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A new PS4 firmware beta update is rolling out to test participants now, with improved cross-gen trophy support and some new social options.
As spotted by Push Square, the public beta for PS4 firmware version 9.00 began today, and an email to participants lays out the main changes arriving as part of the update. While it arrives soon after the beta PS5 software update which finally enabled M.2 SSD support for expanding on built-in storage and enabling 3D audio on TV speakers, the changes are a bit more subtle - which makes sense for an older console that's already had plenty of time to roll out new features and improve existing ones.
The biggest change in the PS4 9.00 firmware beta is the ability to view Trophies earned in PS5 games on PS4. If you have a cross-generational setup at home (especially since an old PS4 can be great for streaming PS5 games into another room) this could be especially handy for achievement hunting.
The other outlined changes are mostly related to social features on PS4: if you're the owner of a group message, you'll now be able to delete individual messages (great for cleaning up off topic or trollish comments), and if you block someone you can choose to automatically leave only the message group containing you and them. Meanwhile, parental controls have been boosted with new notifications on PS4 and the PlayStation app for child accounts requesting certain game permissions.
It seems safe to assume that PS4 isn't in line for more big, feature-rich updates now that its older sibling is Sony's flagship console. Even so, it's encouraging to see it still in line for some thoughtful quality-of-life improvements. Sony has said it has no plans to abandon its massive, established base of PS4 owners, and that support comes in both the form of continued new releases such as Horizon Forbidden West as well as good old fashioned software updates.
There may be more modern classics on Sony's last-gen console than anywhere else right now - check out our guide to the best PS4 games you can play right now to make sure you didn't miss any.
