The latest PlayStation beta, announced Wednesday, will be introducing a bunch of in-progress features that better personalize your PlayStation 5 experience, including adaptive charging support for controllers — but only for the latest models.
Sony laid out the beta updates in a blog, but noted that adaptive charging, which will work on PS5-era controllers (although not the PlayStation Portal) and can adjust the power sent to them based on battery level, will only be available for the newest PS5 model, which is slimmer and has a larger internal SSD for more storage. Many newer phones have this feature so that the battery doesn’t get overcharged and fried over time.
This will be a rest mode feature, so you have to go into the settings menu, then head to System > Power Saving > Features Available in Rest Mode to turn it on.
More widespread in the beta is new personalized 3D audio profiles. More and more headphones and other devices are introducing 3D audio (sometimes called spatial audio), which simulates the feeling of being in a 3D space more intricately than surround sound. Instead of just being surrounded by audio, 3D audio attempts to replicate how you’d hear sound in the real world. So if you turn your head, the sound will adjust as if you’ve moved around.
This is appealing for video game players who might want a better idea of where enemies or action is located in-game. For example, 3D audio can theoretically make it sound like there’s gunfire behind you, instead of just nearby.
Because everybody has different heads, PlayStation’s personalized 3D audio feature will let you create a profile in the settings app. Sony says to go to the Sound menu and choose 3D Audio (Headphones) and follow the instructions to set it up. You can see how it works in the video below.
It’s unclear if this will only work with PlayStation headsets like the Pulse Elite or if it applies to any device that supports 3D audio.
Finally, Remote Play is getting some tweaks to allow users to choose who can connect to their console. So, if you want to remove somebody from being able to use Remote Play, you can. This is a small, but worthwhile privacy feature that can give players a higher degree of control over who they interact with.
You can opt into the beta, and you’ll receive an email invite on Thursday if you’ve been selected. The beta is only available for people in the U.S., Canada, Japan, U.K., Germany, and France.
