Fans have been asking for PS5 faceplates for quite some time now, and a new patent from Sony suggests that those might be coming sooner than later. As spotted by OPAttack, Sony applied for new patent in November 2020, which has now been granted as of November 16th, 2021.
The patent is titled “Cover for Electronic Device”. The diagrams provided in the patent are blueprints for a PS5 faceplate, although it isn’t yet confirmed whether they are skins that can be applied on the console itself or fully replaceable faceplates for the console. However, given the fact that Sony actually took action against some third-party faceplate manufacturers for making custom faceplates, it seems more likely that they are indeed faceplates and not skins.
Sony’s decision for going with faceplates instead of special edition consoles is both practical in the current scenario of shortage as well as economic for most customers. Of course, there isn’t any information about the cost or release date, so interested fans shouldn’t get too excited just yet.