New PS5 firmware update ‘improves system performance’

Sony has released the latest system update for the PlayStation 5.

According to the console’s patch notes, however, the roughly 1GB update to version 22.01-05.02.00 is another fairly minor one that “improves system performance” and seemingly does nothing else.

This makes it somewhat less notable than the previous system update, version 22.01-05.00.00, which included new party features and some refreshed UI elements.

It also means the promised addition of variable refresh rate (VRR) support has not yet been implemented.

The previous update was released in March, and after it was rolled out players started reporting that they were unable to play games online. The issue was eventually resolved.

In a blog post last month, Sony also stated that VRR support would be coming to PS5 “in the months ahead”.

VRR syncs the framerate of the game to the player’s monitor, which theoretically reduces noticeable frame-rate drops and other graphical issues. Only HDMI 2.1 compatible TVs currently support the feature.

PlayStation claims that the feature will be able to be applied to games that don’t support it, but that the results may vary.

Further reading

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A new PS5 system update is out now, with VRR coming ‘in the months ahead’

Players in the US and UK can now try voice commands

“As an added option, you can also choose to apply VRR to PS5 games that don’t support it,” it explained. “This feature may improve video quality for some games.

“If this results in any unexpected visual effects, you can turn off this option at any time. Both VRR and this secondary option can be turned on or off.”

Microsoft first added VRR support to the Xbox One in April 2018, and the Xbox Series X and S launched with it included too. The feature doesn’t yet have a release date on PlayStation.