Wednesday, July 30th 2025

PlayStation 6 Leak Reveals Orion and Canis APUs for Home Console and Handheld System

by
Nomad76
 Discuss (45 Comments)
PlayStation 6 development has taken an interesting turn as recent leaks suggest that Sony plans to use two platforms for its next-gen gaming system. Recent information from Moore's Law is Dead, as Notebookcheck reports, shows that the company is working on two different AMD-powered APUs. They've even given them star-themed codenames: Orion and Canis. The Orion APU will be the heart of Sony's main PlayStation 6 console. Canis, on the other hand, is something new: a handheld gaming device. It's not just a PS5 offshoot, but a key part of the upcoming PS6 lineup. This handheld system is expected to be able to play games from three console generations. It supports PS4, PS5, and PS6 titles, with options to play at 1080p or 720p. The recent introduction of power-saving functionality on PlayStation 5, which dynamically adjusts performance to reduce energy consumption, appears to validate earlier predictions about Sony's handheld ambitions.

Sony's vision goes beyond just making different hardware. The shared CPU and GPU design in both APUs can make development easier, which might cut costs and make things simpler for game makers. The handheld version could work as a portable gaming device and a smaller home console option, giving Sony a way to attract budget-minded buyers and current PS4 users. Last but not least, Sony's shift from Shakespearean codenames used during PS5 development to astronomical nomenclature signals a new chapter in PlayStation evolution, with additional specifications and pricing details expected in upcoming months.
Sources: Notebookcheck, Moore's Law Is Dead

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45 Comments on PlayStation 6 Leak Reveals Orion and Canis APUs for Home Console and Handheld System

#2
Roph
Why does MLID fanfiction get posted here? It's so embarrassing
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#3
LastDudeALive
What would be the legality of Sony just customizing the freely available Playstation, PS2, PSP, and PS3 emulators and including it with the PS6? As long as the CPU supports AVX-512, it shouldn't have any problems running even PS3 games. And they can legally include the BIOS and other system software, since it's their own code.
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#4
Craptacular
RophWhy does MLID fanfiction get posted here? It's so embarrassing
I mean the MLID ps5 pro fan fiction turned out to be true six month after he revealed it.
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#5
ARF
Sony is on the wrong path. The PlayStation 3 with its Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.), a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) multi-core processor and microarchitecture developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM was a state-of-the-art power house for many many years after its release back in 2006.
What can AMD offer? A turd, a potato? Why do they sacrifice performance and power efficiency for some illogical ideologies which make no sense, at all?
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#6
LastDudeALive
ARFSony is on the wrong path. The PlayStation 3 with its Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.), a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) multi-core processor and microarchitecture developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM was a state-of-the-art power house for many many years after its release back in 2006.
What can AMD offer? A turd, a potato? Why do they sacrifice performance and power efficiency for some illogical ideologies which make no sense, at all?
AMD offers x86 and DirectX compliant CPU and GPU architectures.
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#7
ARF
LastDudeALiveAMD offers x86 and DirectX compliant CPU and GPU architectures.
The problem is that there are faster and better alternatives. Nvidia produces better GPUs, ARM has no competition from x86.
Has Sony executed a legal public tender or it is a cartel in which all users must suffer because of someone's illegal intentions?
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#8
Event Horizon
Bloodborne Remastered as a launch title. Make it happen, Sony.
Posted on Reply
#9
Testsubject01
CraptacularI mean the MLID ps5 pro fan fiction turned out to be true six month after he revealed it.
Tom certainly gets stuff right, if rumours turn out to be true. But he curates a lot of rumblings and murmurs, that make the rounds in the tech industry. Some stuff is bound to be correct.

Still, MLID and other such leaks should not be handled as credible news pieces, but as what they are: Rumours.

On Topic:
It seems to develop in the direction of rather powerful 1080p handhelds in the coming years.
Love my OLED steam deck to bits! But there are occasions there I wouldn't mind a bit more “oomph” on the go. :D
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#10
Ruined Mind
ARFThe problem is that there are faster and better alternatives. Nvidia produces better GPUs, ARM has no competition from x86.
Has Sony executed a legal public tender or it is a cartel in which all users must suffer because of someone's illegal intentions?
Nvidia charges more than AMD, so Sony chose the graphical component from AMD.

