The latest PS4 System Software Update details are here, and external hard drive support finally arrives.
John Koller, Vice President of Playstation Brand Marketing posted on the Playstation Blog today, detailing the update.
“Starting today, those of you selected for our beta program will get an early peek at some of the new features coming to PS4 with our next major system software update, version 4.50 (codenamed Sasuke). If you signed up for the beta and were chosen, you’ll receive an email with instructions on how to download and get started.”
External HDD Support
The PS4 will support USB 3.0 drives up to 8TB in size. Applications can be downloaded and installed directly to the external drive.
Save files however, will always be stored on the local drive. These are generally minuscule compared to game installs, capture data, and full game downloads.
In case you were unaware, the local hard drive can easily be swapped out for a larger one for a more streamlined storage solution.
Custom Wallpapers
As far as I can tell from the blog post, this feature is limited to in-game screenshots. You can edit them however, to create something more unique.
“Drop-shadows on text, and the option to dim the Function Area, will help keep the system icons and texts on the home screen clearly visible even if the background image you selected is super bright.”
Quick Menu Slims Down
The quick menu is my favorite PS4 update so far and the refinements seem like an improvement.
The Quick Menu will cover less of the screen and you’ll be able to create/join parties, invite friends, and other Online Friend activities without jumping to another app.
Simplified Notification List
This one seems like a step back.
Sony has decided to remove the categories on the left-hand side and consolidates every notification into one list. I found the sub-menus helpful to quickly get to the notification I was interested in. Separating downloads from party requests made sense. Dumping every notification together could make it less efficient to find what you need.
A change I agree with however, is the ability to choose which notifications appear on-screen.
Post on Playstation Network Activity Feeds
Screenshots, text, and gifs can be posted directly to your Activity Feed. Screenshots uploaded to PSN will also show as a Public Activity, visible to all that care to see.
3D Blu-Rays with PSVR
Who cares about 4K Blu-Rays right?
With PSVR, you’ll be able to watch stereoscopic 3D Blu-Rays from the comfort of your headset.
More features are promised to come.
