New PS5 system software beta adds two of users’ most-requested features

Folders of a sort are finally hitting the PS5 system software later this year.

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Native 1440p support is available in system settings, too.

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You'll get a notification when a party member starts a game you can join.

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A new option to request to share your screen has been added.

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Sony has added a way to directly compare stereo and 3D Audio mode when using headphones.

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There's an improved way to jump right into your current activity in a game.

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And finally, you can send voice messages and more to groups from this view.

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Sony has begun testing a software update that adds some key features users have been requesting for almost two years. While there's a lot going on in this update—it's one of the most significant since the PS5 first shipped—two features stand out.

 

The first is that the PS5 now supports 1440p output over HDMI. Previously, it supported 720p, 1080i, 1080p, and 4K, since those are the most common TV resolutions. But many players wanted to play the PS5 on their 1440p desktop computer monitors—something that both the Xbox and (obviously) gaming PCs have supported for a long time. Unfortunately, it seems that a PS5 outputting at 1440p does not support VRR like one at 1080p and 4K does, which might defeat the purpose for a certain subset of users.

 

There are quite a few games on the console that are a great fit for 1440p, especially since 1440p was the actual resolution for many PS4 Pro games, and it's a common resolution for the 60 fps or 120 fps performance modes of some PS5 games. Games that support native 1440p will output at just that.

 

But as for games that normally manage to hit 4K, Sony says that "you may benefit from improved anti-aliasing through supersampling down to 1440p output."

The other flagship feature is game folders, essentially. This is something that the PS4 system software offered, but this is the first time the PS5 has done the same. Sony calls them "gamelists," and you can create them from the "Your Collection" menu. You can have up to 15 lists, each with up to 100 games. And it doesn't matter if the game you want to include is a disc, download, or streaming title: All of them will work.

 

It's hard to know for sure from just Sony's blog post, but it looks like these folders only appear in the Your Collection section—not the installed view or the home screen. If you primarily manage and launch your games from those views, you might be out of luck. We'll have to wait to see for sure.

 

Other new features in the system software update include: a dialogue for comparing stereo and 3D audio with headphones; a simple way to jump into your current activity in games that support the PS5's activities interface; the option to request to share your screen with someone in your party; a new notification that lets you directly join games your party members start; an option to view new friends' profiles immediately; and a way to send stickers or voice messages to people in a group from the game base card.

 

The new features are available now to beta testers—but just beta testers, unfortunately. Sony says it plans to roll them out to all users later this year.