Electronics manufacturer TCL recently attended a conference in Poland to showcase its latest technologies and discuss how they will change in future. While outlining the capabilities of the company’s TVs, which have achieved success around the world, a spokesperson reportedly claimed a ‘PS5 Pro’ and ‘new Xbox Series X/S’ would appear in the 2023-2024 period, revolutionising the needs of television owners.
In a presentation slide, a period known as ‘Gen 9.5’ was outlined. This included the alleged new consoles, and a number of the eye-popping features they could include:
- 2160p/60-120 render (an improvement on the PS5 and Xbox Series X’s 1440p/60-120 render)
- UHD-8k/60-120 output (an improvement on current UHD capabilities)
- RX7700XT GPU (up from RX6700XT GPU)
The context of this slide, and the initial report from Polish tech website PPE, is extremely unclear. As a manufacturer, TCL would certainly have access to information the public is not privy to – but it’s unlikely the company would be able to confirm something as significant as the PS5 Pro or new Xbox Series X/S on its own.
The timelines presented also feel very inaccurate.
The console market is still grappling with major chip shortages that have locked many out of purchasing existing consoles. New, more powerful consoles being available so soon would likely be a major challenge for Sony and Microsoft – both in terms of production, and in effectively destroying the sales potential of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles.
If you haven’t been able to purchase either, wouldn’t you wait and spend a little more on a console with better, more future-ready features?
The TCL timeline appears to be based on precedent, with the PS4 Pro and Xbox One S/X launching four years after the original iterations of their consoles. To assume the same for the modern generation is to forget the global circumstances involved (manufacturing delays, chip shortages, shipping woes), and that technology advances don’t typically follow a linear, repeatable path.
Four years is a nice assumption for Gen 9.5 – but not at all realistic.
While the TCL presentation looks promising, it appears to be speculation for now. There’s certainly a chance it has access to information we don’t – but for now, it does appear the company is simply looking to the future and outlining potential change that may impact the TV market shortly.
Should the existence of the PS5 Pro or a new Xbox Series X/S prove to be real, expect news to come from official Sony or Microsoft sources – and well into the future.
