Playstation 5 UI impressions and suggestions for improvements

[ghostcrew]

Future PS5 owner here: Does any of the UI changes actually make sense now that it's been a couple weeks after release? As in how much of it is just navigating the "getting used to it" phase and how much of it is just clunky design.

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Stuff that was weird at first definitely makes sense, yeah. A lot of it is just getting that muscle memory reset.

Outside of activity cards, I don't know if any of is it actually an improvement over the PS4 UI though. A lot of it feels like changes for changes sake. I would say there are definitely large aspects of it that are worse than PS4 UI.

 

[Curler]

You have to press not hold it.

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I still make this mistake... I'm still keeping/using my PS4 (don't want to fill up the limited PS5 space...), so I'm used to holding it in, but when I go to and from there and the PS5, I keep holding the PS button on the DualSense.

 

[dd492941]

Some ups and downs. I think it's in a much better place than the PS4 was at launch, but more button presses to get to certain options is a bit annoying.

Also not being able to double tap the PS button to get to the previous screen is a bummer.

Absolutely love the Store being built in and the quick access bar is really handy (though they REALLY need to allow us to put Settings on that bar).

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This exactly. I was so used to double tapping to get into game instead of tapping once then tapping play. Im still trying to forget ps4 ui because ps5 seems to be the sameish but complete opposite in terms of button pressing.

 

[dd492941]

I wish there was a way to make an activity card with save state to every trophy as the last few trophies I needed in astro I had to Google and look up because I was out of activity cards but still had a couple trophies to hunt, otherwise I love the activity cards. I just wish there was one for every activity in a game especially for those trophy hunting moments.

 

[yyr]

The PS Store being built in is a damn nice feature.

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Anybody else besides me remember that this is how the Store first was on PS3? Built-in to the UI, not a separate app. It wasn't until later on in the PS3's life that it became a separate--very, very slow--app.

 

[Rats]

I think power button just needs to be moved. Right now I have to hit left once and I get to it. But I guess even if it's next to home it's similar. In function.

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Oh my god, I've been scrolling right all this time. Legitimate game changer. I feel so stupid.

 

[platocplx]

Oh my god, I've been scrolling right all this time. Legitimate game changer. I feel so stupid.

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Lmao! yeah it's an unlimited movement list. It drove me nuts so I just tried doing stick/dpad left and I was like bingo.

 

[neemmss]

Oh my god, I've been scrolling right all this time. Legitimate game changer. I feel so stupid.

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[Rodelero]

Future PS5 owner here: Does any of the UI changes actually make sense now that it's been a couple weeks after release? As in how much of it is just navigating the "getting used to it" phase and how much of it is just clunky design.

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There are numerous things that are significantly better. The activity cards, OS level leaderboards, invite system, screen sharing, the create menu, the quick menu sound and mic sub menus.

A huge number of people on this forum dislike change with a passion and that is massively increasing the amount and intensity of the criticism. The anger around them swapping from hold to tap to bring up the quick menu is a prime example of that.

Some stuff needs work, some stuff needs adding, but this is the first version and it is a step forward in lots of ways. A couple of iterations in and this OS is going to kick ass. Far more so then them making minor iterations to the PS4 OS forever.

 

[SirNick]

I wonder about themes and how those will work since there really isn't any free space. The main point is I want a dedicated section for messages, active parties (ones with ppl in them), friends, and trophies. I also want the trophy list to be horizontal again, show more info at once, new dedicated friends list with profile panels to be horizontal displaying trophy icon/level like PS4 design, and what happened to followers on PS5? If that isn't going away, I would like to see that info restored on PS5. And also a way to leave/delete multiple messages at one time and also friends. In some ways, the new UI is a few steps back and I dislike how they repeatedly take things away then later bring them back. PS3 took forever to launch online/offline notifications and a Busy status yet PS4 never got offline notifications or Busy. PS5 brings back Busy but not offline. PS4 got multiple message deletions, now PS5 goes back on this. I don't want to see these options with PS5 v4.0 in 2022. Build and iterate but stop eliminating basics that people enjoy.

 

[endlessflood]

Needs:

• Vertical trophy list that actually tells you what they are.
• Separate Friend, Party, and Messages menu items.
• Media Gallery as an item on the Home Screen, like games.
• Friend categories, so you sort friends into specific groupings that you can see at a glance (same as PS4).
• Ability to sort friend list by game currently being played.
• Faster way to get to power menu.
• Tapping PlayStation button should take you to the Control Centre, not to cards. They need to flip that.
• L1/R1 shortcuts to jump to each end of all horizontal menus. Only some menus currently support this.
• Folders.
• Update history for PS5 apps.
  

 

[ChrisR]

There needs to be a much easier way to get to your current game's trophy list. Currently its

a) Press PS Button
b) Scroll through all the icons to get to your profile
c) Press down a few times to get to Trophies
d) Select your game

Making "Trophies" one of the selectable short cuts in that PS Button menu would be terrific.