AMD has a CPU available, too, so the GPU and CPU can be chosen together as a deal.
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#11
LastDudeALive
ARFThe problem is that there are faster and better alternatives. Nvidia produces better GPUs, ARM has no competition from x86.
AMD has both an x86 license and a GPU architecture, so they can make an APU that does both. Nvidia doesn't have an x86 license. Unless Sony wants to just take a laptop chipset and put it in a console, AMD is the leading option. Maybe if Intel continues their GPU push and becomes competitive, they can become a competitor in the console space as well.
ARFHas Sony executed a legal public tender or it is a cartel in which all users must suffer because of someone's illegal intentions?
...
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#12
ARF
Ruined MindNvidia charges more than AMD
How do you know? Do you have a source from a public tender with bids?
We know that the x86 is a turd architecture, that's why ARM / RISC must be used.
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#13
LastDudeALive
ARFHow do you know? Do you have a source from a public tender with bids?
We know that the x86 is a turd architecture, that's why ARM / RISC must be used.
What is your obsession with "public tender," man? There's literally only two companies that can fulfill the requirement for an x86 APU, and Intel is obviously not ready for that yet. Sony doesn't need to set up a public website where any Joe Schmoe can submit a "bid" for the PS6.

We know Nvidia charges more than AMD because we go to Amazon and see Nvidia GPUs are more expensive than AMD GPUs.

And you're just incorrect about x86, it works perfectly good for games, and most importantly provides both backwards compatibility with the PS4/PS5 and allows developers to easily develop for both PC and console.
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#14
dyonoctis
ARFSony is on the wrong path. The PlayStation 3 with its Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.), a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) multi-core processor and microarchitecture developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM was a state-of-the-art power house for many many years after its release back in 2006.
What can AMD offer? A turd, a potato? Why do they sacrifice performance and power efficiency for some illogical ideologies which make no sense, at all?
CELL wasn't a godsent for the PS3, on the contrary. It was expensive, and hard to optimize for. Depstite everyting, the very simple IBM powerPC used in the xbox360 was not just keeping up, it became a key advantage. The one time Xbox gae Playstation a run for their money. AMD can offer a top to bottom SOC solution, for the living room and handheld console, along with great upscaling technologies to optimize performance, especially in low power mode.

keeping x86 will also make backward compatibility less of a pain. (And I'm guessing an easier transition gen to gen fro the devs)
Posted on Reply
#15
windwhirl
LastDudeALiveMaybe if Intel continues their GPU push and becomes competitive, they can become a competitor in the console space as well.
They tried, but it seems a blocker for this was how much profit Intel would make out of it.

www.reuters.com/technology/how-intel-lost-sony-playstation-business-2024-09-16/
ARFWe know that the x86 is a turd architecture
If it were so much a turd, there'd be a lot more interest in moving away from it. And there are alternatives so, it seems to me it's not really a turd.
Posted on Reply
#16
Upgrayedd
LastDudeALiveAMD offers x86 and DirectX compliant CPU and GPU architectures.
I didn't think Sony used DirectX?

Either way if with almost everything they make available on PC, Idk why anyone would buy a console anymore. I left consoles behind when Sony made PSN $50/yr. Could you imagine the uproar if Valve tried that? $300-400 throughout the machines life ust to play mp. Sony takes a huge cut from sales anyways, PSN could absolutely be free and be a selling point.
Posted on Reply
#17
jc65859
ARFSony is on the wrong path. The PlayStation 3 with its Cell Broadband Engine (Cell/B.E.), a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC) multi-core processor and microarchitecture developed by Sony, Toshiba, and IBM was a state-of-the-art power house for many many years after its release back in 2006.
What can AMD offer? A turd, a potato? Why do they sacrifice performance and power efficiency for some illogical ideologies which make no sense, at all?
It was such a state of the art chip that it was a nightmare to develop for and two gens later, we still don't have native backwards compatibility with games developed for the PS3.
Posted on Reply
#18
LastDudeALive
UpgrayeddI didn't think Sony used DirectX?
They use their own graphics APIs, not DirectX (since they're running BSD, not Windows), but using the same graphics hardware as your typical gaming PC ensures it's as easy as possible for both Sony and game developers to get everything working smoothly.
UpgrayeddEither way if with almost everything they make available on PC, Idk why anyone would buy a console anymore. I left consoles behind when Sony made PSN $50/yr. Could you imagine the uproar if Valve tried that? $300-400 throughout the machines life ust to play mp. Sony takes a huge cut from sales anyways, PSN could absolutely be free and be a selling point.
Consoles are loss leaders, that's why. They're sold for less than the cost of production or barely at cost, with the expectation being you will generate profit by buying games and paying for PSN or Xbox Live. That also provides consistent cashflow instead of one-and-done purchases, which is much better from a business standpoint.
Posted on Reply
#19
melkor_unlimited
ARFWe know that the x86 is a turd architecture, that's why ARM / RISC must be used.
3rd attempt of Windows on ARM was really "BIG" success.

