A new software update for the PS5, previously tested in beta, is now ready for rollout globally. The new update allows the PS5 controller, the DualSense and the more-expensive DualSense Edge controllers to be paired with multiple devices.
As it is, the PS5 controller can be wirelessly paired with the PS5 or with other devices including PC and mobile devices. The catch is that it can only be done one at a time. So if you connect the controller on PC wirelessly, to connect it wirelessly on PS5 again so you can just hit the PS button to boot the console up, you have to repair it again, which is a slight annoyance.
The new update will allow the PS5 controller to behave like most wireless devices, in that you can switch between paired devices without having to go through the handshake process.
The PS5 controller can be paired with up to four devices, and once done so, can be switched between devices with the press of two buttons, the PS button and one face button (triangle, square, cross, circle).
In addition, the new PS5 update also adds a Power Saver option to supported games. This allows select PS5 games to run at lower performance to use less power. It’s part of Sony’s efforts to reducing its environmental footprint.
Only three games will support Power Saving for now, all PlayStation Studios titles: Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, Demon’s Souls, and the upcoming Ghost of Yōtei. How much of a performance hit (and power consumption reduction) remains to be seen and tested, but there is now an option to reduce power use (and electricity bills) to some amount.
The firmware update is currently being rolled out to all PS5s.