 

[platocplx]

There needs to be a much easier way to get to your current game's trophy list. Currently its

a) Press PS Button
b) Scroll through all the icons to get to your profile
c) Press down a few times to get to Trophies
d) Select your game

Making "Trophies" one of the selectable short cuts in that PS Button menu would be terrific.

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Going to the Game hub of the game, then picking its trophies is a bit faster but not totally ideal. Def needs a shortcut. I've been using the ps app which has been helpful to check trophies for the time being. I'd rather we could pin trophies as an activity card or follow ones that we are tracking. That would be great.

 

[NLCPRESIDENT]

I'm really wondering if they're gonna abandon the video store. It doesn't exist (as far as I can see) on the PS5. I have a lot of purchases on it and movies I've linked too.

Of course folders would be nice. And once video chat comes then I'll get the camera.

 

[Afrikan]

Since I have an OLED, I'd like the option of hiding my Profile Icon or any Icon on the home screen.

 

[Lion]

It's weird you can't hold the PS button to shutdown your controller or console anymore

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Agreed. Turning it off is too slow now.

 

[His Majesty]

So does Sony tend to update its UI over time? This feels like a big downgrade over the PS4.

 

[SecondNature]

Where is the bloody media gallery

im honestly so mad navigating this ui. It feels so frustrating

 

[Genetrik]

Question: is it not possible to check the update history for PS5 games compared to PS4 games???

 

[ohitsluca]

-slightly larger icons on the home screen

-pinned apps/games on the home screen

-folders

-an option to automatically save screenshots and videos to external storage, if available

 

[Bowser]

Please let me delete old uninstalled games and hide their throphies

 

[Rodelero]

So does Sony tend to update its UI over time? This feels like a big downgrade over the PS4.

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Yes. With the PS4 most of the significant updates came at six monthly intervals, one in Spring and one in Autumn. For the first few years these updates were consistently quite substantial.

Some of the bigger features added in the first few years of the PS4's lifespan:

Before 2.0
- ShareFactory
- Ability to share clips & screenshots while streaming
- Copying clips/screenshots to USB

2.0
- Share Play
- YouTube App and uploading to YouTube
- Custom Themes

2.5
- Suspend/Resume
- Backup to flash drive

3.0
- Share videos to twitter
- Dedicated PS+ Section
- Ability to save screenshots as PNGs
- Increased online storage capacity

3.5
- Remote Play on Windows & Mac

4.0
- HDR was enabled for all PS4s
- 1080p streaming
- Folders

4.5
- New Quick Menu

 

[mreastman]

No easy way to leave voice chat. It's like 5 or 6 button presses and nested options.

 

[stat84]

They have to add the option to download/upload saves from the game icon.PS4 has this no reason to go to the settings for this.

 

[Transistor]

Anybody else besides me remember that this is how the Store first was on PS3? Built-in to the UI, not a separate app. It wasn't until later on in the PS3's life that it became a separate--very, very slow--app.

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The first PS Store on the PS3 was essentially just a horrible web browser app, that's it. I remember because half the time I would get "broken image" links

 

[Sande]

I'm gonna say that flipping dashboard and quick menu was a great change. It took a bit to get used to but it makes way more sense this way around. And they've made the quick menu so versatile (you can even switch games in the switcher thingy) that you almost never need to see the dashboard.

 

[futurevoid]

There needs to be a much easier way to get to your current game's trophy list. Currently its

a) Press PS Button
b) Scroll through all the icons to get to your profile
c) Press down a few times to get to Trophies
d) Select your game

Making "Trophies" one of the selectable short cuts in that PS Button menu would be terrific.

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From home, hit triangle. Highlight and select your profile and then select trophies. It's quicker.

 

[Dmax3901]

Two things I've found:

1) I miss being able to scroll down to see what my friends are playing and what trophies they earned recently. Is there something like that somewhere? Cause I sure as hell can't find it.

2) Anyone else wish you could still get to the "close software" "turn off PS5" screen by just holding the PS button? My muscle memory is screwing me over here haha.

 

[Crayon]

I confused me coming from ps4, but now that I'm used to it, it makes alot of sense. Tap the home button, press down, and you are on the little crossbar with all the controls you want in-game including the very handy switcher.

The store being built in and actually smooth to use is like night and day.

The cards... can be neat. The simplest implentation is a card to boot the game straight to your last checkpoint, and that's actually very nice. I get the idea now. It's like having bookmarks in your game.

 

[TheYanger]

It's funny to me to see people that like the game bar on the ps5, after talking shit about the xbox one UI for so long, which has basically done the same thing since like 2014, but without sacrificing the usable robustness of the main UI to do so.

 

[OutofMana]

The UI is so bloated with cards and there is now more steps included to get to the things you want. After spending all this time with the console I can honestly say that I do not find the UI better than the PS4 one. Sure it's faster but that is all it has going for it. Don't even get me started on the party stuff. I'm still holding the PS button to try to get the power down prompt lol :/

 

[Cats_Schrodinger]

I am absolutely stunned by people who are saying that this is fast.

