Sony Interactive Entertainment officially provides a sneak peek of what's to come in the PlayStation 4's Update 4.0 with improved UI, folders, and more.

Those who had registered during the PS4's Update 4.0 beta signups a few weeks ago and were selected by Sony will soon be able to take part in the experience of the new features and changes provided in the firmware overhaul, as the public field test officially begins tomorrow. Codenamed "Shingen," Update 4.0 for the PS4 can be accessed by fans picked for the trial as soon as emails with instructions on how to download the upgrade are sent out by Sony.

As found in an official post on the PlayStation Blog, the PS4's Update 4.0 is set to contain a lot of firmware features hinted at in a user survey that was issued almost a year ago. For instance, there is going to be the long-awaited addition of folders, a completely new and improved UI, refreshed and updated menus, changes to Trophies, Quick Menu alterations, as well as new options for personalization.

Beginning with folders, the PS4's Update 4.0 will allow fans to organize their games and apps in one place for easier access. This will work in tandem with sorting tools for the Library being brought about, such as the ability to see a tab called Purchased Content, which was created to display all of the content presently owned by users while the main Library only shows materials currently installed on the console, making it simpler for players to locate desired games and applications.

The PS4 Update 4.0's UI refresh will also incorporate a system of revised pop-up notifications, updated system icons, and new system backgrounds from which to choose. As the PlayStation Blog describes it, players will be able to experience a more "refined and easy to use" interface. Of course, fans won't necessarily know if such alterations are indeed palatable until the beta begins tomorrow.

Another big change for the PS4 Update 4.0 is that when pressing and holding the PS button on Dualshock 4 to bring up the Quick Menu now makes it cover a smaller segment of the screen, which means that players won't have to completely leave a game to use it. Not to mention, shortcuts have been added to the Quick Menu, allowing fans to incorporate elements like Online Friends, Favorite Groups, and Communities to the feature for smoother access.

Additionally, much like the Quick Menu, the PS4 Update 4.0 will bring similar changes to the Share Menu, as it ought to only take up a portion of the screen when enacted. Plus, the alterations ought to make showing the world one's best gaming moments even easier as the function saves the last social network used to share video clips or screenshots, letting players put them directly to a Community wall. Plus, and perhaps most interestingly, Update 4.0 lets fans upload much longer video clips to Twitter, as the allowance has gone from 10 seconds to 140 seconds.

As far as Trophies are concerned, the PS4's Update 4.0 lets players view them offline, allows fans to reveal the content of a Hidden Trophy for its name and info, and the update alters them to show their rarity by arranging the Trophies into a pyramid design to put the more unique ones at the top instead of showing them in a pattern of four boxes that fill. Plus, when it comes to User Profile options, players can compare Trophy progress with another fan right from their profile, and can add a background image to one's own profile from the screenshots taken in-game.

The PlayStation Blog also writes that there are going to be even more features brought about with the PS4's Update 4.0 that aren't going to be in the beta, so if those changes are anything like firmware upgrades of the past, such as April's update features, fans are in for some interesting additions. Plus, as was the case with the system's changes brought about with Update 3.5, there were numerous accounts of useful unannounced features that went on to be discovered by fans, so it's possible for 4.0 to eventually release in the same way. Although some of these forthcoming adjustments and modifications to the PS4 have yet to be unveiled, perhaps Sony will surprise everyone and let PSN players change their usernames.

The PS4's Update 4.0 beta is set to begin tomorrow on August 16, 2016, but there's no official release date for the final version.

Source: PlayStation Blog