PS5 system update 21.02-04-51.00 adds ‘stability’ to console: No VRR in sight
Sony releases another fairly boring software update.
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Sony has just rolled out the newest update for the PS5, meaning that you’re able to update and download new firmware for your PS5 now. This one is kind of a Sony classic. It was a long-running joke in the PS3, PS4, and even Playstaiton Vita era that Sony doesn’t really do much aside from ‘improve stability’ and that seems to be exactly what this update does, too. In the patch notes, nothing is really specified aside from additions of ‘Stability’, presumably for the console’s operating system. That said, there’s not really much else to speak of, at this point, the only thing that would make the console more stable is a newer design, which is almost certainly on the cards at Sony. However, don’t expect to see it for a couple of more years at least.
Your mileage may (not) vary
There is certainly a case to be made when looking at the fact that there is still no VRR support on the Playstation 5 console, which is certainly lagging behind the technical performances afforded by the Xbox Series consoles. It’s been over a year now, and it seems like the feature might still be far off for Sony, as they continue to test something completely different on their beta branches. VRR means that you will be able to unlock framerates for games capable of running at higher refresh rates, and properly make use of any HDMI 2.1 monitors that you might have.
This is a real shame, as we really honestly expected that the feature would come alongside the launch of the console, it’s pretty wild that almost 18 months on from its initial launch, we’ve still not seen one of the bigger, more ‘cutting-edge’ features hit the console quite yet. It’s a price that most early-adopters will pay, illustrated by the fact that users have additionally had to be faced with issues with the hardware, in the sense that Sony has also been forced to rethink its approach to the Dualsense controller when the triggers began to fail due to weak springs.
Sony tests out voice commands
In addition to giving you a brand-new look at the sheer stability that the new firmware offers, you can also choose to test out voice commands on the PS5, all you need to do to enable it is to install a beta firmware, be located in the US or UK, and get going. Again, this is something that we feel should have been in the default firmware when the console launched, instead of being tested out this far into the console’s lifecycle. Once again this unfortunate trend rears its ugly head while gamers are forced to wait for new software updates that offer nothing but ‘stability’.
The is the unfortunate nature of just having early hardware, and this cycle will continue as we march towards new PC platforms, too, expect things to be buggy, odd, or missing features for a while, that’s just how these products launch now, unfortunately. With that aside, it can be incredibly difficult to still get your hands on a brand-new PS5, so be sure that you get your hands on it, if you fancy it. We happen to have you sorted with our very hand restock hub that you will be able to catch here.
First-party output on the software side continues strong for Sony, giving you games like Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, Ghostwire Tokyo, and of course, God of War Ragnarok.
