unboxing and attaching the base, I have to say that it’s not as secure or sturdy as one might expect; you screw it manually to the bottom of the console, and it still feels like there’s a bit of flex and give. It stands up fine, but I feel like it would break under a little pressure.

Like I said, I move my console from room to room almost every week, and a stand like this feels so cheap… it doesn’t really give me confidence.

For a machine priced at £700, I’m a little surprised by the obstacles and challenges I encountered setting it up and using it in the first few days of owning it. I’m knowledgeable about consoles and technology – I do this all day, every day – so I’ve managed to figure out and solve a lot of these issues myself. But I think the average consumer will be a little blindsided by all of this, to be honest. We’re a long way from being able to just get something working “out of the box.”

That said, I’ve had a good time with the software side so far. I can’t get over Rebirth. Even Elden Ring seems right more pleasant play. I restarted Bloodborne and wasted a few hours just ogling everything and enjoying the fast loading times. I will use my portal more 100% from now on, thanks to the magic that made it possible to “talk” to the machine better.

It’s always a shame when small but important features are locked behind a £700 paywall. I can’t wait to run Wild Monster Hunters on this machine – I imagine the performance boost it will offer to Capcom’s RE Engine will be significant (and I’m sour that I haven’t had a chance to try the most recent beta version of the Pro) .

I think I will enjoy using this machine as the initial issues are ironed out. I just wish Sony would put the same thought and intentionality into their UI and software design as they do into their hardware.

Stay tuned for more PS5 Pro coverage from us soon, including a breakdown of the impressive 8K display capability.