PS5 system update adds customisable Welcome Hub, personalised 3D audio & more

There’s a new PS5 system software update available now that’s bringing some big (and some long overdue) features to the PlayStation 5 console, including a new Welcome hub, party sharing and the wide launch of personalised 3D audio profiles.

The Welcome hub is a new customisable space that is available today for “select players” in the US, and will be rolling out over the next few weeks for the rest of the world. This brings customisable widgets and backgrounds to the PS5 home screen, so you can forefront features like battery monitoring, your personal trophy collection and more whenever you boot up the console. This should make for a much more engaging alternative to the old Explore tab – you’ll also be able to set your own background here, for a much needed personal touch.

Then there’s party sharing, which lets you send out chat links on other platforms and have them bring other people directly into a voice chat, both via their smartphone app and via PS5, and whether they’re in your friends list or not. It’s just another little route for establishing links between people, and will be rolling out gradually over the next few weeks.

And then we have features that were in testing with the most recent beta system update. Personalised 3D audio for headphones and earbuds is the big one here, helping you to tune the 3D spatial audio to your specific hearing. This has been something in the pipeline ever since the PS5 launched, though back then Sony considered taking photos to scan people’s ears – something that Apple and others do for Bluetooth earbuds.

Here’s what it will look like:

There’s also adaptive controller charging on the PS5 Slim and upcoming PS5 Pro, which is kind of nice, and per-user Remote Play settings.

The update is available to download right now, though as mentioned, some of these features will be rolling out more gradually over the coming weeks.

Source: PS Blog