PS4 firmware update 7.0 is finally here, bringing new and improved features to the console. Sid Shuman, Senior Director of SIE Content Communications division, revealed the details in a new blog post. There are two main areas of concern with the 7.0 firmware, with general performance improvements coming along for the ride as well.
The update itself is pretty substantial, tweaking existing features while also adding new ones. The party chat feature leads the charge, but we can expect much more than just expanded party sizes. One of the bigger new additions is the Party Play updates, which will allow PS4 gamers to group up and play games together in larger groups. This is something that Xbox owners have been doing for years, so Sony finally catching up and adding the feature is a good thing. For starters, the maximum number of party users has been increased from 8 to 16; on top of that, the patch also looks to improve network stability and audio quality, offering a better overall experience.
But Wait! There’s More!
Remote Play, a feature that allowed PS4 gamers to stream games to iOS devices, is being expanded with the 7.0 update. Remote Play will now let you stream games from your console to any Android device running version 5.0 or above.
You can also play via Bluetooth with newer devices. Android 10, iOS 13, iPadOS 13, or macOS Catalina will all support the new feature. All PS4 owners have to do to get going with Remote Play is to update their consoles and relevant mobile devices.
The new firmware will drop on October 8th, and be available for all users.
As work continues on new games, and of course the next console the PS5, Sony will be looking forward to the next console generation. Luckily that doesn’t mean that PS4 owners are being left behind, as it seems Sony will continue pushing out patches and new content for the 8th generation platform for some time. And while it won’t reach the always impressive lifespan of the venerable PlayStation 2, the fourth iteration will be around for a while longer.
