The PlayStation 5’s sleek design is divisive. The VergeAndrew Webster called it a “robotic clam” in his 2020 review, which is actually pretty cute. Personally, I grew to hate it at times during the last six years or so of its existence. Small form factor PC enthusiast Devin Johnston is one person who couldn’t get over it. it was so No more than that he created and is now selling Boxplates, $89.99 snap-on console covers that fundamentally change the look of the PS5.
With the boxplates on, the PS5’s design goes from curvy to flat. The plates unmistakably incorporate the Xbox One S/X design language. About 60 percent of the surface area of the top and bottom plates is matte black (or gray, if you choose that color), while the remainder is semi-transparent with slats, including the fan section.
Importantly, the boxplates do not obstruct any ports on the front or back, nor do they completely hide the power indicator LED. In the right (or wrong?) light, the PlayStation 5’s shiny center glows a shade of blue. Did you know it was blue? I didn’t know it was blue.
There is nothing difficult in installing BoxPlates. The kit includes a reminder to watch YouTube tutorials. If you’re someone who has installed an M.2 SSD in a PS5 before, you already know how annoying it can be to move this giant robotic clam. It took me a little bit of fiddling, careful force, to tighten all the pins on the boxplate so as not to break anything in the set, which took over a calendar year to ship to me.
BoxPlates are in production for the disc and disc drive-less versions of the PlayStation 5 Slim and PS5 Pro. Unfortunately, they were not made for the original PS5 models. If you bought a PS5 at launch, your PS5 will be ugly forever unless you’re satisfied with plates from Sony or Dbrand.
Whether or not they’re worth $89.99 to you depends on your level of hatred for the PS5’s design. If the curved plates on your console are bothering you as much as the maker of them, it’s probably worth it.
Photography by Cameron Faulkner/The Verge
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