In brief: Back in July, we saw reports about Sony launching a lighter model of the PlayStation 5 digital version, with no mention of a lightweight model of the disc version. However, the new PS5 consoles shipped to Australia suggest Sony shaved off some weight from both PS5 versions.
When the PS5 disc and digital versions launched, the model numbers identifying them were CFI-1000A and CFI-1000B, respectively. Until recently, all consoles in the market still had one of these numbers, but Australia has apparently received a new batch of consoles with a more recent model number.
Looking at the new batch of consoles that arrived in Australia, the disc version consoles all came with the model number CFI-1102A. Although not exactly the same, this model number is quite similar to the PS5 digital version model number reported in July, to be featured in the new lighter PS5 digital console.
The new PS5 disc version already has the manual available (in Japanese), but the disc version doesn't. If the differences between the original and the new digital edition are anything to go by, the PS5 disc edition will be 300g lighter and will use new base stand screws.
Using new base stand screws may not look like much, but unlike the previous ones, the new screws are adjustable by hand without needing a screwdriver. Although it hasn't been confirmed yet, these new screws may be lighter than the original ones, explaining part of the console's weight reduction.
Once these lighter consoles arrive in more countries, in-depth reports about what has changed between the launch model and the new one that's coming out. Until then, we can only speculate that the 300g loss was achieved using a lighter inner frame, lighter components, or just simply removing unnecessary materials.
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