Your PS5 is about to get a suite of useful new features, including the ability to mute the power on/off beep (finally!), support for even larger SSDs to expand storage, and plenty of quality of life improvements. All of these features are now available to beta testers, and they should roll out to the general public in the future.
PlayStation’s betas are invite-only, but you can register your PS5 today to put your name out there. If selected, you’ll receive an email from Sony with full instructions on installing the latest beta software on your PS5. This beta program is only available in Canada, France, Germany, Japan, UK, and the US.
Use two controllers as one
Not everyone is good at games that require button mashing. This includes children, people who suffer from motor control issues, or players whose fingers aren’t agile enough to keep up. A new feature allows you to pair two controllers to a PS5, and use them as one controller. With it, you can assist people who aren’t able to clear tricky levels in games, while still giving them control over the parts they can play. It also opens up the door for some creative gameplay, such as turning any single-player game into a co-op experience.
If you have the latest beta update on the PS5, go to Settings > Accessibility > Controllers > Use Second Controller for Assistance, and enable Use Assist Controller.
Turn off the power beep
Whenever you switch your PS5 on or off, you’ll hear a beep, which can obviously disturb other people in your house. The latest beta update allows you to turn this sound off by going to Settings > System > Beep Sound. Enable Mute Beep Sound to turn it off, or select Volume to adjust its loudness.
Use larger SSDs to expand storage
The PS5's storage can be expanded by plugging in an M.2 SSD. The latest beta adds support for up to 8TB of M.2 SSDs, which means that you’ll no longer have to worry about deleting games when you install Call of Duty. Up until now, the maximum limit for an SSD was 4TB, so you can now plug in double the storage—if you can afford it.
If you’re looking for a new SSD for your PS5, PCMag has a list of the best options for 2023. These are their top five:
It’s easier to find games
Screenshot: Sony
Those of us with large libraries of installed games have had to struggle to find the games we want to play. Many games get lost in endless horizontal menus and it often takes time to find the title you’re after. With the latest beta, Sony improved this problem by adding a game search feature. You’ll be able to search for installed games and find titles a lot faster.
Improved social features
A few new features make it a lot easier to play games with your friends. The PS5 beta update allows you to invite people to closed parties without adding them to groups. This change is great if you want to add a player to a party for a session or two but don’t want to have them in your groups every single time. You can also send party invites to groups as opposed to individual players.
In PS5 chats, you can use emoji reactions for messages, which greatly reduces clutter in DMs. The update also makes it easier to join friends’ gaming sessions.
Haptic feedback in system UI
Haptic feedback is an immersive type of vibration you find in devices from smartphones to game controllers. Rather than issuing a uniform “buzz” when something happens, haptic feedback offers subtle “taps” that mimic what’s happening on-screen.
In the latest PS5 beta update, you now have the option to enable haptic feedback when scrolling the system UI with your DualSense controller, DualSense Edge controller, or PS VR2 Sense controller. You’ll experience these subtle taps, in tandem with new system sounds, when moving focus from one element to another, reaching the end of a scrollable selection, checking a box, booting up a game, or receiving a notification.
You can enable this setting from Settings > Accessibility > Controllers, under the Haptic Feedback During Console Navigation option.
Support for Dolby Atmos devices
This update also adds support for Dolby Atmos devices for a more immersive sound experience. You can enable this by going to Settings > Sound > Audio Output > Audio Format (Priority), and enabling Dolby Atmos.