May be ARM is better.
At doing nothing.

x86 by AMD may not be better, but is good enough.
And cheaper.
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#20
Upgrayedd
LastDudeALiveThey use their own graphics APIs, not DirectX (since they're running BSD, not Windows), but using the same graphics hardware as your typical gaming PC ensures it's as easy as possible for both Sony and game developers to get everything working smoothly.


Consoles are loss leaders, that's why. They're sold for less than the cost of production or barely at cost, with the expectation being you will generate profit by buying games and paying for PSN or Xbox Live. That also provides consistent cashflow instead of one-and-done purchases, which is much better from a business standpoint.
Still a bad deal for the consumer. It's an APU, it will always perform like an APU, mediocre at best. APUs aren't expensive either, that's why they'rein consoles. The only people i could hardly even recommend a console to are people that only play free to play games but even then it would just be better to get a budget pc with a dedicated CPU and GPU.
You can find all sorts of ways to justify it from a business point but from a consumer point its nonsense to pay for a console.
Posted on Reply
#21
LastDudeALive
UpgrayeddStill a bad deal for the consumer.
Sure, I was just explaining why Sony and Microsoft charge for PSN and Xbox Live, while you don't have a similar practice on PC.
Posted on Reply
#22
Tek-Check
RophWhy does MLID fanfiction get posted here? It's so embarrassing
Because most information he receives is generally predictive of how products would look like. Pretty simple.
ARFThe problem is that there are faster and better alternatives. Nvidia produces better GPUs, ARM has no competition from x86.
Has Sony executed a legal public tender or it is a cartel in which all users must suffer because of someone's illegal intentions?
Dude, it sounds like a nasty conspiracy. Nobody in the industry offers what AMD can offer at the moment, and therefore Sony and Microsoft buy gaming APUs from them. Pretty simple stuff. No need to involve a "deep state" reasoning into console gaming.
ARFHow do you know? Do you have a source from a public tender with bids?
We know that the x86 is a turd architecture, that's why ARM / RISC must be used.
If Nvidia had had anything interesting on offer, Sony and Microsoft would have chosen it. Pretty simple stuff. Don't complicate reality.
UpgrayeddStill a bad deal for the consumer. It's an APU, it will always perform like an APU, mediocre at best. APUs aren't expensive either, that's why they'rein consoles. The only people i could hardly even recommend a console to are people that only play free to play games but even then it would just be better to get a budget pc with a dedicated CPU and GPU.
You can find all sorts of ways to justify it from a business point but from a consumer point its nonsense to pay for a console.
Hundreds of millions of users and families around the world play on consoles. Tell it to them, that their devices are nonsense.
Posted on Reply
#23
Punkenjoy
Main reason why AMD is getting again the console refresh is it been reported that AMD is a really great partner to work with. As simple as that.

Microsoft and Sony aren't shopping for a one time deal like us buying a CPU or a GPU. They want a partner that can help them for years and is willing to get them what they want.

That relationship started with PS4 on Sony Side and XBOX 360 on Microsoft side and both don't see why they should break it.
Posted on Reply
#24
Ruined Mind
UpgrayeddStill a bad deal for the consumer. It's an APU, it will always perform like an APU, mediocre at best. APUs aren't expensive either, that's why they'rein consoles. The only people i could hardly even recommend a console to are people that only play free to play games but even then it would just be better to get a budget pc with a dedicated CPU and GPU.
You can find all sorts of ways to justify it from a business point but from a consumer point its nonsense to pay for a console.
I would never buy a console, so I agree with you regarding your main idea, but you haven't considered how a regular person is. A regular person may not understand how to maintain a computer. Even installing a store like "Steam" may be confusing, and worrying about system requirements would cause frustration. Plus, imagine a problem affecting a driver, and a different version having the solution. A regular person doesn't understand how to update (or rollback) a driver, and won't visit a forum to ask people about it. Such a situation may cause a belief about the computer, or the game, being broken beyond repair.

Every copy of a console has the same hardware, and a game was designed to work on that console. It won't be as smooth as the version for a computer, because we could modify settings to reduce the load, to reach our desired frame-rate. A console doesn't allow that, because the "Performance" modes of consoles still aren't stable, but regular people seem to not be bothered by a low frame-rate. The console WILL allow the game to function. That's enough.

You are absolutely right about a computer being better, but you must consider how a regular person is.
Posted on Reply
#25
081x
I know it's wishful thinking but I'd love to see this as the successor of the Vita, maybe even the same form factor, but that's unlikely given how consumers have decided ergonomic form and large screens are a must. The big caveat for sales imo is how locked down it's going to be given how most other options on the market let you install windows or linux. also cool codenames lol
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