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Although the PlayStation 5 was initially criticized for lacking many useful features seen in its predecessor, the console has gradually added these features via software updates. Despite this, PS5 owners are still waiting for the return of a few notable PS4 features.
One of the most highly requested features among PlayStation 5 owners is menu themes. If you weren’t happy with the standard blue background of the PlayStation 4’s home menu, you had the option to change it using a theme.
Themes added a new background image, but many also changed the music, menu icons, and sound effects. These themes could be downloaded from the PlayStation Store, earned from certain games and demos, or customized with your own pictures.
Unfortunately, the PlayStation 5 doesn’t support themes at all. Any themes you own on your PS4 will be left behind when upgrading to the PS5, including those you paid for or received alongside certain games. The lack of themes is one of the most disappointing aspects of the PS5 for many console owners, but there are a few reasons for their omission.
Every theme was designed specifically for the layout of the PS4’s home menu. Although the PS5’s home menu shares some similarities, its design is too different for the old themes to function properly. Even if they were nearly identical, it would still require a considerable amount of work to make every PS4 theme compatible with the PS5.
While it’s still possible for the PS5 to receive its own themes in the future, even that is unlikely. Rather than including themes in the traditional sense, the PS5 already adds variety to its home menu through the detail pages that appear when you scroll over one of your games.
Much like the PS4’s themes, the detail pages feature unique backgrounds and music for each game. As such, there are fewer opportunities to see the standard background on the PS5 than there were PS4, which makes the inclusion of themes far less important for the PS5.
There’s still a chance that custom themes might eventually come to the PS5, and fans would surely welcome the opportunity to add some personality to the home menu again. However, it’s unlikely that PS5 owners will see this feature anytime soon.
2 Update History
The PlayStation 4 includes an “Update History” page for each game, allowing you to view patch notes directly from your console. For games that frequently receive new content, such as Stardew Valley and No Man’s Sky, the “Update History” allows players to quickly find out what new features were added with each update.
Despite its convenience, the “Update History” page is absent on the PS5. This isn’t all that surprising; the “Update History” page was only used by a small portion of console owners, and the information it contained was usually available online. Many games ignored the “Update History” page entirely, replacing the detailed update information with vague descriptions of bug fixes or leaving links to their online patch notes.
The “Update History” page is unlikely to return on the PS5. Most players and even developers frequently ignored it, and anybody interested in reading the details for a new update could just as easily find them online. Even so,it was a useful feature and led to some unexpectedly hilarious patch notes.
3 A Fully Functional Web Browser
The PlayStation 5 technically has a browser for opening web pages, but it’s extremely limited and difficult to access compared to the PS4 browser. You can only open the PS5 browser through links found in applications or by opening social media pages on your console. Furthermore, the browser’s search bar is locked, meaning you can’t access most websites through traditional means. There are ways to bypass this restriction and freely use the PS5’s hidden browser, but it’s hardly worth the effort.
Apart from the basic programs needed to load web pages with text and images, the PS5 browser lacks most of the standard features found on nearly every other browser. For example, you can’t bookmark web pages, open multiple tabs, or check your browsing history. Browser applications that require WebGL or similar APIs won’t work on the PS5, either.
In contrast, the PS4 browser can be easily accessed from the console’s home menu and contains most of the basic features you would expect from a typical web browser. While it has its own limitations, the PS4 browser is reliable enough for everyday use without needing to go through any complicated steps.
Sony’s decision to release the PS5 with a non-functioning browser could be attributed to a few potential reasons. The PS4 (like other consoles of its era) tried to be an all-in-one media player, which led to the inclusion of services like PlayStation Video, PlayStation Music, and the console’s internet browser. With the PS5, Sony has cut back on many of these features, which likely led to the decision to replace the PS4’s full-fledged web browser with a simpler alternative that can support external links.
Additionally, having a traditional web browser on the PS5 may pose a security risk. With easy access to the internet, users can potentially download custom firmware and other third-party software directly onto their consoles. The PS5 browser’s restrictive design may be an intentional safeguard against these types of downloads.
With PS5 owners still finding loopholes around the current browser’s restrictions, it’s possible that the old browser may return in a future update. However, between the potential risks and Sony’s shift away from non-gaming services on their consoles, the browser doesn’t seem to be a current priority for PlayStation.
4 USB Backup for PS5 Saves
The PlayStation 4 provides the option to back up your save files in cloud storage (if you have a PlayStation Plus subscription) or on a USB drive. Although there are some advantages to storing backups on cloud storage, being able to use your own external drive allows you to preserve your save files without needing a subscription or internet connection.
This option still exists on the PS5, but only for PS4 games. For PS5 games, the only way to create backups of your save data is to use cloud storage, but you can only use this option if you have an active PlayStation Plus subscription.
In contrast to the PS5’s other omissions, there doesn’t seem to be any reason for this change other than pushing console owners to subscribe to PlayStation Plus. Unfortunately, this paywall blocks one of the PS5’s most important features. Without a PlayStation Plus subscription, there’s no way to recover save data for your PS5 games if anything happens to your console or storage device.
5 Why Is the PS5 Still Missing These Features?
With most of the important PS4 features having reached the PS5 through firmware updates, the remaining omissions don’t seem important enough for Sony to bring back or were consciously removed for various reasons. There’s still a chance that some of these missing features may return in the future, but it’s unlikely.
Even so, the PS5 is in a much better state than when it first launched having released updates that add features like native 1440p output and upgradeable SSD storage.
