Sony is rolling out the latest system software beta for PlayStation 5 today, and it brings a plethora of helpful new features to the console. One of the most notable is that the PS5 will now support Dolby Atmos-enabled audio devices.
Select PlayStation users will get emails today inviting them to the beta. If they accept, those players will help Sony test out all of these features ahead of the patch’s wide release sometime later this year. It’s a beta worth opting into if you have any sort of Dolby Atmos-enabled sound system, as this update will make the PS5’s proprietary Tempest 3D AudioTech compatible with soundbars, home theater systems, and TVs that utilize Dolby Atmos.
You’ll be able to change this setting by choosing Dolby Atmos in the Audio Format (Priority) menu, which is located in the Audio Output tab of the PS5 Setting’s Sound menu. In beta, Dolby Atmos support will only work with games; a footnote in the PlayStation Blog post about the update explains that “media app providers can update their apps on PS5 to support Dolby Atmos audio” but that “these app updates are not currently supported in the PS5 beta.”
Dolby Atmos support isn’t the only notable feature to come to PS5 as part of this update. New accessibility features that let players use a second controller for assistance and give the System UI haptic feedback on DualSense and PlayStation VR2 Sense controllers are also part of the update. On the social side of things, this update lets players send party invitations to groups, smooths out the process for adding a new player to a closed party, adds a Share Screen preview window, introduces a “Joinable” icon for friends you can join a game with, and adds a more detailed tournaments tile to the Game Hub and the ability to react to player messages with emojis.
Under the ease-of-use category, this patch will finally give players the ability to search for games in their library and mute the PS5 beep sound, makes Game Help cards more helpful, and adds a new Discover Tips menu. Finally, for those looking to expand their system’s memory, this update will increase M.2 SSD support to 8 TB devices.
Overall, it’s a pretty hefty update with tons of helpful new features, so you might want to try to opt into the preview before the patch rolls out to everyone later in 2023.
