Little-known 'secret' PS5 feature that most gamers don't know how to access
It's easy to forget that the latest model of PlayStation is heading into its twilight years, and while it seems like only yesterday that the PS5 was released in the great console wars of 2020, the fact that the average console lifespan is seven years means the PS6 is surely not that far away.
There are obvious outliers like the 3DS living a whopping nine years and the disappointing Wii U bowing out after just five, but either way, make the most of the PS5 while you can.
Even five years after the beefy PS5 hit the market and was accused of looking like a beefy Wi-Fi router, we're still finding out secrets.
While we're sure most of you have heard about secret engravings, why you shouldn't stand your PS5 vertically, or hidden settings to boost your graphics, did you know there's a major feature that you're likely sleeping on?
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Like most modern TVs, the PS5 is largely built on apps.
However, while you can peruse Netflix to catch up on Stranger Things ahead of the final season, tune in for the latest gripping episode of Severance, and catch up with MrBeast on YouTube, there isn't a dedicated app to browse the internet.
It's thought that Sony wanted to (rightly) put the focus on gaming, while there are fears that security exploits from internet browsers could be used to crack consoles.
Still, there were questions about how Pornhub's Year in Review mentioned the shocking statistic that 95% of all its console traffic comes from PS5 and PS4. It turns out there is an internet browser lurking in the bowels of the PS5...you just need to know where to look.
Sony has hidden a couple of workarounds, but the easiest is to send one of your PlayStation friends a message with a website link. Simply navigate to your Game Base, select 'Messages', and send any of your contacts something as simple as Goolge.com.
There's a more complicated method that involves heading to the Check PlayStation Network Status section of your console, navigating to PlayStation.com, and pressing the "Follow us on social media button" to open YouTube.com. From there, you can type "Google link in description" and find a link to Google.com in a YouTube Short.
To be honest, the friends method is much easier.
Be warned that there are some limitations, and while the PS4 had a dedicated browser, it's clear Sony doesn't want you making use of the PS5's hidden one. As there's no address bar, you need to Google search for an individual site, while a lack of support for all website formats means not everything will display properly. You can't install browser extensions like ad-blockers, and with no way to add bookmarks, it's something of a primitive system.
Still, with no sign of official support and PlayStation owners disgruntled at the lack of a proper web browser on the PS5, we'll take what we can.
Sony is hopefully listening to its critics, so by the time the PS6 rolls around, we'll have a full-blown web browser to make up for that price hike.