PlayStation 5 Could Get an Update to Unlock M.2 Expansion Slot This Summer

PlayStation 5 comes with 667GB of usable storage from the 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD drive that is present in the console.

By Vineet Washington | Updated: 26 February 2021 18:31 IST

PlayStation 5 Could Get an Update to Unlock M.2 Expansion Slot This Summer

Photo Credit: Aneesh Arora

PlayStation 5 allows for expansion through external storage

Highlights

PlayStation 5 may get support for internal storage expansion this summer
PlayStation 5 comes in a disk and disk-less variant
Sony has not shared a timeline for the update

PlayStation 5 may get a firmware update this summer that will unlock its M.2 expansion slot. The console launched in November 2020 with a 1TB super-fast SSD and another empty M.2 slot for expansion but it was software locked. Now, a report states that Sony might release a firmware update this summer that would activate the second M.2 slot and allow users to add more fast storage to the console. While the console comes with a 1TB drive, not all of it is available for use. Given the size of current generation games, this has been a matter of concern to some gamers.

According to a report by The Verge citing Bloomberg, Sony may release a firmware update that would unlock the PlayStation 5's secondary M.2 expansion slot. The PS5 (Review) comes with two storage slots, one of which is equipped with a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSD. While accessing the secondary storage slot is relatively easy, adding storage isn't possible since it is locked and as per an older report by The Verge, Sony had said that feature was “reserved for a future update.”

But, from that 1TB onboard storage space, only 825GB is available, and on top of that, only 667GB is actually usable to store games and media on. With growing game sizes, it wouldn't take too long to fill up the 667GB leaving gamers with the dreaded situation of having to remove old games to install new ones. The ability to just add more storage would be ideal.

The report also mentions that the firmware update will allow the PS5's cooling fan to spin faster to accommodate for the extra heat that will be generated after adding more storage. Also, there will most likely be specific third-party SSDs that will work with the PS5 that would likely have to meet the standard of the onboard SSD. Right now, the PS5 allows for external storage but that cannot be used to run native PS5 games.

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Sony PlayStation 5

REVIEW
KEY SPECS
NEWS

Good
DualSense is great
Very powerful
Reduced loading times
Friendlier storage expansion
Capable of 8K / 120fps
4K Blu-ray player (finally)

Bad
Expensive
Lack of truly next-gen exclusives
Not a generation leap over PS4 Pro at launch
Game prices now go up to Rs. 5,000
Missing next-gen upgrades for PS4 games
No "Quick Resume", as on Xbox Series X
Limited backward compatibility
No support for Dolby Vision, Dolby Atmos
SSD storage amount is restrictive

Read detailed Sony PlayStation 5 review

HDD 825GB PCie Gen 4 NVMe SSD

Processor Custom 8-core AMD Zen 2 CPU @ 3.5GHz with SMT

Graphics Custom AMD RDNA 2 GPU 36 CUs @ 2.23GHz (variable frequency)

RAM 16GB GDDR6

USB 4

Weight 4.5kg

Ethernet Gigabit

More Sony Gaming Consoles

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