With the launch of the Xbox Series X|S earlier today, we’re ever so closer to seeing what Sony has to offer for its next-gen console. The PS5 comes out November 12 around the globe but a lot of people already have their hands on it. So, with the reviews coming out hard and fast for the new console, there are bound to be some surprising revelations as well.
Earlier this week, it was discovered that the PS5 might not be the full package that people were expecting. And, despite being an excellent piece of hardware, the console is lacking in some key departments.
For instance, the console does not support 1440p output or external storage for PS5 games. According to Sony, these features were just not important enough to make the cut but the company is willing to add them in a future update if the demand for them is high.
The PlayStation 5 does not come with an internet browser
Similarly, we have now discovered that PlayStation 5 is also devoid of another very important feature that could be a dealbreaker for a lot of people. In what is a rather weird turn of events, the PS5, for some reason, does not ship with an internet browser. This means that players will not be able to browse the internet on their new console out of the box.
While browsers aren’t the most crucial part of a gaming console experience, they still matter to a lot of people. Yes, the experience is subpar due to a lack of mouse and keyboard but a lot of times you just don’t want to hop onto a computer or your phone to look up stuff.
Furthermore, a lot of third-party services also use the console’s native browser for their login procedures and such. Currently, we have no idea how those experiences would be affected but our guess is that those developers would have to find a workaround. It does add an additional burden for the developers though on top of already challenging circumstances.
Some insider reports have also stated that porting PS4 apps over to the PS5 is way more complicated than doing the same thing on Xbox, which makes sense considering how save states and backward compatibility has been handled on the PlayStation 5.
What’s bizarre about this decision though is the fact that the browser works perfectly fine on the PS4 and we can’t think of any reasonable explanation as to why Sony would remove it. Additionally, not even having a browser on your gaming console just doesn’t sit right with us, especially when consoles like the Nintendo Switch were crucified for missing the same feature.
Did Sony rush the PS5 to match Xbox Series X?
Both Sony and Microsoft have taken a rather unique approach to their console designs this time around. While Microsoft is focusing on raw power and newer RDNA 2 architecture, Sony has its own custom solutions and a much faster storage solution. The end result of both of these approaches would more or less land on the same tile but it has to be said that both companies have been weirdly unprepared for this console launch.
Obviously, we’re not exactly living under ideal circumstances and that has massively affected everything. However, these little annoyances do tarnish the experience of next-gen. For example, Microsoft is shipping the Xbox Series X|S without its flagship launch title, Halo Infinite. In a similar fashion, Sony also seemingly isn’t quite done with its UI features and still has a lot of work to do.
Not only that, but the fact that the PS5 doesn’t have VRR, 1440P support, or any compatible external hard drives for PS5 games just screams incomplete hardware. Yes, Sony can say that these features don’t matter and we could get them in a future update but the reality is that we’ve already seen these things make an effect on games.
For instance, on Assassin’s Creed Valhalla alone, players have reported magnitudes of improvement in performance with VRR enabled. Not only that, but a lot of PC players have also been left in the dark with no 1440p support. And, if we’re being honest, these features are essential to a new console experience and should be present on day 1, especially when they were already present on older hardware.
We’ll probably see these features later down the road
Having said that, history has shown that early adopters of new consoles act like guinea pigs anyway as they’re instrumental in finding the bugs and ironing out the kinks. So, we could see all of these features being added to the console’s feature portfolio in the coming months.
Nevertheless, the omission of something as simple as a browser from the PS5 does leave us puzzled and we wonder whether it is purely due to Sony not prioritizing it or if the OS is just not fully finished yet.
Is the absence of an internet browser from the PlayStation 5 a dealbreaker for you? Let us know down in the comments below!