It’s been 9 months since the PS5 launched and it’s been an awesome console with some incredible games already released. But there are some areas that need improving, and even after 9 months, some features are still completely missing.
So whether or not you are one of the lucky ones that’s managed to get one, or you’re still trying to secure one, see if you agree with my points below or if I’ve missed any, make sure you drop those in the comments.
1. 1440p
Probably one of the most requested and missed features on the PS5 is the lack of support for 1440p. At the moment the PS5 only supports 1080p and 4K. So if you’re using a 1440p monitor, which generally speaking a lot of people will be, you’ll have to select 1080p and upscale from there. It’ll look fine, but if the PS5 could support 1440p it would be the sweet spot for most. It’s a feature that will come, and hopefully one we’ll see soon.
2. Storage
Ok, so this next one was a missing feature until only a couple of days ago. However it’s still not technically available to the public, and it could be some time before it is.
We know the PS5 comes with a 1TB drive with less than 700GB of usable space, but we really need to see more storage options available. You can use an external SSD to store your PS4 and PS5 games on, although you can’t play your PS5 games from the external drive. We also know there’s the internal expansion bay that, Sony within the last couple of days confirmed will be making available to beta testers. Now availability and prices of these internal ssd’s, that meet the minimum requirements, will be the biggest restrictions along with when it will be available to the public.
It’s great to see that sony at nearly nine months are looking to enable the internal bay but it would have been awesome if they announced it with their own drive.
The option to add at least 1 or 2 TBs for those PS5 games is pretty important now and something I would personally benefit from. Plus as more PS5 games are launching and games are generally getting larger, you don’t want to keep deleting games to make room for new ones. I’m looking at you, Call of Duty.
3. Themes /Wallpapers
At the moment there’s no way to really customise the PS5 home screen or dashboard. The background changes based on the game you hover over, but that’s it. It’s not custom to you. It would be nice to be able to either add your own photo or wallpaper OR the option to install themes like we’ve seen before. Again this was something we had on the PS4, and generally speaking we all like to customise our phones, laptops and consoles to feel more personal.
4. Folders
The PS4 had these, and I think it’s a real shame the PS5 doesn’t. And that’s folders. As we add more and more games to the library, there’s no real way of organising it, other than data and size. It would be great to be able to use folders for games you’re currently playing, or multiplayer games, or even different family members. Like yours and your kids. The PS4 did this pretty well, so I’d like to see this back.
5. VRR
This next feature that’s missing on the PS5, that not everyone will benefit from yet, is VRR, or Variable Refresh Rate. So generally speaking games on consoles are locked to a frame rate, so 60fps. But with the option to allow a variable refresh rate we’ll see even less screen tearing, stuttering or even latency issues. PC gamers will be aware of this feature, as will Xbox Series X and S owners as those consoles support that. You’d need a TV that has HDMI 2.1 to see this, but from my experience on the Xbox Series X it works really well.
The PS5 will get VRR, it’s just a matter of time. I guess they’ll wait until we see more games that could support the higher frame rates.
6. Game Pass
And this next one, which for me is a big one. So if you pay for PlayStation Plus you’ll get access to the ‘free’ monthly games, usually 2 or 3 games each month. And if you subscribe to PS Now you’ll also get access to a library of games, which are OK. But I’m going to say it, these offerings are nowhere near as good as GamePass.
The PS5 needs a service that’s comparable to GamePass. Something that gives the option to play all new PlayStation exclusive games on day one. I know most will say they’d rather pay for the game and don’t want to rent it, which essentially is what GamePass is. But for me it allows me to play games I’d not normally buy. I’d happily pay GamePass prices for a Sony equivalent.
7. Dolby Atmos / Vision
Now we know that the PS5 supports Sony’s Tempest 3D audio, but the PS5 is missing something for both video and audio. And that’s Dolby Atmos and Dolby Vision. If you’ve got a TV that supports either of these, you’ll know how good they look and sound, plus the Xbox does offer both. If and when Sony adds this to the PS5 it will make a huge difference to both gaming and movies. Hopefully it’s something we’ll see in the future as personally I think it would make a great addition.
