A teardown of the Marvel’s Wolverine-branded PS5 Slim from Sony’s Wolverine PS5 bundle found a more easily replaceable CMOS battery and a revised cooling design. The inspected console used an EDM-051 motherboard with a different layout, along with a CR2032 battery that can be removed and replaced.
Console technician and modder Modyfikator89 inspected the system and shared the findings on X on September 30. Because the teardown covers one console, it does not establish that every PS5 Slim currently available has the same components.
Compared with the 2025 Slim revision, which had already received the improved cooling system, Sony has changed things again.
The area around the APU / die and its protective surface looks different, and the liquid-metal containment appears to be closer to the approach used in… pic.twitter.com/fR0PLFTXvZ
— modyfikatorcasper (@Modyfikator89) September 30, 2026
Internal changes go beyond the battery. Modyfikator89 described a simplified layout and a newer, lower-cost HDMI retimer implementation. An HDMI retimer helps keep the video signal stable by correcting timing issues, though the teardown did not provide a part number or performance comparison for the revised component.
Cooling also differs from the 2025 Slim revision, which Modyfikator89 said had already received an earlier cooling update. The latest unit has a different heatsink construction and material, while its liquid-metal containment appears closer to the design used in PS5 Pro. Around the processor, less of its protective surface appears to be exposed directly to liquid metal, which may help keep the material contained.
Physical changes alone do not show a gameplay-performance improvement or lower temperatures, and the teardown does not establish why Sony made them. For owners whose PS5 Slim is working well, these findings do not point to a reason to replace it.
CMOS batteries eventually need replacement, so easier access could make a future repair simpler. A follow-up post also noted that the console’s manual still reflects the older hardware and does not mention the replaceable CR2032 battery.
Does easier battery access or the revised cooling design matter more to you? For more on the hardware changes shaping PS5 repairs and cooling, stay connected through X, Bluesky, YouTube, Instagram, Steam, and Telegram.
