Playstation 5 digital edition review, unboxing and price

The PS5 lineup now comes in three flavors: the standard disc-based console, the Digital Edition, and the higher-end PS5 Pro. We’ve laid out what actually separates them, what each one costs, and which one makes sense depending on how you play.

Which model should you pick?

As of Sony’s April 2026 price update, the standard PS5 costs $649.99 and the Digital Edition costs $599.99. The standard console has a disc drive for physical game discs and can also play 4K Blu-rays; the Digital Edition skips the disc drive entirely, so every game you own has to be downloaded. That’s still the core difference between the two.

The $50 you save by going digital is tempting, but there are real reasons to consider the disc version. Physical game prices tend to drop faster than digital ones once a game’s been out for a while, you can play your old PS4 discs on it, and you can resell physical PS5 discs once you’re done with them — something you can’t do with digital purchases. On top of that, there’s the ability to watch 4K Blu-rays, which the Digital Edition can’t do at all.

Where the PS5 Pro fits in

The PS5 Pro sits above both at $899.99. It’s a digital-only console (2TB storage) built for people who want the best possible visuals and frame rates on supported games — think steadier 4K/60 performance and better ray tracing than the base PS5 can manage. If you’re not chasing the highest possible fidelity, or you’re on a budget, the standard PS5 or Digital Edition still deliver the full PS5 game library without the premium price tag.

Should you go digital-only?

The Digital Edition works well if you’re already comfortable buying everything through the PlayStation Store and don’t have a backlog of PS4 discs to bring forward. If you don’t already own a PlayStation 4, a PlayStation Plus subscription is worth factoring into your decision too — it gives you access to a rotating library of PS4 and PS5 titles as part of your membership, on top of whatever you buy outright.

Whichever console you land on, our list of must-have PS5 games is a good next stop, and if you want something to fill the gaps between games, the PS5 also supports PlayStation VR2 for a completely different kind of immersive gaming experience.