It really isn't. There is so much latency in it it's insane. I don't get it. On PS4 you felt the stutters and you could tell it was most likely due to the HDD and bad caching. Here, there is none of that. The UI runs at 60FPS constantly but some actions take so long it becomes quite noticeable.

Bringing up the quick menu for example. On PS4, you could get to the Home Screen instantly. Pressed the PS button and boom, there you are. On PS5, I press the PS button and just like on PS4 I immediately start navigating (cause muscle memory) only to see that the console only recognizes my inputs after around 0.5 seconds. It's so incredibly annoying. This wasn't a problem on PS4.

The other thing is just some quite stupid decisions that are easily fixed. No trophies on the quick menu, having to go through like 3 menus to get back to your game from a different screen (quick menu -> switcher -> enter submenu for the game WTF -> Back to game). Stuff like this.

But this UI is not fast. It looks good and it is smooth but definitely not fast. It's a lot slower than the PS4 was.

 

[grmlin]

The UI is so bloated with cards and there is now more steps included to get to the things you want. After spending all this time with the console I can honestly say that I do not find the UI better than the PS4 one. Sure it's faster but that is all it has going for it. Don't even get me started on the party stuff. I'm still holding the PS button to try to get the power down prompt lol :/

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faster? Everything takes longer. I miss the PS4 UI so much, really. Fuck all these cards

 

[Tora]

But this UI is not fast. It looks good and it is smooth but definitely not fast. It's a lot slower than the PS4 was.

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Booted up my pro to transfer some saves over and it's painfully slow, so i disagree.

The control centre takes a couple seconds to open, if you haven't opened it in a while, otherwise it's fast.

I like the UI but it is a bit of a mess functionally, it's far too clean for its own good and needs to be separated a little bit more. It's weird because it looks like the backend is built off of the PS4 considering its almost feature complete, yet the front end is messy

 

[Cats_Schrodinger]

Booted up my pro to transfer some saves over and it's painfully slow, so i disagree.

The control centre takes a couple seconds to open, if you haven't opened it in a while, otherwise it's fast.

I like the UI but it is a bit of a mess functionally, it's far too clean for its own good and needs to be separated a little bit more. It's weird because it looks like the backend is built off of the PS4 considering its almost feature complete, yet the front end is messy

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As I explained earlier, it's the snappiness. Sure, transferring saves is going to be faster, console is more powerful.

Good example is pressing the PS button in quick succession a few times. The console is lagging behind by a single button press. There is no way that it cannot handle this. This is like the Apple Watch before I don't know, WatchOS 7, waiting for a potential second button press and refusing to go to the Home Screen immediately. Of course there is zero reason here for such a thing, that's why it's so damning. I press the PS button and immediately press the dpad 3 times. On PS4, I was right where I wanted to be even if the menu hasn't animated into place yet (still much faster than that huge latency with the PS5). On PS5, it's like I didn't press any buttons.

And a couple of seconds to load the control centre on a PS5 is not acceptable. The PS4 loaded up the whole menu and was navigable in less than half a second.

Just to be entirely clear, this is the best UI I've ever seen on a console. They absolutely nailed the essentials. It has a few missing features and some strange hiccups but nothing that cannot be fixed. Whereas the Xbox One UI is in a state where it basically needs a complete rewrite to not look like a turd. That's snappy as hell and entirely functional but simply looks bad. Of course MS and UI design is an entirely different discussion in itself.

 

[Tora]

Sure, transferring saves is going to be faster, console is more powerful

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Sorry, I meant that the PS4 UI in general was a lot slower. Fully agree with your thoughts though and I hope that with time it actually improves.

I think most of the focus should be on revamping (lol) the current UI and reducing any friction, as well as improving its performance.

 

[doof_warrior]

by FAR, the biggest issue with the ps5 ui, is the reliance on horizontal lists/menus
it's legitimately terrible
how can anyone use the trophy list, for example, and think "yup, this is good"

 

[oatmeal]

Allow me to hold the PS button and quick power down.

 

[Chettlar]

Allow me to hold the PS button and quick power down.

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Yeah this, and let me have trophies be one of the quick menu options. Amazed it wasn't listed.

Also please let trophies be vertical. By God the card system makes it impossible to see things. I want to quickly look things, not only see like, 3 things at once that take up my entire screen. It's such an incredibly inefficient way to use my screen.

by FAR, the biggest issue with the ps5 ui, is the reliance on horizontal lists/menus
it's legitimately terrible
how can anyone use the trophy list, for example, and think "yup, this is good"

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It feels like a UI design leader so intent on ensuring consistency that they just completely forgot usability.

The card system is the type of system that works well only for like, a couple headline elements. Not an entire list of something. Incredibly ameteur failing of UI design. Any of my design professors would have given me an F for that.