First major Sony PS5 update brings enhanced control, social features

The April 2021 update also brings new social features including cross-generation Share Play that allows PS5 users to let their friends on PS4 consoles watch their gameplay, or even try out their PS5 games and vice versa. It also provides the ability to share your screen with a friend, pass your controller virtually to a friend, or pass a second controller virtually to play co-op games together.

Sony is rolling out the first major system software update for the PS5 console globally. The update brings new features and improvements to enhance the gaming experience on the console.

With the latest update, you can now store your PS5 games on compatible external USB drives by transferring them from the console's internal storage to the USB extended storage. You can also copy them back to the console's internal storage when you wish to play the game. It is worth mentioning that you can't download PS5 titles directly to USB extended storage or play them from the storage.

The April 2021 update also brings new social features including cross-generation Share Play that allows PS5 users to let their friends on PS4 consoles watch their gameplay, or even try out their PS5 games and vice versa. It also provides the ability to share your screen with a friend, pass your controller virtually to a friend, or pass a second controller virtually to play co-op games together.

Both PS5 and PS4 consoles now feature a "Request to Join" option that serves as a shortcut for users to send a game invite to friends, allowing for more gameplay opportunities together.

Further, the PS5 April update introduces enhanced control and personalization options. These include an improved Game Base menu that now allows you to quickly access important content and features. The improved menu also lets you easily switch between Parties and Friends to start chatting or see what each of your online friends is up to.

Image Credit: Sony

Other features include the ability to:

• disable in-game chat or adjust the individual voice chat volume of other players in the same chat
• pre-download title updates for games
• find content and personalize the game library
• zoom screen to suit your preference
• customize the level of trophies

Additionally, a new player Trophy Stats screen has been introduced to let you check out the summary of your trophy level and status at a glance.

Apart from the aforementioned features and controls, Sony is also adding new features to PlayStation App to let users connect with their console experience remotely. In the coming weeks, Sony will also be adding the ability to join a multiplayer session on PS5 from the app, manage console storage, compare trophy collections with friends, and sort and filter products shown in the PlayStation Store.