Pro/Slim differences and changes from the standard PS4.

Pro

- Improved graphics. All games made after the release of the Pro will have to support it. It's up to the developers to decide what they want. This Includes support for 4k mode, 1080 @ 60fps, 1080 with denser or more detailed assets, HDR mode and so on. Some games allow you to select what you would prefer (Tomb Raider) while others have only minor improvements (Overwatch's higher resolution HUD). Online games have to be normalised to standard/slim capabilities. For example to prevent Pro users getting 60fps online and having an advantage over standard/slim users getting 30fps. Some games dodge this by aiming for 60fps on standard/slim hardware and rarely reaching it, while the Pro can easily have solid 60fps (Battlefield 1). If a game has both online and singleplayer modes then the singleplayer mode can still use the Pros hardware to the full extent. Games released before launch of the Pro have to be patched to support the improved hardware and not all games will receive this patch.

- 5ghz wifi vs 2.4ghz in the standard PS4. Allows for 1080 remote play and better online play/downloads. Using a wired connection is still preferred though, even with ethernet over power.

- SATA3 support. Pro can fully utilise SSD's. However some games appear to throttle load speeds, especially those made prior to release of the Pro. Other games can load 2-3+ times as quickly. The stock drive that comes with the Pro is a shitty 5400rpm drive, so you will see some improvement going to a 7200rpm drive, or hybrid SDD if you have one.

- Share video captures are now in 1080 @ 30fps. Still captures up to 4k.

- Single rear USB as well as the two front ones.

- Generally quieter than a standard PS4. Clean dust out regularly otherwise it will get noisy though.

- Power draw is about 25% more than the standard PS4 and almost double that of the slim.

- Physical power/eject buttons. Standard PS4 had issues with the touch buttons malfunctioning

- Retains optical audio output.

- Can stream 4k media.

- Cannot play 4k blurays.

- Looks like a  club sandwich.



Slim

- Much lower power draw at 165W. Pro draws 310W and the standard 250W.

- Runs cooler and quieter as a result. Again, keep it clean. The fans will still go nuts if they are full of dust.

- Also has 5ghz wifi vs 2.4ghz for the standard PS4.

- SATA2. You can put a hybrid or SSD in but you would only get about 20% better load times at best, save your money.

- Share captures are the same as the standard PS4. 720 @ 30fps for video, 1080 for stills.

- Physical power/eject buttons.

- No optical audio output.

- Lots of space around the USB ports. Pro has a very tight fit and if you have a USB drive that's even slightly wider than the male jack it probably won't fit.

- Cannot stream 4k media.

- Essentially the same as the standard PS4 otherwise. Just smaller.




About HDR. From firmware v4.00 onwards the Slim, Pro and standard PS4's will all support HDR. However there have been issues with some TVs having input lag so severe with HDR enabled that it becomes unplayable. Other HDR capable TVs are not recognised as such by the PS4. This is more applicable to buying a TV though, since all PS4's have HDR. Various streaming services are working to bring HDR support to all platforms as well and input lag is not a problem if you are just watching media.

Only the launch standard models had touch sensitive power/eject buttons. Later versions have physical buttons.