PlayStation 4 gets firmware update

In November 2013, Sony brought the PlayStation 4 to the European and North American market and presented the then Next-Gen device of the console world. By the end of 2020, around 115 million units of the device went through the charging counter and the 100 million mark was achieved a few months faster than the milestone of the PS2. Nonetheless, the second generation of the PlayStation is still the most popular console, with over 155 million copies. And even if the end of last year came the latest consoles from Sony and Microsoft to the shelves, the PlayStation 4 is still the standard in many households.

If you are afraid of rusting the consoles of the older generation or running technology, can be calmed down. Because recently a new update of the firmware is planned. And even in the near future, seemingly no thoughts must be made of regular overhaul of the software. Thus, according to Sony, up to 2024 updates can be recorded for the fourth generation of the PlayStation. Of course, the focus will gradually move on the PS5, but those who do not want to raise themselves in the near future is also on the safe side.

Innovations of the PlayStation 4 firmware

Namely, the firmware 9.00 rolls out, which in addition to the classic stability improvement for the system also brings more innovations. Currently the whole project is still in the beta phase, which allows only selected persons to test the new system and can still be eliminated any errors and inconvenience. But the final version will not be long in coming and ready for download within the next few weeks. However, a concrete date was not published by Sony so far. But what does the new firmware involve everything?

On the one hand, new functions regarding the protection of children and adolescents come. Namely, the broad possibilities of the various applications can be regulated and restricted according to parents and supervisors. Serious gambling providers, such as the Bet at Home Casino in the test, promise fun, but should not be accessible to all ages. As with ego shooters or horror games, therefore, a minimum age is quite useful. Already there are some ways to ensure improved protection of the children and, for example, restrict the playing time, to set up age shares or to set expenditure limits. If children want to get their new firmware access to communication functions such as voice chat, news and game-internal communication, it must be requested. The release was parents so far only possible on the official PlayStation website. With the firmware update, you can now receive and edit notifications via these requests via the PlayStation App or the console.

Another problem that is to be resolved by the update is the reputation of Trophies of PlayStation 5 titles. So far, it was only possible to look at achievements of PS3, PS4 and PS Vita, now it should follow for the 5th generation as one of the new main features of the update.

In addition, the function to delete a group will be set up in the future. To do this, you have to be owners of the group to select and remove them in the options menu, which applies to all members. The group owner can also remove messages in it and add and add members. Under the line, it's about more control with group messages. This also expresses itself when blocking other people. In addition, the update can be selected, namely whether you want to rely common groups when blocking a player, unless they consist of just those players. As mentioned, a solid release date is not fixed yet, but the gamers will not have to wait too long.

Also PlayStation 5 gets an update

But the update of the firmware of the PlayStation 4 is not the only interesting message regarding Sony's software. Also, the PlayStation 5 should have some innovations for download, the project is also still in the beta phase. Here it is the firmware 2.0, which should bring the eagerly expected functions of the PS5 to the lucky owners.

For example, new "social" functions are planned, which allow, among other things, Share Play between PS4 and PS5. Thus, users of the fourth generation can test and indicate their screen via their PS5 games screen, which is as possible on the other hand. Also playing with shared screen and via virtual controller is easier with the update.

Perhaps more important update affects the memory options on the PlayStation 5. In the future, M.2 SSDs will be compatible with the console. Prerequisites for this are a size of 250 gigabytes up to four terabytes as well as a reading speed of at least 5500 megabytes per second. Even external USB storage media should be used after the update to transfer and retrieve games, the internal memory should be full. As a further addition, the 3D sound for televisions should be optimized, which is to be done with the help of the microphones in dualsense to ensure an excellent sound. So owners of the PlayStation 4 and 5 can look forward to updates of the respective firmware in the near future, which brings some important innovations to the consoles. Now it just means waiting until the beta phases of the two updates are completed until they are available to broad mass.