The PS5’s UI can really use some work

Sony’s PlayStation 5 user interface can really do some work, and is nowhere clearer than the usual action of trying to turn things off.

In recent consoles, it was much easier to close the device with just the controller. Hold down the PS button / Xbox button / Home button, and the UI will help you with the option to power the console in some way. This applies to PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Nintendo Switch. This will take a few seconds, and I will be able to happily finish the gaming session.

But shutting down the PS5, without a good reason I can identify, is an unnecessarily cumbersome process. Instead, when I hold down the PS button – a behavior I’ve used for years to start the process – I’ve been taken back to the main PS5 menu, where I’ve been presented with options such as selecting a different game for the game, checking out the Placement Store or opening the Media app.

Instead, Sony buried the option to turn off the console in the quick action menu. Small Press and hold the PS button instead of the press. Even when I pull up that menu, I have to spend a few seconds navigating to the unlabeled icon indicating the power (you probably know one – the circle with the column at the top) and opening it. Then I’m looking at options to shut down my PS5. You can also close the console after logging out of your account, but that’s not the fastest option either.

The Xbox Series X, by comparison, is much easier to turn off. You hold down the Xbox button and in the menu that appears, select if you want to turn off the console or controller or restart the console. Closing the switch is even easier: hold down the Home button and select the Sleep mode option in the menu that already appears, requiring you to press another button to turn off the system.

Disabling the PS5 was one of many other frustrating issues I experienced with the console’s UI. The way trophies are displayed is a step backwards, for example. Instead of a vertically scrolling list, PS5 trophies are shown as a long, horizontal row of large cards. They are difficult to browse quickly, and they show little information at a glance. One of my colleagues took me to check out her trophies using the PlayStation mobile app, which has a … vertically scrolling list, just like on the PS4.

Taking screenshots and capturing the console is also very painful, especially compared to the Xbox Series X. In Series X, screenshots and captures are automatically synced to the Xbox mobile app, where I can save them to my phone. On the PS5, the only way to share the captured media is to upload it directly from the PS5 to another platform or transfer it to a USB drive.

And sometimes, when I boot up the PS5 I jump into another hellish play session Demons SoulsThe console opens, not the last game I’m playing, instead of the Explore menu, which shows news about the games and trailers. Right now, it’s showing me the card for the upcoming map Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, A game I do not own and do not like to play. Before I can turn off the console and jump into the game I’m playing and cause it to wake up again, I need to navigate to a directional tap Demons Souls Symbol. This is one of the many problems that can cause a minor discomfort but also a frustrating experience.

I really like the PS5. Sony has been hyping the console’s ultra-fast SSD for months and it’s a revelation to jump from world to world Astros Play Room And Demons Souls With no waiting time. But the ethics of speed does not apply to everyday moments of using the console’s UI, and I hope Sony updates a bit soon.

But until then, you can hear me cursing under my breath when I forget, again, that it was a short press to go to the power menu, not for long.