New PS5 Update Out Now, VRR Support Coming "In The Months Ahead"

The latest firmware update has gone live for PS5 and PS4 consoles, adding several new features and tweaking the user interface. PS4 users can expect a retuned party experience like the ability to create or join open and closed parties.

PS5 users will also receive this update, while users with accounts registered in the US and UK can try out a preview of a new voice command system. Using this, the feature will users to find and open games, apps, and settings, as well as control media playback with their voice.

In the user interface department, enhancements to Game Base and Trophy cards, as well as accessibility features like mono audio for headphones, have been added. The PlayStation app and PlayStation Remote Play app have also been upgraded, and it will now be "easier" to access the Friends, Parties, and messaging features on PS5.

In a blog post, Sony also teased that variable refresh rate support will be coming to PS5 soon, which aims to make gameplay smoother on HDMI 2.1-compatible TVs and PC monitors. VRR enhances visual performance for compatible PS5 games by minimizing or eliminating visual artifacts, which in turn helps to create a more graphically crisp image. To take advantage of VRR, games will need to be optimized through a game patch or they can make the feature available at launch.

For games that don't natively support VRR, it can still be applied but Sony did caution users that doing so could result in "unexpected" visual effects. Sony hasn't provided an exact date for the launch of VRR, but it did mention that it will launch "in the months ahead" eventually.

The previous PS5 update arrived two weeks ago, although as usual this console patch didn't do much besides adding standard system performance improvements. The last notable firmware update was the Version: 21.02-04.00.00 patch back in September 2021, that allowed for an M.2 SSD drive to be installed into the console's expansion slot.