PlayStation 5 Pro Unboxing: Sony Sends It in a Bigger Box and Charges Accordingly

I pre-ordered the PS5 Pro through Sony's PlayStation Direct store and received it on launch day. The outer shipping box is larger than the original PS5's — specifically wider and slightly taller. Sony has added graphics to the outer shipping carton this time: a subtle wave pattern in a blue/white gradient rather than the previous plain brown exterior.

Everything in the Box

The PS5 Pro uses a tiered packaging system. Opening the top reveals a cardboard tray that holds:

• PlayStation 5 Pro console — disc drive omitted (same as the slim PS5 that launched in 2023; disc drives are sold separately or as an add-on module)
• DualSense wireless controller — the standard DualSense, not a Pro version. The same haptic feedback and adaptive triggers as the controllers currently bundled with the regular PS5
• Vertical stand — finally included. The original PS5 launch controversially excluded the stand, then Sony included it with the PS5 Slim, and now the Pro continues that policy. The Pro's stand has a slightly revised design with a larger base plate to accommodate the console's slightly different profile
• HDMI 2.1 cable (2 meters) — braided. The original PS5 launched with an unbraided HDMI 2.1 cable that was prone to connector damage with repeated plugging/unplugging. The Pro's braided version is better
• USB-C cable (1 meter) — for controller charging
• USB-C to USB-A adapter
• Power cable — standard IEC C7 figure-8 connector (region-specific plugs not included; standard AC cable)
• Documentation pack — quick start guide, PlayStation Network card with signup QR, regulatory cards

No disc drive. Sony removed optical drives from all current PS5 models following the PS5 Slim's redesign. If you have physical game discs, the separate disc drive add-on ($79) attaches to the side of the console.

No power adapter of any kind, which isn't unusual for a home console — you're plugging directly into the wall with the included power cable.

The Stand Question

Sony's decision to include the vertical stand this time is worth calling out because the original PS5's launch-without-stand was legitimately annoying. The original PS5 physical profile meant it was unstable lying flat without the stand's horizontal adapter piece. The Pro's bottom profile has a small rubber foot system that makes horizontal placement more stable than the original — you could argue this makes the stand less essential — but it's still better to have it included.

The vertical stand for the Pro attaches from the bottom. It locks into two notches in the console's underside and has a screw-in thumbscrew to secure it. Takes about 30 seconds. The wide circular base plate provides good stability; I tested pushing the console laterally and it didn't tip at a moderate nudge.

Hardware First Impressions

The PS5 Pro is visibly different from the original PS5 and PS5 Slim. The side panels have a new line pattern — horizontal ridges at regular intervals — replacing the smooth white curves of the original. This reads as more premium or more busy depending on your aesthetic preferences. The overall footprint is slightly more compact than the original PS5 (the disc-less version is inherently smaller than the disc-equipped model), and the white-and-black color scheme continues.

Weight: 3.0 kg. That's notably heavier than the 2.6 kg PS5 Slim and heavier than many would expect for a disc-less console. The additional weight is from the improved thermal solution — the PS5 Pro uses a redesigned heatsink to handle the Pro's higher-performance GPU.

The console vents are larger than the PS5 Slim's. I ran a game (Ghost of Tsushima Director's Cut, since it has an immediate benchmark mode) for 30 minutes from cold start and measured fan noise: quieter than my original Day 1 PS5 by a noticeable margin, and about the same as my PS5 Slim. The fan profile is better-tuned — it doesn't ramp up as aggressively during loading screens, which was a minor annoyance with the original.

The DualSense Controller

Same DualSense as current production PS5 bundles — the revised version with slightly more textured grip on the back panel that Sony introduced mid-cycle on the original PS5. The adaptive triggers feel the same as any recent DualSense. If you were hoping for a "DualSense Pro" with improved hall effect sticks to reduce drift, that's not included here; it was announced separately and sold as an accessory.

Setup Experience

First boot took about 6 minutes from power-on to playable state: firmware update downloaded (3.4GB), console restarted, signed into PlayStation Network, downloaded a game. If you're transferring from a previous PS5, the console-to-console transfer via LAN cable option is faster than cloud restore — about 45 minutes for 1.8TB of game data, depending on network speed.

The Pro-specific menu items are minimal at first boot: a toggle for Performance Mode vs. Quality Mode appears in the game settings for Pro-enhanced titles, and the PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution setting (Sony's AI upscaling technology, analogous to DLSS or FSR) is accessible per-game. We'll cover performance differences in the full review after testing the full Pro-enhanced game library.

Is the Box Experience Worth $699?

The unboxing experience is better than the original PS5's — the braided HDMI cable, the included stand, and the improved packaging all signal that Sony is positioning this as a premium purchase. Whether the hardware inside delivers the performance improvement to justify $699 over a $549 PS5 Slim requires the full review. From a day-one hands-on: the console is noticeably more compact than people expect given its weight, the fan noise is excellent, and the hardware feels like a premium product.