Sony released a new version of its wildly popular PlayStation 5 console late last year, which promises to shave off a few grams while reducing its TV cabinet footprint.

The original was a bulky beast of a console, even compared with Microsoft’s chunky Xbox Series X, and received a fair amount of criticism for looking more like a router than a gaming machine. The PlayStation 5 Slim goes some way to addressing the issue while maintaining the aesthetics of the original.

It is about 30% smaller and up to 24% lighter than the 2020 model, and now includes the option of a removable disc drive, which allows the footprint to be reduced even further.

When taking the revised console apart, Sam Goldheart at iFixit noted that it is “built to be opened”. The side panels are all removable by the consumer, which makes it easier to carry out minor repairs at home and expand the internal storage if desired. The interior sides of the panels are also labelled with PlayStation’s iconic symbols – triangle, square...