Gaming outlets report in last couple of days that Sony filed a patent for a new heat-pipe cooling system that would maintain the same temperature in a future console regardless of its orientation. If it is standing up or lying down. A few days ago, another patent appeared that details a modular controller which can display notifications and allow players to interact with alerts directly on the controller. A previous patent hint teased out a system to deal with the boredom that can sometimes occur while loading a screen earlier in the year.
Both of these stories are basically the same, a patent arises, Sony plugs it into the unrevealed PS6, and the story becomes “next-gen hardware” Sony has not officially confirmed that there is any kind of PS6.
There is a point to be made clear about what a patent is. Is a legal filing that ensures that an idea, or a piece of engineering, is not confirmed as a feature of a product. Companies apply for patents every day, with ideas that may not even go beyond a prototype or even make it to the shipped console. Several of the sources that are reporting on these PS6 patents make this admission in so many words: patents do not necessarily lead to real-world products and many patented technologies do not ever lead to real-world products.
It is well illustrated by the cooling patent. The PS5 already supports vertical and horizontal orientations with a combination of a vapour chamber, heat pipe and a liquid metal thermal interface. The new patent is a sealed heat-pipe system, part of which has been a longstanding gripe of PS5 owners: liquid metal can pool away from critical elements when the console is standing upright for too long.
It is a legitimate & proven problem that needs to be addressed. However, stating a solution in a patent application is much different than saying it will be produced in a console, and it is further removed from saying that the console that it would be produced in is called the PlayStation 6.
The context is also important in this case. Sony has recently announced it will end the production of physical discs, leading to such an assumption that the PS6 will be a digital-only console. There have been months-long rumors of a 2027 launch window – some claiming that would be in 2028 – and there has been speculation about the price, ranging from $1,000 to $1,500 or more. It is a collection of patents filed, estimated by analysts, and speculated, speculated, speculated, as confirmation of what has been speculated before.
They can give a true picture of what the company engineers are currently experimenting with and cooling, especially, has been an issue for all PlayStation generations and it has been a big hassle for all of them: it is no wonder that Sony has been working on it over and over. It is not wrong to report on these patents. It is the confidence to be re-packaged as a preview of confirmed hardware that is the problem.
If you have followed PS6 coverage, a better way to think of it is this: A patent provides you with an idea of what Sony engineers are playing with, but not what will be in your living room. Specs, price and release date are all guesswork for now until Sony makes an actual announcement. The frenzy of each new filing is as much about the fact that fans desperately need tangible PS6 information.
