Gaming

The PlayStation 5 does not have a web browser, but does anyone care?

Personally? No.

by
Joe Rice-Jones
November 11, 2020

Image: Sony

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The PlayStation 5 launches tomorrow, but like most releases, it won’t have everything you could wish for right out of the gate. Sony understands that fans might be disappointed by this, and in an interview with Japanese outlet AV Watch, Sony EVP Masayasu Ito and SVP Hideaki Nishino discussed some of the missing features, and if they might be added in later.

The main missing feature most of the tech world has been talking about is the lack of native 1440p output. The Xbox Series X, Series S, and even the Xbox One X all had native 1440p output, which is great for those users who use their console on their computer monitors, so they get that sweet variable frame rate support.

The PlayStation 5 doesn’t natively output 1440p, instead, it upscales from 1080p. In the interview, Nishino says that’s because Sony focused on TV support first, meaning 1080p and 4k were prioritized. He said there’s no technical barrier to adding this at a later date, if the community wants it (and it seems that they do).

One missing feature that might have flown under the radar is the PS5’s lack of a web browser. Does anyone actually care about this though? I mean, I understand that for some users, their console is their main computing device.

That said, over 40 percent of U.S. users use their smartphone more for web browsing instead of a dedicated computer, so is the lack of a browser on the PS5 a big deal? Personally, I find browsing on consoles a terrible experience, and I’m fine with the decision. Anyone else?

What do you think? Bummed to hear that the PlayStation 5 doesn’t have a web browser? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.