With Blu-ray being a proprietary Sony technology, it struck many people as odd that the Japanese manufacturer didn’t implement a 4K player into their revised PS4 Slim or PS4 Pro consoles; the latter especially, considering its status as a premium piece of hardware. As part of today’s deluge of news surrounding the upcoming PlayStation 5, however, a PS5 4K Blu-ray player has been confirmed and lauded as a significant new feature.
Although the PS4 Pro started to usher gamers toward a 4K future, movie and television fans didn’t quite receive the same treatment. Owners of the upgraded console would need a 4K television in order to enjoy games to the fullest, but there was subsequently no means of enjoying more passive on-screen entertainment to the same extent.
What made this situation even more irksome for many is the fact that both the Xbox One S (a technically inferior console to the PS4 Pro) and Xbox One X both feature 4K Blu-ray drives. This allowed owners of Microsoft consoles to enjoy their physical media with added features like 3840 x 2160 resolution, HDR color, and support for Dolby Atmos sound by leveraging Sony technology over a Sony platform. Now, however, AV aficionados no longer need to feel betrayed or left out in the cold. The PS5 is set to introduce 4K Blu-ray playback to the PlayStation audience beginning Holiday 2020.
As part of a deep-dive interview with Wired, it’s also been confirmed that the PS5 will feature a revised user interface (UI). While many of the details remain under wraps, at least for the time being, system architect Mark Cerny posited that the new UI operates in real-time and makes it easier for players to be social. Additionally, the first details on what’s presumably the DualShock 5 dropped, with the device said to boast both haptic feedback and adaptive triggers over its PS4 predecessor.