8. PiP / Picture in Picture
Next up, picture in picture. Some TVs already support this, as well as Apple TV, but it would be useful if the PS5 did too. The ability to natively show two apps at the same time would be great. Imagine being able to play a game full screen, and have a small window that you can move around showing a different app. You could have a walkthrough video up from YouTube or a live stream of a sport you’re watching. I know there are some workarounds with the explore tab, which I believe is limited to the US at the moment, but being able to use the native apps would be perfect.
9. Official plates
The PS5 was designed with these removable plates, which I’ve already replaced with some matte black plates from dbrand. The only real downside is that they don’t have the PlayStation logo cut out as they aren’t official. I think it’s only a matter of time before we see Sony offering their own, but I think it would be great to see themed, exclusive and limited edition ones. Like we used to see on the PS4.
We’ve already seen the two new colours for the controllers, Cosmic Red and Midnight Black, so I wouldn’t be surprised if we hopefully see some plates later this year. Would you buy some themed plates? Which game design would you want to see?
10. Social Feed
I definitely want to see a social feed or the old PS4 community tab added onto the PS5. Somewhere that shows what your friends are playing, what trophies they’ve recently got or any updates they post. I know most people probably didn’t use the community tab on the PS4, but it was a feed that worked like a twitter or instagram timeline. Being able to see what your friends are up to, made it feel social and engaging. Plus it gave you ideas of games to play.
11. Web Browser
The PS5 needs a web browser. Seeing as most of us use a console as the central media hub for gaming and streaming, it makes sense to have a browser too. Now we know the PS4 had this feature, and there’s a setting in the PS5 that suggests it should actually have a browser app.
There are workarounds for getting the browser to work, such as sending a URL via a message and opening it up. But we need a native browser app to be able to search Google or visit normal websites.
12. Quick Resume
The PS5 has the Game Switcher, but it’s not quite as good as Xbox’s Quick Resume. We need to be able to swap between games and resume from the exact point we left it. The PS5 is rapid at loading games up, but if it jumped straight back into the level or pause screen you were last on, that would be awesome. The xbox handles this perfectly, so you can load up a game, then instantly swap to another game where it will load up to the exact part you were last at.
13. Backwards Compatibility
The PS5 supports a huge library of PS4 games via backwards compatibility. Pretty much any game you have on the PS4 will work, there’s a small list of games that Sony say won’t work.
But, I really want to see PS3 and even PS2 and PS1 games supported. I mean sure, we’re talking about a PS5 here and most people don’t want to play 10 or 20 year old games, but even on the PS4 I downloaded the odd PS2 games like Bully. I’d love to see all PS2 games on here, I’d be all over The Getaway.
Are there any games on the PS1, 2 or 3 that you’d still play today on the PS5?
14. Bluetooth Dongle
If anyone uses a third party bluetooth headset with the PS5 you’ll know that it requires a dongle to be plugged into the console. The PlayStation 5 needs to support the option to have headsets natively connect with a dongle, it’s not a big one, but it would definitely eliminate a USB port being used up or sticking out the front of the console.
15. Smaller
And this one, which isn’t an issue in my setup, but for it to be smaller. Obviously this would require a redesign, but for most I think the PS5 is probably too big for a console that will sit under a TV or on a desk. Maybe we’ll see a slim version in the future to cater for that.
Bonus Round
Oh and here’s a bonus one, something I think everyone can agree on. We need more stock, seriously we’re 9 months in and stock is still a huge issue.
I also asked this question over on Instagram a few days ago, and these were the responses I received. Most confirmed that I was thinking, but there were some news ones in there I’d not thought about. Being in stock being on of the popular choices.
So these were all of the points that I think the PS5 could be improved on, are there any here that you agree or disagree with? Or are there any that I’ve missed and you’d like to see added. It doesn’t need to be software either, are there any hardware features the next version of the PS5 Pro or Slim should have?