Sony Interactive has announced the release of the latest system software update for the PlayStation 5. The update notably adds the Welcome Hub, which adds customizable widgets and backgrounds for your PlayStation 5 home screen. It also adds Party Share, the ability to share party voice chat links, personalized 3D audio profiles for headphones and earbuds, Adaptive charging for controllers, and more.
Additional details via Sony:
Welcome Hub – A new personalized space with customizable widgets and backgrounds in your PlayStation 5 home screen. Welcome hub is a reimagined version of the Explore tab, which was previously only available in the U.S. It will roll out globally over the next few weeks, starting today for select players in the U.S.
Party Share – The ability to share party voice chat links on messaging and social media apps will roll out globally in the coming weeks.
Additionally, thanks to support from our beta participants, the following features that were tested in our latest PlayStation 5 beta will be released globally, starting today:
Aside from adaptive charging for your controllers, all PlayStation 5 system update features mentioned in this blog post are available for all PlayStation 5 models. Let’s take a deeper look at what’s included in this update:
Newly Announced Features
Welcome Hub (phased release)
We are introducing a new personalized space in your PlayStation 5 home screen called Welcome hub—a dedicated space you can customize with widgets, allowing you to see information at a glance before you begin your gaming sessions. For players in the U.S, Welcome hub will replace the current Explore tab with enhanced customizability and an upgraded user experience.
You can easily customize your Welcome hub by selecting from a variety of widgets, including console storage, battery levels for accessories, online friends, trophies, and many more. Use presets to quickly change your layout, and simply select and arrange a variety of widgets as you see fit. You can change the size of your widgets, expanding or shrinking them to give more focus to the features that are most important to you.
In addition, you can also change your Welcome hub’s background. Choose from a range of designs, including some with cool animated effects, or pick out a screenshot from your own Media Gallery for a truly personal touch.
Welcome hub will become available to select users in the U.S. starting later today. We will gradually expand support in other regions over the coming weeks, starting with players in Japan, followed by select countries in Europe, and finally releasing worldwide.
Party Share (phased release)
In the next few weeks, we’ll also add the ability for you to share party voice chat links on any messaging or social media app. This will allow you to invite a friend whom you’re chatting with on any messaging app to join your party voice chat, even if you haven’t added them to your friends list on PlayStation Network.
To create a party link, open the voice chat card in the Control Center on PlayStation 5, select [Invite Players], then click [Share Party link] to generate a scannable QR code. Recipients can open the link on their mobile device and seamlessly join the party on their PlayStation 5 or from PlayStation App.
Personalized 3D Audio Profiles for Headphones and Earbuds
In this generation, 3D audio is one of the key ways that creators have enhanced the immersive quality of games. As individuals, we all hear sounds differently based on the size and shape of our head, ears, and ear canals.
We’re pleased to introduce a feature that lets your PlayStation 5 console create a personalized 3D audio profile just for you. With a set of headphones or earbuds, you can run through a set of sound quality tests to analyze a vast number of factors to create an audio profile that best fits your hearing characteristics. For example, your personalized 3D audio profile may enable you to better sense the positions of characters and objects in a game world more clearly than before, making the experience more immersive.
Adaptive Charging for Your Controller (for the slimmer PlayStation 5 model and PlayStation 5 Pro)
Adaptive charging for the DualSense wireless controller, DualSense Edge wireless controller, PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers, and Access controller is now available for the slimmer PlayStation 5 model, when the console is in rest mode (and will also be available for PlayStation 5 Pro when it launches). Adaptive charging helps save power by adjusting the length of time that power is supplied to your controller based on its battery level.
To use adaptive charging, go to [Settings] > [System] > [Power Saving] > [Features Available in Rest Mode], and then select [Supply Power to USB Ports] > [Adaptive]. After your PlayStation 5 enters rest mode, if a controller isn’t connected, the power supply to the USB port will stop after a certain period of time.
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