The Bottom Line The PlayStation 4's beautiful graphics, smart interface, blazing performance, near-perfect controller and better indie offerings give it an edge over the Xbox One -- though that edge is ever-shrinking

PlayStation 4 review: Design

By now you probably know what the PS4 looks like. It's a flat prism-looking box with minimal design fuss, measuring 305 x 275 x 53mm. It's black, or there is a white model now available, and just like the Xbox One, it's a combination of shiny and matte surfaces.
On the whole the PS4 is quiet when running. Compared to the PlayStation 3 - and we have had both consoles lined up to the left and right of the TV - it's far quieter, although not silent. However, we have found that it does get a little noisy when tasked with certain things like Remote Play via the PS Vita (more on that feature later). It's also fairly obsessed with turning itself on in the middle of the night for updates, which can kick-in HDMI passthrough and fire-up the TV too. Somewhere between useful, spooky and funny all at the same time.
Discs slip into the machine in the thin gap that runs across the front, disappearing into the gaming carcass. It looks very Blade Runner, giving little away of the power contained inside. The strip of light that runs in a bright to dim fade across the top glows blue, white, or orange depending on the console's active state. And we think it looks rather awesome.