Despite all of the great things about the PS4 last generation, there was one particular aspect of PlayStation’s console that caught some flak. Obviously, in the grand scheme of things, the UI is not the worst possible drawback that the PS4 could’ve possibly had this generation. However, for a console that did so well in various other facets, the PS4’s troublesome UI design is a minor but noticeable annoyance. Recently, Sony unveiled the UI design for the PS5, and so far it seems like it’s a serious improvement over the PS4.
Many of the options showed off in the UI are reminiscent of the PS4’s UI features, but in a much cleaner and smoother interface this time around. The PS5 UI also has several new features available across all games, some of which might see more support than others over time, but they are interesting ideas nevertheless. The overall impression of the PS5 UI is that there’s a marked improvement in usability more than anything, though some of the same organization issues from the home screen may still be present in the final version.
Over time, the PS4’s UI issues started to become more apparent as the console’s lifespan extended. As fun and customizable as the many PS4 live themes were, those themes didn’t help hide the fact that the UI itself was more fashion than function. Games in the home screen are only sorted by recently played, with ads in between, alongside apps that some players don’t even use. There’s no option to group or place certain games in a folder other than using the PS4’s built-in Library app, which doesn’t have any kind of organizational features other than sorting.
That’s without even mentioning the actual UI’s performance on PS4, and while mileage varies here, it can occasionally work very sluggishly depending on what games are running. Sometimes a graphically demanding game takes up most of the PS4’s hardware output, meaning jumping into the home screen or mid-game menu can be slow. There’s also the TV/Video app on PS4, which universally runs slow and is completely disorganized for anyone trying to watch anything. It’s like all of the various streaming apps are constantly mixed, matched, and moved just to mess with people trying to watch TV on PlayStation.
From that first reveal of the PS5 UI, performance-wise things already look a lot better. In-game UI takes on much more of a smooth overlay approach, instead of opening up an entirely separate home screen or losing 60% of the screen with the quick menu. The new “control center” on PS5 resembles the quick menu, but is a much less intrusive overlay that combines the abilities of the PS4’s home screen and quick menu together. The new control center also has added “card” functionality, which brings up a number of different new features like game-related news, screenshots, trophy progression, in-game progression, as well as a new feature that gives players game hints to help finish a task.
With that same overlay, joining parties is much faster and can be done entirely without leaving to a new screen. Party invitations show as pop up notifications, and can be accepted by one press of the PS button. Parties also have some Discord-like functionality now, like sharing screens and booting up other games to join. It’s also worth noting that the new PlayStation Store was specifically mentioned as being “completely integrated into the system” of PS5, meaning it’s not a sluggish standalone web app like on PS4. All of these new features and optimizations are truly great, but some of the PS4 UI’s biggest problems likely won’t be solved per se.
From what was shown of the PS5’s UI reveal, the layout of the home screen is very similar to PS4. Games are lined up individually on a timeline, and there wasn’t any kind of in-depth organizational features shown. At least now Media (TV) has its own dedicated tab, but organizing games is still going to be sorted by a Library app or what was most recently played, as seen in the trailer. There’s also the card features, which could be hit or miss depending on if developers are willing to support its game hint functionality. Overall, there seems to be some fundamental improvements made, but some serious customization features are still missing in the PS5’s UI for now.
The PS5 launches on November 13, 2020.
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