Sony detailed the changes and improvements PlayStation 4 owners can expect from this week’s launch of System Software update 4.00, including such highlights as sortable folders, enhanced social networking features, and a customizable Quick Menu.
The forthcoming update also overhauls the console’s What’s New section and improves user notifications, among other announced interface tweaks.
After installing this week’s update, PS4 owners will see a refreshed interface with multiple options for background images and color schemes. The PS4 console’s What’s New app has also been redesigned to encourage users to post their reactions from friends’ uploaded content.
The digital library will also see a number of long-requested improvements this week, including an option that allows players to sort their downloaded games and apps into customizable folders. If you have been frustrated with deactivated content taking up space in your library, the firmware upgrade will hide software that is not currently installed on the console by default. Users can still access previously downloaded content via a new Purchased submenu in the Library app.
The update will also introduce new data transfer features, making it easier for players to upgrade to PlayStation 4 Slim or PlayStation 4 Pro hardware. In addition to downloading stored data from Sony’s cloud-based infrastructure, players can directly transfer downloaded games anduser profiles, and save data from one PS4 to another by using a wired LAN connection, significantly speeding up an otherwise lengthy process.
The redesigned Quick Menu can now be accessed by holding down the Dual Shock 4’s PS button. Quick Menu options can now be added and sorted by user preference, and interface improvements allow players to take full control of the PS4’s built-in Spotify app without leaving their game in progress.
The update’s final set of announced features specifies the upcoming PS4 Pro hardware launching in November. The update will enable 1080p Remote and Share Play streaming for PS4 Pro owners, along with 1080p broadcasting via YouTube and Twitch.
The update launches as a free download via the PlayStation Network on Tuesday.
Acer’s Predator Atlas 8 finally has a US release date and price, several months after the company first showed off the handheld in May. The highlight is the Intel Arc G3 Extreme chip inside, which has been adopted by only a couple of other consoles besides the Atlas 8. This version will go on sale exclusively at Best Buy on November 1 for $1,299.99.
Acer originally said the Atlas 8 would arrive in North America in October, but left pricing open at the time. The launch came amid the ongoing DRAM crunch, which has made memory more expensive across the PC industry and complicated pricing for hardware makers.
Gaming laptops and I have a complicated relationship. One of my first gaming rigs was an Acer Predator that was already outdated when I bought it. I was a broke college kid, and that was the best I could afford. So trying out high-end gaming laptops is always fun. But ASUS' ROG Zephyrus G14 is a lot more than a laptop that can run AAA games. It is portable, so you're not lugging around a 2.5kg machine everywhere you go. It is built well, none of that plastic chassis, and can even function as a normal laptop outside of just gaming.
Google Play is borrowing one of the Nintendo Switch’s most useful little tricks. A new Sidekick tool called Playbacks captures a short clip after something interesting has already happened, sparing players from running a screen recorder throughout an entire game.
Playbacks is part of Google Play Store v53.8 and keeps saved clips on the phone. Google first announced it earlier this month, but the new Play Store update marks its arrival for players. Anyone who has watched a perfect win vanish because the record button came too late already understands the appeal.