The Next Major Update For The PS4 Firmware Is Bring So Much More

More features for the PS4’s 2.0 firmware have been announced and detailed with more on the way

It was mentioned and slightly detailed back at E3 but it looks like the 2.0 update to the PS4’s firmware is about to be released and it looks like there is a lot more to it than we thought. Some of these updates have been something I was hoping to have on my PlayStation since its launch back in 2013 but it looks like Sony has finally had the time to get around to them. I know I have been waiting for the YouTube addition for some time now but it looks like as of now my want for Media streaming, outside of Music, is still amiss.

You can read more about these updates on the PlayStation Blog but we have a nice break down with images here for you. There is still no time frame for when Masamune, that would be the code name, is slated for release but rumors have sprung up that it could be as early as today. Let’s ignore that for now and dig into what will be coming in the next major PS4 firmware update.

• USB Music Player — PS4 owners can play their own music in the background while playing a game using USB Music Player*. After inserting a USB stick loaded with music into the PS4, a new option for USB Music Player will appear. Supported filename extensions include MP3, MP4, M4A, and 3GP.
• Players You May Know — PS4 will now suggest players you may know in the ‘What’s New’ section, recommending gamers your friends frequently play with.
• Enhancements to Live Broadcasting — Masamune brings a variety of improvements to live broadcasting on PS4. In the Live From PlayStation app, PS4 owners can now select a Featured channel, which includes official broadcasts from PlayStation, broadcasts from people on a player’s friend list, and any game channel that the player has followed. Additionally, Live From PlayStation now has filters for searching broadcasts on a specific game, as well as support for archived broadcasts.
• Themes

• Content Area and Library — PS4’s Content Area, which shows the latest games and apps a PS4 owner has used, has been redesigned to help make it easier to quickly find and access content. It now shows 15 of a player’s most used apps or games, and additional items will be added to a player’s Library. The Library on PS4 has improved filter and sort functions to help organize contented by type (game / app / TV & video), name (a – z or z – a), recently used, or install date.
• Enhanced Voice Commands — The ability to control PS4 using voice has been improved. Players can now say ‘PlayStation’ to begin commands, and ‘All Commands,’ to see a list of all voice command options available. New voice commands were added for live broadcasting, including “Start broadcast,” “End broadcast,” and “Find face.”
• Add To Library — The monthly free PlayStation Plus games will have an ‘Add to Library’ button in the PlayStation Store. This button will add a game to a PS4 owner’s library without downloading it – saving space on their hard drive.
• Back Up Data — Data on PS4 can be backed up and resorted using USB storage. This will back up all data for the console, including settings, save data, screenshots, video clips, download data, and more.
• Change colors — In addition to the ability to add a theme, PS4 owners can also change the background of the home screen from light blue to one of seven new colors: gold, blue, red, green, purple, pink, and gray.

Like I said, there are whole slew of new changes coming for the PS4 and I am glad to see quite a few of them. I really hope that Sony puts out a nice little piece of software to make theme creation easier for all of us so we don’t have to settle for the same tired themes that I am sure will be brought over form the PS3 and Vita. That may be a little too much to hope for so I’ll just go back to hoping for media streaming so I can watch my backlog of TV shows and downloaded videos. At least YouTube is a start…