PS5 April update lets you pre-download updates, offload games to an external USB device, and more

The PS5 is all set to receive a new update tomorrow (April 14, 2021). It brings forth some minor QoL improvements here and there, although there is one significant addition that many would welcome. And no, the update doesn't let users add extra high-speed storage to their consoles via the included NVMe SSD slot. Sony said that the functionality would be enabled in 'summer 2021', so we can only hope it arrives sooner rather than later. Then again, the general paucity of PS5 content (and consoles) makes it so that users can do without expandable storage for a little while longer.

At the very least, gamers can now offload some of their PS5 games to an external USB drive. This should come in handy as people no longer have to delete older games to make room for newer titles. However, one won't be able to play games off an external USB drive, given their much slower data transfer rates. Unfortunately, it is not possible to download games directly to external USB devices. That shouldn't be much of a problem for most users, but it would be a nice feature to have.

The official PlayStation app for Android gets a few improvements too, such as the ability to remotely manage your PS5 storage. Whether or not one will be able to delete entire games off the library remains to be seen. The ability to remotely move games to and from your console onto external storage would be nice, though. For example, one can copy a game from a connected hard drive to the PS5 before leaving from work and start playing straightaway once they get home.

Other PS5 April update changes include the ability to share your screen with party members on a PS4, the ability to instantly disable in-game chat, a revamped Trophy screen, better Game Library customization, and more. It also lets you 'pre-download' game updates, but the functionality will have to be switched on by developers. This should help players hop into a game right away, without having to wait for updates to download first. It will come in handy in the era of obnoxiously large patches that are several gigabytes in size.

Buy the DualSense Wireless controller on Amazon