- Sony finally revealed the user interface and user experience of the PS5 on Thursday.
- The video preview of the PS5 UI shows off the brand new home screen, Control Center, and new features like Activities, which let you jump straight into specific levels of games you own.
- Sony will launch the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition on November 12th in the US.
Sony is slated to launch the PlayStation 5 and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition in the US on November 12th, but we have still yet to see what the console looks like when it is powered on. That finally changed on Thursday, as Sony released a video preview of the PS5’s user experience, complete with live gameplay from PS5 exclusive titles.
The first new element the video focuses on is the Control Center that appears when you press the PlayStation button on the DualSense controller while playing a game. The Control Center gives you access to everything you might need without actually leaving the game. You can check the status of your game or update downloads, see if any friends are online, manage your controller, and even power off your accessories or the console itself.
The Control Center also gives you access to one of the PS5’s defining features: Activities. As you can see in the video below, Activities are displayed at the top of the screen when you press the PlayStation button and give you immediate access to specific elements of a game. You can zip straight to a level you didn’t finish, for example. Once you jump in, the Activities card will show you the key objectives that you haven’t met in that level, and if you’re a PlayStation Plus subscriber, some games will offer official game help, showing you exactly what to do next.
Sony has also reworked the interactive notifications that appeared on the PS4. If your friends start a voice chat, you’ll get a notification in the corner of your screen, and you can open it by simply tapping the PS button.
You will have the option to either join or view the party. The DualSense controller has a mic, so you can start chatting as soon as you join, with or without a separate headset. You will also get notifications when friends share their screen, which you can watch in picture-in-picture mode so you don’t have to stop playing.
We also get a look at the redesigned home screen, where the UI elements take up far less space than they did on the PS4, giving the games and media more room to shine. Each game has its own integrated hub on the screen, so you’ll be able to see relevant news about the game, DLC, and jump right into any Activities quickly. Finally, the PlayStation Store, which was notoriously slow and clunky on the PS4, is no longer a standalone app. Integrated directly into the home screen, it should be a far more pleasant experience, especially with the speed of the PS5.
The $499 PS5 and $399 PS5 Digital Edition will be available on November 12th.
