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The next PS5 system update is coming soon, and it adds a new wireless controller-pairing feature, while Sony also discussed a “Power Saver” mode that’s coming later.
In a blog post, Sony said the DualSense controller and other PS5 peripherals were designed to support PC, Mac, and mobile devices, and the new update makes it easier to pair controllers to multiple devices simultaneously. This should make it “easier to switch between them without needing to pair each time,” Sony said.
With the update, players can pair up to four devices simultaneously. Currently, users have to pair each time they connected a controller to a different device. As an example, Sony said you’ll be able to take your paired DualSense controller and “seamlessly” switch to PC or a smartphone.
Below you can find instructions on how to pair a DualSense controller to multiple devices and how to switch between them. The instructions were written by Sony.
How to pair a DualSense controller to multiple devices:
- Make sure the light bar and player indicator on your controller is off. If they’re turned on, press and hold the PS button until they turn off.
- Press and hold one of the action buttons (triangle, circle, cross, or square) and the PS button for over 5 seconds. The light bar and player indicator flash two times.
- Turn on Bluetooth on your device, and select the option to add Bluetooth devices. Your device detects nearby Bluetooth devices.
- Select your controller from the detected devices. The light bar lights up, and the player indicator’s lights blink according to the slot number.
How to switch between devices:
- Turn on the device you want to connect to.
- Press and hold one of the action buttons and the PS button for about 3 seconds. When the light bar and player indicator blink, release both buttons. The light bar lights up, and the player indicator’s lights blink according to the slot number.
As for the Power Saver mode, this is a new mode that allows select PS5 games to “run with lower power consumption” to help “reduce environmental impact.” This is part of Sony’s “Road to Zero” environmental plan that aims to achieve “net-zero greenhouse gas emissions” by 2040.
With Power Saver mode enabled, select PS5 games will “scale back performance” to help the PS5 system reduce power consumption. As for what the scaled back performance will be, Sony said VR mode and “some gameplay features” may be limited in Power Saver mode.
“We’ll share more details on this new option as we get closer to launch, including supported PS5 games and estimated impact, so stay tuned,” Sony said.
For its part, Microsoft launched an energy-saving mode for Xbox more than 10 years ago. An investigation from CNET in 2020 found that Sony and Microsoft made progress in improving energy efficiency with the PS5 and Xbox Series X|S, but energy use in the newest games was “significantly higher than the previous generation.”
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