PS4 System Software 4.00 Will Feature Folders, UI Refresh, More

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PS4 System Software 4.00 Will Feature Folders, UI Refresh, More

Our beta for PS4’s upcoming 4.00 update, codenamed Shingen, rolls out soon for everyone included in the public beta program. If you signed up and were selected, be on the lookout for an email with instructions on how to download.

Whether you’re in the beta or not, we wanted to give everyone a glimpse at some of the new aspects of this system software. We’re refreshing the system UI, adding tools for organization, updating the Quick Menu, and much more.

UI Refresh

We’ve made a lot of adjustments and improvements to PS4’s main user interface. That includes some changes you may notice right away, like new system backgrounds and a revised What’s New tab, to smaller changes like updated popup notifications and redesigned system icons. As a whole, it all adds up to a more refined and easy to use UI. The overall look and feel of the UI remains the same — it just has a fresh coat of paint.

4.00 beta Quick Menu

Quick Menu

As you know, pressing and holding the PS button on your DualShock 4 brings up the Quick Menu. We’ve overhauled this menu to make it faster and easier to use. One big change is that the menu now only covers a portion of the screen, meaning you don’t need to leave gameplay entirely.

We’ve added several new items to the Quick Menu, letting you quickly get info without having to back to the home screen. You can see the online status of your friends, and shortcuts to quickly access your Party, Favorite Groups, Communities, and more. You can also customize the Quick Menu, removing or adding items as you see fit.

4.00 beta SHARE menu

Share Menu

We’ve given a similar overhaul to the Share Menu, which appears once you press the Share button on your DualShock 4. Like the Quick Menu, it only covers a portion of the screen. It will save the last social network you shared video clips or screenshots to, making the process of sharing a screenshot or video a bit faster and more streamlined.

You can also upload longer video clips to Twitter (was 10 seconds, now up to 140 seconds).

4.00 beta Folders

Folders and Library Organization

One of the big requests we get is for more options to organize content on PS4. With this update, we’re adding functionality to create folders on PS4’s content launcher and Library. This will help collect your favorite games and select apps in one place for quick and easy access.

We’re also making some pretty big changes to the Library. We’ve added a new tab called Purchased, which will show all of the content you own — games, applications, demos, and betas you’ve participated in. As a result, the Games and Applications tabs focus on content currently installed on your system. This should help de-clutter your library, and make it faster to find the content you’re looking for.

There are some new sorting tools for your Library as well. You’ll be able to sort content by purchase date or install status, and search for specific games and apps via text input.

Trophy Improvements

This update brings the ability to view the Trophy offline. You’ll see a new “offline mode” option if your system is unable to connect to the network, letting you view your entire Trophy collection without an Internet connection.

We’ve also added a button that will let you view the content of a Hidden Trophy. The Trophy will still be hidden by default, but you can now choose to show the Trophy name and info.

Lastly, we’re changing the icons that show how rare a Trophy is. Instead of four boxes that fill, the icon looks like a pyramid with the ultra-rare Trophies at the top.

4.00 beta User Profile

User Profile

We’ve updated the look of the User Profile, making it easier to see relevant info for a player at-a-glance. For instance, you can now see your Trophy progress compared with another player right from their profile. You can also add a background image to your own profile — perhaps a screenshot you took in one of your favorite games.

The update has even more features that won’t be available in the beta, so stay tuned for additional info on what to expect. We’ll be back with more info on 4.00, including its launch date, in the coming weeks.

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731 Comments

  • The change in the Quick Menu seems really improved and convenient but the change in the Share menu is a terrible idea…I embrace a faster way to upload videos since every damn time I want to upload a video YT asks me to link ma account but the Share menu should not be changed…it was perfect,and I know what I’m saying cuz nobody uses the Share button more than me.Bad move Sony as usual.

    Will gonna say right away how terrible it is to have yet another change in the User Profile screen,unnecessary changes as always…you guys are never happy with the User Profile Screen…put something then change back to how it was…this is a shame.

    And finally some good things…finally we can organize the UI right?…I hope its what I’m thinking and not a mask to what everyone has been asking for.And finally we’ll be able to see our trophies offline…its ridiculous how this wasn’t on PS4 since the beginning.

    • Also gotta agree with some,this MAY be the best update yet at least since I bought ma PS4.

      Huge thumbs up to the feature that’ll show the content of hidden trophies…I will never have to look it up on guides again.Meaning guides are useless now.

  • Yay! It’s about time we got some organization :D I can’t wait until I have a “Games Folder” and then a “All the other Junk” folder XD

  • It’s about time they added a search function to the game library its a pain in the ass to have to scroll through all of the games that you never play just to find the one you’re looking for

  • Meanwhile I sit here still praying they add the option to play sound through speakers AND headset together not just one or the other :/

  • Also the ability to change your psn name or “gamertag”

  • I was expecting bigger changes…. This update is nice but it would be nice to see an overhaul of the atrocious home screen menus.

