Get Ready: PlayStation 5 Beta Update is Coming for a Select Few >>

Sony's latest console has a new update that brings a lot of new features. We take a look at what you can discover later in the year.

First launched in a limited beta version, this major update to the PlayStation 5 system brings its share of new features both in terms of accessibility and social functions or simply for gaming comfort.

Improved accessibility

If you are a PlayStation 5 owner in the UK, you might have received an email inviting you to take part in the beta version of the console's latest system update. It is only available for the moment by invitation from Sony, which intends to deploy it more widely later in the year, as the company announces on its blog, without giving more details on a precise date. This update brings many new features.

You are starting with accessibility features. It is possible to configure a second controller on your account to use it as an assistance controller. This feature allows you to use two Dual Sense or third-party controllers on the console as if you were using just one. An ideal option, while waiting for the Access controller, is to help a friend or a child get through a complex place in a game, for example. Another option is to activate haptic feedback on the controller when browsing the menus of the PlayStation 5.

Welcome new accessibility options are coming to the console system. ©PlayStation

A particularly useful option for people who are visually impaired or hard of hearing since it translates specific sound effects of events into vibrations via haptic feedback "such as focusing, reaching the end of a scrollable section or checking a box, or when you receive a notification. »

Dolby Atmos and SSDs

In addition to these accessibility options, the system is now compatible with all Dolby Atmos-enabled HDMI devices. The opportunity to enjoy gaming sessions on soundbars with 3D audio, via Tempest 3D AudioTech technology. Another hardware-related innovation, the PlayStation 5s can now use M.2 2280 NV2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSDs with a maximum storage capacity of 8 TB compared to 4 TB previously.

The Party interface has also received an update and now allows you to invite a player to join a closed Party without adding them to the group or creating a new one. PlayStation also informs us that, when a person shares their screen with a reachable Party, a preview of what they are broadcasting is displayed. Still, at the social level, the system simplifies access to gaming sessions by displaying among friends those who are doing activities that can be joined. A small addition to the fashion of the moment: it is possible to react with emojis to written messages.

It is possible to react with emojis to written messages. ©PlayStation

PlayStation wants to make navigating the system easier by providing a search function for games in the library.©PlayStation

Finally, other new features will simplify navigation and use of the console system. For example, a search function for games in the library has been added. By going to the settings, then "Guides and advice, safety and health, and other information", "Guides and advice" and selecting "Discover advice", the system displays all the advice for discovering the new features. Last addition, the ability to mute or adjust the volume of the PS5 beeps when turning it on or off.