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PS4

Equally the PlayStation 4's third ceremony nears, the folks at Sony are hard at piece of work developing a major new firmware release focused on cleaning up the user interface. Codenamed "Shingen," this 4.0 update will brainstorm closed beta testing in the near future. While we won't get to encounter every nook and cranny just yet, the PlayStation team has given us a glimpse at the changes we tin can expect later this year.

Over at the PlayStation Blog, Sony'due south John Koller outlined a scattering of Shingen's improvements. First off, he explains that the system'south main interface is getting a facelift. We'll see new backgrounds, updated icons, and redesigned notifications. This isn't the consummate overhaul many of u.s. have been hoping for, simply we won't plough our noses upward at this and then-called "fresh coat of paint."

New Quick Menu

Next, Sony plans on revising the Quick Menu — the simplified interface that comes upward when y'all press and hold the PS button. The Quick Carte du jour volition no longer completely obscure gameplay, and we'll have easy access to our political party, friends, groups, and communities. Fifty-fifty amend, the bill of fare is customizable, so yous'll only have to run into the options that affair about to y'all.

Similarly, the Share carte will no longer take over your entire screen when you bring it upwardly. In addition to the new await, information technology volition now automatically default to your near recent social network. If y'all exclusively use Facebook or Twitter to distribute your media, the sharing process will be a little bit faster now. And since Twitter now supports videos upwards to 140 seconds long, the 10 second limit for that service on PS4 is no more than.

On the bays front, these lilliputian awards are condign a lot more user friendly. Ever get frustrated by all of those subconscious trophies? Yous can now choose to view the name and details of hidden trophies — even if y'all haven't earned them yet. And if yous're offline when you lot view your drove, you'll now be able to view everything without having to connect to PSN.

User profiles are getting some attention with this update as well. We'll be allowed to add a custom groundwork image — non entirely unlike the banners we saw years ago on the PlayStation Vita. Shingen besides makes it easier to compare your trophy progress with friends, so the hyper-competitive amidst us will undoubtedly exist thrilled.

Nearly importantly, the library navigation is getting a big update. Not only are folders and new sorting options on the table, just you'll exist able to browse through your installed games and apps — not simply a behemothic list of everything fastened to your account. Because that the current library setup is ane of our biggest pet peeves, nosotros're practically doing handstands over hither.

Unfortunately, we withal don't accept a solid thought of when the public will do good from all of these improvements. However, Koller promises that more features and a release date will exist appear in the "coming weeks," then hopefully our wait won't be likewise severe, especially given the PS4 Neo could debut every bit early equally September 7th.