Discord Integration and Other New Features for Your PS5
Your PlayStation 5 needs an update. Sony released the latest system software update for all PS5 consoles, version 23.01-07.00.00, on Wednesday, March 8th. The changelog contains a long list of new features and changes, four of which, in particular, will be of interest to most players.
Key features of the latest PS5 update
The biggest new feature to date is Discord integration. It’s limited to voice chat right now, but you can finally chat with your Discord friends through your PS5. You will find the option to transfer voice chat to PS5 in the Discord app. Tom Warren of The Verge has a walkthrough on how it works :
Next up, there’s now an update for 1440p output that Sony originally released to everyone in September . VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) is now supported at 1440p as well as additional modes and HDMI devices. Sony recommends checking if your HDMI device supports 1440p by going to Settings > Display & Video > Video Output > Check 1440p Output .
Voice control is getting an update. If you say “Hey PlayStation, film this”, your PS5 will save a video clip of your recent gameplay. You can also refine this by asking PlayStation to save anywhere from the last 15 seconds of gameplay to the last hour. “Hey PlayStation, start recording” will start gameplay recording, and “Hey PlayStation, stop recording” will end it.
Finally, you can now transfer all your data from one PS5 to another. If you ever need to move your consoles, this new option will come in handy.
Other features and changes in the latest PS5 update
These updates are what Sony calls “core features,” but the company has added a lot of small changes that you may notice when using a PlayStation:
- The screen reader is getting an update with more information about navigating your PlayStation.
- The Game Hub now has a timer to track elapsed game time. You will also see game progress for games with the most story action.
- There’s now a ‘Friends Who Play’ tile that shows which of your friends own the game and offers detailed information about what they’re up to.
- The trophy tile is now easier to access.
- Competitive multiplayer maps now support full screen mode, and “Start Action” will take you straight into the game.
- You can now see which platforms other players are using in cross-platform games.
- Share your screen with a friend or ask them to share their screen from their profile.
- You will see your friends are online when they use the PlayStation app.
- Change the default sort order for game lists.
- Filter games compatible with PS VR and PS VR2.
- In Settings > Saved Data and Game/App Settings > Game Presets > Online Multiplayer Sessions, you can select Who can join and Who can invite .
- Your PlayStation will tell you if cloud storage is available when you download a new PS4 game if your console has no game data.
- Select media gallery files to upload to Capture in the PlayStation app.
- As you type on the controller, you will see hints. Press the R1 button to select a sentence, then press the cross button to enter it. Remove learned sentences from the options menu. On Japanese keyboards, sentences that appear when you type characters are now displayed in both half-width and full-width characters.
- You will see Unicode 15.0 emoji.
- Sony has reduced the time it takes to verify the integrity of downloaded data.
- Sony has changed the way it launches installed games, but didn’t say what the change was.
- You can now play disc games from a digital game file if it is downloaded to your console instead of waiting for the disc game to install first. The reverse is also true: you can play a game you installed using a digital download disc, if you bought it, without having to use the disc.
- You will see a list of goals (if provided by the game) through the hint system.
- You can manage your authorized apps in Settings .
- There are software updates for the DualSense, DualSense Edge and PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers that improve stability across the board. You can also update DualSense controllers over-the-air (controllers with other names already support wireless updates).
- Fixed an error dialog that gave misleading information about parental control restrictions when using a web browser.
- Sony has released an update to address an issue that caused some IPS LCD monitors to flicker when VRR (Variable Refresh Rate) is enabled.
How to update your PS5
If you have automatic updates turned on, your PS5 may update itself. However, if you don’t have this feature set up or if you want to update manually, go to Settings > System > System Software > System Software Update & Settings . You will see “Update Available” if you haven’t updated yet. Just select “Update System Software” to update.
To update automatically from now on, go to Settings > System > System Software > System Software Update and Settings , then enable “Automatically download update files” and “Automatically install update files”.