Sony says PS4 updates will be part of event; we'll probably see the 4K-capable Neo.
Sony's upcoming 4K-capable PlayStation 4 Neo console looks set for a September reveal. The company has began sending out invites to a "PlayStation" meeting taking place in The PlayStation Theatre, New York on September 7 at 3pm (8pm UK time). It has also confirmed that updates on the PS4 and the PlayStation business are part of the event.

The invite follows several reports that Sony would unveil Neo in September, with French gaming website Gameblog even nailing down the exact date earlier this week. While Sony's Andrew House confirmed the existence of the console to the Financial Times in June, it has yet to detail any of its specifications, or what sort of performance players can expect from its upgraded hardware.

That said, an earlier report from gaming website GiantBomb—which was corroborated by several other publications—detailed the specifications of the console, which included a boost in CPU clock speed, more and faster GPU res, and increased memory bandwidth. All is said to be based on AMD's technology, which is used in the current PS4.

ORIGINAL PS4 NEO
CPU 8 Jaguar Cores @ 1.6GHz 8 Jaguar Cores @ 2.1GHz
GPU AMD GCN, 18 CUs @ 800MHz Improved AMD GCN, 36 CUs @ 911MHz
Memory 8GB GDDR5, 176GB/s 8GB GDDR5, 218GB/s


While the PS4 Neo will allow developers to create games that run at 4K resolution, or at 1080p with improved textures, effects, and the like, they would be required to ensure their games ran on the existing PS4 consoles too, according earlier reports. There's no indication as to whether Neo will sport a 4K Blu-ray drive like Microsoft's recently released Xbox One S, but given the company's movie ties and the 4K-capable hardware, it's highly likely.

The timing of the PS4 Neo reveal is odd given that Sony is due to release its highly anticipated PlayStation VR headset in October, which is designed to work with the existing PS4. That said, Microsoft's unexpected early reveal of its Project Scorpio console at this year's E3, complete with specs, as well as the release of the Xbox One S may have spurred Sony into action.