Sony has initiated beta testing for a new PS5 update that aims to enhance the speakers and microphone of the DualSense controller, adding pointers and emoji reactions to the Share Screen feature. Testers will receive an email invite to try out the update, which also includes the ability to adjust the brightness of the PS5 power indicator. The firmware for both the DualSense and DualSense Edge wireless controllers has been updated with this PS5 beta to improve the volume of the speakers that output in-game sounds and voice chat. Sony is also improving the microphone capabilities of both of the DualSense controllers to better deal with noise.
The microphone input quality on these controllers has been improved thanks to a new AI machine learning model, which suppresses background noise from button presses and game audio, resulting in a better voice chat experience. If you use the Share Screen feature on PS5 then friends will now be able to use pointers and emoji reactions to interact with your gameplay. Viewers can move a pointer around, send a ping, or draw a line on the shared screen to guide the host player more accurately, while also sending emoji reactions to the host of the screen sharing.
The last addition in this PS5 beta update is the ability to control the brightness of the PS5’s power indicator, with three options available to choose from: dim, medium, and bright (default). Unfortunately, users cannot fully disable the power indicator. Sony is making this PS5 beta available to select testers in the US, Canada, Japan, UK, Germany, and France today, with plans to roll out the update to all PS5 owners within a few months.