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Which PS4 model do I have?

3 years ago by Tom Stowe

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The PS4 generation of consoles may now have reached its end, but it has been a cause of celebration for a lot of reasons. Chief amongst them is the ability to upgrade or advance to a new model. Speaking of upgrades, you might now be hoping to upgrade from PS4 to PS5, but if you plan on sticking with PS4, working out which console you have – or indeed which one you should probably pick up – is now a bit more confusing than it once was. Alternate versions, replacements and revamps of pre-existing consoles are all now additional considerations to bear in mind, on top of which PS4 console does what.

You know that a PS4 is one up from PS3, sure, but how does the Pro differ from the Slim and vice versa? There may come a time when you’ll need to identify exactly which model of console you’ve got. You may be selling it (likely to build funds up in time for the PS5), requesting customer support or looking for help on how to perform some maintenance on it to keep it ticking along nicely.

In this guide, we’re going to help you figure out exactly which model of PS4 you’ve got. And don’t worry, it’s not as troublesome as you might initially think.

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Models

We’ve put together an enormously popular guide to the different PS4 models, but that’s more aimed to those looking to buy a PlayStation rather than those who already own one.

First thing’s first, the best place to begin is by identifying what model of PS4 you’ve got. There have been three key models released:

PS4 (also referred to as the PS4 original). This is the 500GB model that was first launched at the end of 2013, and continued as the only model available until a 1TB version was released in mid-2015. In mid-2016, the original PS4 was discontinued in favour of the Slim and Pro models. Though the main differentiator between original PS4s is the hard drive capacity, there were some small hardware revisions released under different serial numbers; we’ll get on to these in a little bit.
PS4 Slim. Launched in 2016, the Slim is now the most common PS4 model. If you’ve purchased a PlayStation in the last two years, chances are it’ll be a Slim. Like the original model, the Slim is available with both a 500GB and 1TB hard drive.
PS4 Pro. Launching a couple of months after the Slim, the Pro is a more powerful version of the Slim and original PS4. It’s only available with a 1TB hard drive and hasn’t received any hardware revisions since launching, making it the most simple PS4 to identify.

Visual differences

The most surefire way to identify which model of PS4 you have is by comparing the three models’ appearances. This can be trickier if you’ve got a special edition version of the console (more on those later), but the broad design styles apply.

The differences are generally quite easy to spot.

The original PS4 has two tiers of equal height. The top tier has a two-tone finish of matte and gloss.
The Slim has two tiers, but the top tier is much shallower than the bottom, and has no gloss finish.
The Pro has three tiers, the only PS4 model with this design.

Model sub-types

Now you know which model of PS4 you own, you may still need more details. In this section, we’ll help you identify precisely which PS4 you own.

PS4 original

The PS4 original underwent, as launch consoles often do, several subtle hardware revisions. These had no effect on the appearance of the console, and were mainly designed to fix small bugs that couldn’t be resolved via software updates. In all, there were three distinct versions of the 500GB console and two different editions of the 1TB console.

The 500GB console came in the following versions:

CUH-10. The original launch console.
CUH-11 or B chassis. Directly replaced the CUH-10. Featured an updated WLAN transceiver.
CUH-12 or C chassis. Directly replaced the CUH-11. A more substantial update, the C chassis PS4 reduced the rated power by 20W to 230W, lowered the weight of the console by 200g and also swapped the touch buttons on the console for physical ones.

The 1TB console versions are as follows:

CUH-11. Boasted the same update as the CUH-11 500GB edition.
CUH-12. Boasted the same update as the CUH-12 500GB edition.

To identify which original PS4 you’ve got, simply follow this guide to find the serial number and then cross reference the start of it with the numbers above.

PS4 Slim

With the teething problems that led to the two hardware revisions of the original console resolved, there has only ever been one core version - in terms of hardware - of the PS4 Slim. However, there are two different sizes of hard drive available.

The quickest way to check whether you have the 500GB or 1TB version of the console is to navigate to ‘settings’ in the system menu and then to ‘storage’. The total amount listed will correspond to the model of console you’ve got.

PS4 Pro

If you’ve got a Pro, consider yourself lucky! There’s been no hardware revisions, major or otherwise, and it’s only available with a 1TB hard drive.

Special editions

Now you know which model of PS4 you’ve got, you may be wondering if you’ve got a special edition on your hands. Some special editions are rarer than others. Some consoles, despite being bundled with a game, are the same standard versions you can buy on their own. Others are specially created for that specific bundle; some are even one of a kind! Most released so long ago now that they are only available inbn a re-furbished capacity. So console collectors prepare to get hunting for the majority of the following...

PS4 original special editions

Batman: Arkham Knight - a silver console with a dark grey Batman decal.
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain - a red console with white detailing.
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End - a blue console with a dark blue Nathan Drake decal.

PS4 Slim special editions

Call of Duty: World War II - a Slim console with a camouflage print and military green base colour. In the UK, this edition was exclusive to Tesco. Note: there was also a Call of Duty: World War II bundle that came with a standard black Slim.
Destiny - a white console with grey and gold detailing, emblematic of the game.
Final Fantasy XV - a black console with a dark grey moon print.
Gold - not bundled with a game, but still limited edition. A gold console that came with two gold DualShock 4 controllers, the only bundle (along with the silver Slim) to come with more than one controller.
Gran Turismo Sport - A black and silver two-tone Slim console. Note: also released was a Gran Turismo Sport bundle featuring a standard black Slim console.
Silver - the same as the gold console, but with a silver console and controllers.
Marvel's Spider-Man - A Cherry Red Slim console with a white Spider-Man logo imprinted on the console top, featuring 1TB of storage.
Star Wars Battlefront II - A silver console with black and red Star Wars themed decals. Note: a 500GB Slim bundle featured a standard white console with the game, however this special edition was the only bundle that combined the game with a 1TB Slim console.

PS4 Pro special editions

There have been, to date, four special editions of the Pro:

Destiny 2 - came with a white Pro. At the time, this was the only way to get a white Pro console, but they have since been made available by themselves.
God of War - a silver console with a dark silver axe decal.
Monster Hunter World - a black console with dark grey and red detailing.
Star Wars Battlefront II - a black console with silver and red Star Wars decals. Note: there was also a Battlefront II Pro bundle that came with a standard black Pro.