Leaks about the upcoming PlayStation 6 handheld have circulated for some time, including details about a Canis APU reportedly built with Zen 6 LP cores. Despite these leaks, no official pricing has emerged for the handheld, even as bill-of-materials estimates have surfaced for the PS6 home console.
According to hardware leaker Kepler_L2, posting on the NeoGAF forums, a $600 price point for the PS6 handheld is 'definitely not possible right now.' The leaker attributed this to LPDDR memory price increases, explaining that LPDDR memory is seeing the biggest price increases because it is being used heavily in datacenter products.
Both TechPowerUp and Wccftech note that the broader memory and storage market crisis has already pushed prices for powerful PC gaming handhelds well above $1,000. TechPowerUp points out that even Valve's Steam Deck was affected, with its base model price rising to $789. Wccftech adds that under current market conditions, the PlayStation 6 and Xbox's rumored Project Helix are positioned to become the most expensive gaming systems ever released, making an affordable PS6 handheld an important potential entry point for Sony into the next console generation.
On the current-generation side, Wccftech reports that Kepler_L2 does not expect another near-term price increase for the PlayStation 5, despite GDDR6 price hikes forcing AMD to raise prices on its Radeon RX 9000 GPU series. The leaker cited a comment from Sony's CFO indicating the company secured enough memory supply for 2026 sales, unlike AMD, which reportedly buys memory only a quarter ahead. Still, Kepler_L2 cautioned that RAM prices are fluctuating significantly and that it's unclear how favorable Sony's supply contract is, suggesting the company is likely selling near cost.
Wccftech reports that to avoid future price hikes on hardware, Sony may instead look to increase prices for games and PlayStation Plus subscriptions, a move that could further affect public perception of the company, especially as disc production is set to end by 2028. The outlet also cites Alinea Analytics, which suggests that if next-generation systems end up priced at $1,000 or more, it could drive away four in ten potential buyers. Given these constraints, Wccftech suggests the industry could be heading toward the longest cross-generation period on record.