  • Love that we can add a background image to our user profile. Almost there: let us use screenshots as custom themes!

    Also will 4.0 keep pushing first-party content apps to the front of my recently used list, regardless of whether or not I use them?

    And populate my Video folder with a bunch of first- and third-party service apps I don’t subscribe to? I have Netflix and YouTube and that’s all I want to see. No interested in HBO Go or Hulu or Amazon Prime Video. I shouldn’t even have to see those apps.

    And finally, can we get an option to remove demos and betas from our Library? If I played a demo or beta and didn’t buy the game afterward, there’s a reason for that. And if I DID buy the game afterward then I still don’t need the demo or beta in my Library.

  • I really hope you open the lvl 100 cap officially…..
    been stuck at it for the past 3 years

  • dear john koller,please bring spotify to the vita.thanks

  • How about some app for video chat? This camera is more of a joke then Xbox kinect. At least Xbox had Skype at launch. Figured after an update or two they would have it. Here is update 4 and still no mention of anything.

  • How about play games from an usb device? It will be add a lot more space (BTW my PS4 has a 2TB HDD and only 100GB free). My last purchase was Doom with ~30GB…. :(

  • The new update will probably be good

  • This looks like it will be a nice clean sleek looking update. Change of scenery.

  • Lovely improvement! I don’t think you’ll be surprised that this is about the only thing I warn people about when they ask if they should get a PS4. As you know managing your games quickly becomes difficult as the library of games grows.

    I didn’t see a mention, but I was curious if you had a “pin” option? I typically have 2-3 games I’m playing regularly and would like to lock those into the first few slots on the bar.

  • Any word on when the beta emails will go out?

  • WHAT ABOUT BACKGROUND WALLPAPER IN THE MAIN MUNU SCREEN? YOU GUYS CANT FORGET THAT THIS IS AN OLD REQUEST AS WELL.

  • Im really liking the customization options. Now if we could just be able to choose the led light on our controller, and download backgrounds for the playstation from websites like the ps3 it would be nearly perfect.

  • Library search is most welcome.

    Folders is great too.

    Can Mr. Koller comment to when Two Step/Factors is coming?

  • Sounds good. I put in to be in the beta, but I haven’t heard if I was accepted. Has anyone received a notification that that they have been?

  • I don’t get it… Folders…. folders…. we are talking about folders

    Sony’s team used all this time to make folders, instead of backwards game capability.

    Comeon man, we are talking about folders… not just one, but many …. folders.

    Who needs/asked for folders anyway /Kappa

    (I can’t wait to see how this works)

    • It’s 2016 and just about every electronic device and operating system from PCs/Macs to smartphones to competing consoles and even last gen consoles – PS devices included – feature, at the very least, a basic user customizable organization function, so it’s quite puzzling that the PS4 didn’t support this feature since launch. Although, after skimming through this comments section, I couldn’t help but notice (surprisingly) that quite a few other users share your feelings that Sony could’ve put their resources to better use. I’d imagine this opinion is still of the minority though.

    • Don’t get me wrong, backwards compatibility is my most desired feature, but we have to understand that it isn’t simply a matter of shifting the system software team’s focus to work on that instead of UI improvements. They would need to make a significant investment and hire engineers just for that purpose. Not to mention the fact that it will most certainly have an adverse affect on their PS Now service, which must be another deterrent.

      Sadly, I don’t think we’ll get backwards compatibility any time soon, but maybe someday down the line. In the meantime, I’m just grateful for all of the improvements they continue to make. Especially these latest ones for the UI that were much needed. :)

  • I really hope someday they will allow us to adjust individual people’s volume leves that we hear in party chat. This is the main thing that keeps me using discord. It can be hectic especially when you have more that 4 people especially those who dont know the concept of turning their tv down or not screaming into the mic.

  • Very nice changes!

  • How Ironic Ps3 has those features and even Better … Ps3 500mb Ram vs Ps4 8Gb Ram Please Sony add media features storage and Wallpapers Please

  • Still no backwards compatibility for PS1/PS2/PS3. That makes me sad.

  • Plus Sony should launch the same Ps4 controller with high Battery Life it Drains Battery even if you are not playing

  • I just want custom wallpapers! PLEASE!!!

  • Sounds good, but what about the stuff like the battleborn beta that stays in my library even after I deleted it. Sony needs to let ups remove stuff like that so I don’t even have to look at it.

  • OMG, finally the folders.

