Skip to main content

Modder turns PlayStation 4 Pro and PlayStation 4 Slim into ‘laptops’

PlayBook 4 S - The NEW SLIM PS4 LAPTOP
Next month, Nintendo will release the Switch, a piece of video game hardware that blurs the line between home console and portable system. However, modders have been pursuing this kind of project for years, and it’s now possible to commission your own PlayStation 4 “laptop” — if you’re willing to foot the bill.

Ed Zarick is a talented modder who operates the YouTube channel Ed’s Junk. Last year, he built a portable Xbox One S shortly after the system was released, and now he’s turned his attention to another recent piece of hardware, the PlayStation 4 Slim.

Zarick calls his creation the PlayBook 4S. The stock system’s innards are placed inside a clamshell design alongside a 19-inch display, resulting in a version of the PlayStation 4 that lends itself to long journeys, or just about any other scenario where you might want to keep a video game console on hand.

The build doesn’t feature a battery, so you’ll need to plug your PlayBook into a power outlet, according to a report from Polygon. Zarick has included an HDMI out port on the rear of the system, meaning that you can hook it up to a big-screen television when it’s convenient to do so.

As well as the PlayBook 4S, Zarick also shows off one of his recent commissions, a portable version of the PlayStation 4 Pro. The customer apparently requested a 24-inch display, which makes the system a little less mobile, but more impressive.

Zarick decided to get creative with the extra space he was afforded thanks to the large screen size. This particular PlayBook features an Android tablet built into the console itself, which allows users to take control from the PlayStation app without any extra hardware.

Anyone can purchase a PlayBook from Zarick, but these custom-built consoles carry a hefty price tag due to the amount of work required. A PlayBook 4S will run you $1,495, or $1,195 if you send him your system to be used in the build.

Editors' Recommendations

Brad Jones
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
You can play as Resident Evil 4’s Leon Kennedy in Tekken 8 … sort of
Leon Kennedy in Tekken 8

Tekken 8 has only been out for a few days, but folks on the internet have already found a way to make some incredibly convincing recreations of some of their favorite characters from other properties. Perhaps one of the most impressive seen so far is a version of Leon Kennedy that closely resembles his appearance in the recent Resident Evil 4 remake, giving players an opportunity to enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament as a zombie-slaying brawler ... well, sort of.

As shown by YouTube creator Dan Allen Gaming, it's entirely possible to replicate Leon Kennedy's look to quite a shocking level using Tekken 8's detailed character customization features. Everything from his iconic leather bomber jacket to his quintessential '90s haircut is nailed perfectly here by using popular fighter Lars as a base for the customization due to his similarity to Leon in frame and stature.

Read more
2023 gaming report card: how did PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo score?
The Xbox Series X and PS5

It's been a long year filled with massive games, but we've finally reached the end of 2023. There's no question that this year will be remembered as one of the all-time best for new releases -- and one of the worst for game creators -- but it's been a whirlwind 12 months for the "big three" console makers. PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo all had pivotal years, though in entirely different ways. While the Nintendo Switch took a victory lap, the PS5 entered an experimental era. The Xbox Series X, on the other hand, finally delivered the suite of exclusives fans had been waiting for ... with mixed results.

To reflect on such an eventful year, we've decided to take on the role of teacher and hand each company a final grade for 2023. We took several factors into account here. Exclusive games are a major component of the final grade, naturally, but we also looked at how well each system maintained its wider ecosystem. That includes supporting services like PS Plus and Game Pass and evaluating how new hardware changed how we play.

Read more
PlayStation spent 2023 setting up dominoes. But will they fall in 2024?
A PS5 sits on a table.

2023 has already become a strong contender for the best year in gaming ever (at least when it comes to newly released games), but we've yet to see how it'll be remembered for PlayStation long-term. It currently stands as an experimental year filled with massive gambles that we won't see the results of until 2024 at the earliest.

From an outside perspective, 2023 might've seemed like PlayStation was resting on its laurels. With more hit third-party releases than most people could reasonably handle hitting on a near monthly cadence, the average PlayStation fan was likely content with "just" the utterly fantastic Marvel's Spider-Man 2 from the first-party side. In reality, this year Sony has set up a series of dominoes that, depending on how they fall, could very well determine its future -- for better or worse. Even though a few of its efforts are trending in the wrong direction, or at least have the community concerned, there's no turning the ship now.
Heavy on hardware
Sony put out more hardware this year than perhaps any other year in its history. We started off with the PlayStation VR2, got the surprise slim models of the PS5, the PlayStation Portal most recently, and will close out the year with its impressive Adaptive Controller. Of those, PSVR2 is the largest dice roll the company is currently watching play out. VR, in general, still only caters to a niche audience, and for as powerful and cutting-edge as the tech inside Sony's headset really is, that small audience is automatically cut by being tied to the PS5 install base willing to pay another massive entry fee. Despite all the cards stacked against it, Sony could pull an ace from its sleeve to justify the entire experiment: first-party games.

Read more