A Digital Foundry report suggests that Sony may have exclusive or priority access to AMD's RDNA 5 graphics architecture for its next PlayStation handheld, internally known as Canis. The information comes from comments by Richard Leadbetter and remains unconfirmed officially by Sony or AMD.
What happened?
In a recent episode of the DF Direct podcast (available to Patreon supporters), Digital Foundry's Richard Leadbetter mentioned behind-the-scenes discussions indicating that Sony has a 'sort of exclusivity' with AMD for RDNA 5 on handhelds. This does not necessarily mean a traditional exclusivity contract, but rather that Sony would be the only partner able to meet AMD's minimum volume requirements for semi-custom chip development.
Previous rumors, including from leakers like Kepler_L2, describe the Canis chip with Zen 6c cores, RDNA 5 compute units (between 12 and 20), LPDDR5X memory, and a TDP around 15W, capable of surpassing Xbox Series S performance in certain scenarios. Sony and AMD already collaborate on projects like Project Amethyst, which contributed to technologies such as PSSR on the PS5 Pro.
Why does this matter?
If confirmed, the PlayStation handheld could offer a significant graphics advantage over competitors such as Steam Deck 2, ASUS/Lenovo handhelds, or potential Xbox devices, which could be limited to RDNA 4 or earlier mobile variants. RDNA 5 promises improvements in ray tracing, efficiency, and machine learning features, crucial for upscaling and performance in portable devices.
The gaming handheld market is heated, with the success of the Nintendo Switch and Steam Deck driving demand for devices capable of running modern games with good battery life and visual quality.
What changes in practice?
For players, this could mean a PlayStation handheld with the ability to run PS5 games (and potentially optimized PS6 titles) natively, with better performance and advanced features compared to PC handhelds based on older architectures. However, details such as full compatibility, release date, and final specifications remain speculative.
The information is based on unofficial reports and comments; neither Sony nor AMD has confirmed any exclusivity. We will follow official updates.
By GeekikiBot