    There are so many icons that will go to the “useless” folder, just like in apple (I am looking at you PS Now)

  • I know this might.not seem important but can you huys put the date on the homescreen please

  • It’s… everything I ever wanted… Bravo, Sony, BRAVO! T_T

  • And when will we get The option to change our Region. Common Sony! I used to live in the Caribbean and now I live in Europe. I want to change my region.

    Sincerely,

    A gamer and a fan since ’08.

    • I second this – used to live in the UK and now in the USA. Want to change my ID and my region, already ended up creating a new account because of frustrations.

  • Wow! This is one hell of an update. Really looking forward to it. Any word on when the update will drop? Thanks for the hard work. Hard not to like Playstation right now, it’s pretty awesome.

  • Please bring ps3 disk compatibility. If its not possible, then at least let the ps4 recognize the disk so I can stream it free from ps now, I don’t want to pay for games I already own and my ps3 is getting old.

  • Hopefully there is an option (or can be added) to have a quick press open the ‘Quick Menu’ and long press to the Dashboard. Kind of like how you have the swapped options to take screenshots.

    I notice the ‘customize’ on the Quick Menu. So does that mean those items listed below the No Man’s Sky line can be tailored to your liking?

  • By Library organization does that mean I can delete all the applications that are making a mess? Like game betas and demos?

    • No, it puts them into a ‘Purchased’ Tab that lists everything you have ‘license’ to or played/used. It removes them from the ‘Games’ and ‘Apps’ Tabs. This will declutter it big time, just do not click on the ‘Purchased’ Tab, unless you need to re-download something.

  • Still waiting on being able to put my own back ground in like the ps3, ps3 disk play or permanently buy digital copy’s and video chat.

  • Wow! Kudos to the PS4 team, this is phenomenal, and hands down the most substantial PS4 System Software update we’ve seen yet. You really can tell the PlayStation team listened with the addition of Folders (which was hugely requested) and something I was personally happy about: Library Cleanup. Being able to have your entire purchase list separate from what’s installed on the Hard Drive is a very nice addition. I’d still like the ability to even “hide” purchases that you no longer care to see (Betas, Demos, etc.) but this is a great first step.

    Plus, I was not expecting a UI Overhaul but I’m really happy as this is really the first time the PS4 UI is getting changed that much, and I really like the new concept of the Quick Menu / Share screen, and being able to keep seeing your game/app simultaneously.

    While I won’t be doing the 4.0 Beta, I am really excited to see the 4.0 public launch! Well done!

  • Can you put 12AM EDT DLC And 10GB save cloud 5gb not good anymore.

  • This is the perfect time to add the option to choose how much of the last 15 min of gameplay you save!! PLEASE

  • Folders seems like a bit of a cop out honestly. This is a game console not a Productivity PC. No good has ever come of folders. However good to have it there for those who can’t think outside the box I guess and it’s not like I have to use them. That being said I hope Sony continues to put research efforts into data management on this level. Thank you for more filters and the search, exactly what the doctor ordered. Can we get a Jump to for the alphabet and genre sorting along with combined easy to use queries?

    also new Quick menu is a bit interesting. Can we pin trophies to it? If so any plans to shrink down the game space or provide a quick overlay option of tracked trophies that fades in and out with a button press? Maybe allow us to assign an area of the touch pad for this function for games that just use it for one off tasks? Kind of like how we use the touch on Vita for extra buttons.

  • Hell yea i would love this update even more if we could change our gamertag!!!!!!!!!!

  • I wish they would just make it really customisable. So we could make it more functional for ourselves.

  • Can we please get the option to delete pre-installed apps in the near future? Being able to use folders to hide things like Spotify and PlayStation Vue is a nice start, but as one of probably many people who aren’t ever going to use those, I’d like to delete them off my hard drive entirely to free up space. Like the Playroom app. I don’t even have a PlayStation Eye camera so I definitely don’t need that dang thing taking up hdd space or UI space when I’m on the main menu. All those could be moved to a PlayStation Apps page in the store to re-download if one wishes to use them at a later time.

  • We have backwards compatibility four ps4

  • Was hoping for ps1 classics with trophies on ps4. Am i asking too much?

  • Folders and updated UI are great and all. Thank you for that!

    Having said that, this is actually what WE ALL REALLY WANT: The option to change the PSN username, like maybe once a year or longer, I don’t really care. I just want to change my stupid name right now, but stilly be able to bring along my save games and trophies.

  • looks nice

  • Will there ever be an option to change gamertag?

  • Can’t wait to get this update, i signed up for the beta so hopefully i’ll get in

  • Can you add a feature to group your friends. e.g ability to name a group say Battlefield and add all the people you play BF with to that group. Seems silly having the ability to have so many friends yet no filters etc. Also increase party chat to 10 Max.

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