Sony PlayStation 4 Update 4.50: New Beta Version Brings Boost Mode And External HDD Support

Sony PlayStation 4 received a beta software update in February 2017. The users who had previously signed up through the PlayStation website for the beta version have received an update. Codenamed Sasuke, the new software version 4.50 was released for PS4. The users eligible for the update will receive an email with the download link and instructions.

The PlayStation 4 users who had not signed up for the beta update can get a quick glance of the key features that are being rolled out with the update for PS4. As reported by PlayStation Blog, the company has refined the user interface of the PlayStation 4 and has added features like external hard disk support and custom wallpapers.

External HDD Support

The much awaited for the PlayStation 4 has been made official by the company and users can now store their content to an external HDD. This update for PlayStation 4 is an addition to the already enabled feature in Sony PS4 and PlayStation 4 Pro that enables users to upgrade the internal hard drive of their gaming console.

The external HDD must have a USB 3.0 port and should not be larger than 8TB. The external drive can hold media files, games and applications. However, the user saved games will still be stored on the internal hard drive.

PlayStation 4 Pro Boost Mode

As reported by IGN, with the new update, PS4 Pro owners can enable Boost Mode which will improve gameplay and boost up frame rates for some games that were released before the Sony PS4 Pro. However, since the update is in the beta mode the users may experience some random and unexpected behavior by enabling Boost Mode.

3D Blu-ray for PlayStation VR

The new 4.50 beta update for PlayStation 4 adds the ability to view 3D movies in stereoscopic 3D directly on the PlayStation VR headset. This update takes care of the users of PlayStation VR.

Custom Wallpapers

This small feature enables the ability to set an in-game screenshot as the home screen for PlayStation 4. Moreover, the screenshots can be edited using Photo Mode in Sharefactory.

Other Updates

With this update, the PlayStation Network users can post status updates directly to their Activity Feed. Also, the notifications have been simplified and they now list into one page unlike previously where they were listed in various categories. Sony has also included Party Access menu and users can now access party options from Quick Menu while playing games.