PS4 firmware update adds better chat parties and an HDR tuner
Fresh out of beta testing, the latest PlayStation 4 software update, 7.00, is now live.
Along with the promise of PS4 Remote Play support across all Android devices (Android 5.0 and up), Sony is bringing 16-player chat parties to PlayStation Network with accompanying connectivity and audio quality improvements. In the United States, there’s also a new Chat Transcription feature, usable via the PS4 Second Screen smartphone app. It can pump out English text-to-voice or vice versa.
That’s all well and good, but expanded Remote Play support is particularly exciting. Here’s a recap:
- Using Remote Play, you can stream PS4 games to Android phones and tablets with Android 5.0 or higher. If you’re down, Sony has a dedicated PS4 Remote Play app on the Google Play Store. (Before, this stuff was limited to Sony’s own Xperia devices.)
- If you want to pair a DualShock 4 controller to your Android device for Remote Play purposes, you can do so via Bluetooth. But, unlike the aforementioned requirement, you’ll need to be running Android 10. That might complicate things a bit.
- Sony is also updating the PS4 Remote Play app on iOS so that “you can now display the controller at all times and lock the screen orientation.” The app supports DualShock 4 controllers via Bluetooth with iOS 13, iPadOS 13, and macOS Catalina. (For a quick rundown on how to pair your PS4 gamepad on iOS, Chris has you covered.)
There’s also a bonus feature for folks with an HDR-ready TV: a tuner. You can adjust your HDR settings system-wide by going to Settings > Sound and Screen > Video Output Settings > HDR. After installing 7.00, I was prompted to tune my PS4 the first time I played a game that supported HDR (in this case: Monster Hunter). You shouldn’t need to go digging into the menus unless you want to make tweaks.
PS4 System Software Update 7.00 Launches This Week [PlayStation Blog]