Sony has held three PS5 events so far in 2020, starting with a deep dive into the console way back in March 2020, followed by the official reveal in June, and the a showcase just last week. However, there are still a few things we don’t know about the upcoming console.
The console will be launching in November 2020, as announced at the PS5 Showcase. But between now and then, we expect Sony to hold at least one more PS5 event to hopefully reveal the below information we still don’t know.
System UI
Over the three events, we’ve had a very small glimpse at the PS5’s UI. In fact, it didn’t go beyond a look at the Start Screen:
The main details we know about the System UI is that it will be a “100% overhaul of the PS4 UI”, and will feature a smarter, dynamic system that will be capable of telling you about the next mission or stage in the game, give you tips and advise, and allow you to quickly jump into different modes of the game.
Patent images of the UI have been found over time, but these only give a very rough idea of what the UI will look like.
Expandable SSD Port
In the PS5 deep drive by Mark Cerny, a expandable SSD port was first mentioned, but we’ve heard nothing else since then. The PS5 and PS5 Digital Editions will come with a 825 GB hard drive, which will fill up quickly due to larger game sizes on the PS5 in order to support 4K resolution. This storage will be built-in and won’t be swappable like the PS4 and PS3 drives.
Therefore, expandable storage will be important in the long run. Gamers will be able to use external hard drives (USB 2.0 or USB 3.0) for PS4 backwards compatibility but these won’t be fast enough for the PS5 games.
Mark Cerny revealed that the PS5 will include a custom SSD port, which will support certain M.2 internal drives. But these will need to be at least as fast as the internal PS5 SSD, and it will need to be able to physically fit into the bay provided.
We don’t currently know where on the console this expansion port is located, but we do know it’s internal. We also don’t know which currently available M.2 drive are currently supported (if any).
There is a mysterious button on the bottom-end of the console, which could be used to reveal the SSD expansion port:
Backwards Compatibility
Sony has said that PS4 games will be supported on the PS5 and expects most of the games to work on the upcoming console. Following the PS5 Showcase, the PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan revealed that 99% of the PS4 games tested so far will be supported.
However, what we don’t currently know is how many PS4 games have been tested on the PS5, and which ones currently don’t work. The PS4 has 4000+ games available, which means roughly 40+ of those won’t be supported. And of the games that are supported, will they have any issues with running on the PS5?
In the PS5 Showcase, Sony also revealed the PlayStation Plus Collection – a curated list of 18 PS4 titles that will be playable on the PS5 from launch, and part of the existing PlayStation Plus subscription. This means that at least these 18 games are fully supported by the PS5.
PlayStation VR Support
The PS5 will support the PlayStation VR headset, but we are still missing some details. At the moment, the PlayStation Camera won’t work on the PS5 as the AUX port on the PS4 isn’t available on the PS5. However, Sony has said that an adapter will be provided to PS VR owners at no extra cost to make this compatible.
We haven’t heard how this free adapter will be available yet, and whether it will be included with the PS5 itself. The PS5 also has its own camera, but it’s unclear whether this will work with the PS VR headset.
Remote Play
Remote Play on the PS4 was a nice feature, allowing PS Vita, Mobile (Android, iOS) and PC / Mac users to play PS4 games remotely. With PC / Mac, gamers could also connect the DualShock 4 controller to their device and play games like they would with the PS4 itself.
We haven’t heard any details on whether Remote Play will be supported on the PS5, and whether it will work in the same way. It’s unlikely that the PS Vita will support the PS5 given it’s end of life, but we hope that PC / Mac / Mobile Remote Play is supported like the PS4.
While gaming via Remote Play may not be popular, it is a useful way to interact with the console while you are out and about. For example, to update games, download new games or manage the system so it’s ready for when you get home.
PlayStation Now
PlayStation Now is another service that’s supported on the PS4 and PC / Mac, but we haven’t heard much about it on the PS5. It’s very likely that the service will be supported on the PS5, which also gives gamers a route into backwards compatibility for older PS1, PS2 and PS3 games.
The streaming service currently supports over 700 PS4, PS3 and PS2 games and forms a separate subscription to PlayStation Plus. We hope that PlayStation Now and PlayStation Plus are combined into a single service.
Others
Of course, there are still plenty of other things we don’t know about, including:
- Confirmed list of launch games – which games can we expect on launch day aside from the few that have already been confirmed.
- PlayStation Plus on PS5 – will we get two free PS5 games every month like the PS4?
- Changes to PlayStation Store for the PS5 – will the PlayStation Store be updated with new features for the PS5? What will the PlayStation Store look like on the PS5.