Sony has announced a new system update for the PS5 being released to participants of the beta program. The update will bring with it a major new feature: allowing the DualSense controller to pair across multiple devices. The update is slated to roll out to beta participants tomorrow.
As part of this update, the DualSense wireless controller and DualSense Edge wireless controller can be paired across different devices simultaneously, regardless if the device is a PS5, a smartphone, or even a Windows or Mac computer. This would essentially prevent DualSense users from needing to unpair their controller from their PC in order to use it with their PS5, for example.
“Many PS5 peripherals, including the DualSense wireless controller, are designed to support a variety of devices beyond PS5 including PC, Mac, and mobile devices,” wrote VP of product management at Sony Interactive Entertainment in the announcement. “We believe enabling compatibility of our peripherals across multiple platforms creates a more flexible and seamless gaming experience.”
Once the update is rolled out, users will be able to register up to four devices simultaneously to a controller. These devices can then be switched directly from the controller itself, allowing for a seamless transition from gaming on a PS5 to gaming on a PC. This feature can also be used in conjunction with Remote Play to stream PS5 titles on a PC without having to re-pair the controller.
Once a device has been paired with a DualSense controller, it will be registered to one out of four slots. These slots can then be switched through various combinations of the PS button and one of the face buttons. For example, slot 1 can be accessed through the PS button and the triangle button, while slot 2 can be accessed through the PS button and the circle button, and so on.
The controller itself will indicate which pairing slot is currently being used thanks to its player indicator lights. One light being on means the first slot is being used, while three lights would indicate slot 3 being in use.
Along with this, Sony has also revealed that it is working on a new feature that will bring a new Power Saver mode to the PS5 console for games. The feature is planned for a future update, and will allow supported games to run at lower power consumption levels. More details about the new Power Saver mode will be revealed at a later date.
While it can’t be used just yet, a preview of the Power Saver mode can be spotted in the settings menu. When the feature is finally out, it will essentially scale back the performance of supported games to reduce the overall power consumption of the PS5. It is worth noting that games have to support this feature for it to work; unsupported games will not have their power scaled back, and as a result, will not suffer from any performance penalties.
More details about the list of compatible games, as well as when the update is slated for release, will be revealed later.
